Two Long Beach high school students, Vong York (left) and Ra Chim portray a young couple engaging in playful flirtation in the final scene depicted in the popular folk dance Robam Nesat or “The Fishing Dance.” Ra Chim sits on the ang rut, the bell-shaped fishing trap used to catch larger fish in shallow waters, used by the young men in the dance. She holds the chhneang, braided bamboo baskets that act as strainers, used by young women in the dance. The scene depicts the couple’s courtship and falling in love. (The Long Beach Press-Telegram, October 5, 1985. Photographer: Bruce Chambers)
The Blessing Dance is performed at religious and cultural events, such as New Year celebrations, as depicted in this photo. Dancers wear traditional Khmer attire, which consists of ornate silk sampot (sarong-style skirts) and tops with intricate designs, often resembling the attire of apsara as seen in temple carvings.
The Blessing Dance is known for its graceful and fluid movements. Dancers use their hands to depict stories, emotions, and elements of nature. This photo shows dancers from the dance troupe supported by the United Cambodian Community.
The Historical Society of Long Beach (HSLB) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization. Our mission is to connect people to the past and to the place they live by collecting, preserving, and exhibiting the material history of Long Beach.
Images of dancing apsara were engraved into the stone of temples. A Cambodian origin myth says that Khmer people are descendants of the wise Kambu and his wife Mera, an apsara.
Temples built during the Khmer Empire were faced with sandstone and contain thousands of carvings of apsara (celestial dancers) and devata (goddesses who protect the temple).
