Public attention and interest in the cultural development needs of Cambodia have inevitably focused on the plight of the country’s physical cultural heritage, and specifically upon ongoing efforts, sponsored by international agencies such as UNESCO, to safeguard the magnificent Angkor temples in the north west of the country.

Comparatively less attention has been given to the problems facing the country’s non-physical heritage, particularly those associated with the traditional performing arts.

Recent research has identified many traditional Khmer performing arts genres, including ritual performance, folk music and dance and more than 20 forms of theatre, best known of which are the ancient classical dances associated with the royal court. Not surprisingly, since the techniques of these genres were traditionally handed down by word of mouth, artists had rarely focused on documenting their various forms; the masters of one generation simply taught the next. However, the great majority of Cambodia’s artists perished under the Pol Pot regime, and with them went over half of the performance disciplines. After the war in 1979, radio announcements were made in an attempt to locate surviving performers around the country, with the goal of identifying which forms might still be practised. Some nine disciplines were eventually resurrected and since that time the Cambodian government, in conjunction with international agencies such as UNESCO, has made strenuous efforts to widen the practitioner skills base of these ancient art forms.