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).
Modern Cambodian classical dance dress and hand movements are based on the images carved on the temple walls of Angkor Wat and other temples. The image of Cambodian classical dancers on this postcard highlights the dance form’s significance to Cambodian culture and history.
