2011–2012 SEASON SchoolTime Study Guide Cambodia’s Khmer Arts Ensemble The Lives of Giants Monday, October 3, 2011 at 11 a.m. Zellerbach Hall, University of California, Berkeley Welcome to SchoolTime On Monday, October 3 at 11am, your class will attend a performance of Cambodia’s Khmer Arts Ensemble at Cal Performances’ Zellerbach Hall. Cambodia’s Khmer Arts Ensemble is renowned for performing dazzling, powerful works that dramatically expand the repertory of Cambodian dance. In The Lives of Giants, the company of 36 dancers, instrumentalists, and singers combine gestural dance, traditional music and spectacular costumes and staging to bring to life the ancient tale of a power-drunk and vengeful giant who wreaks havoc in the kingdom of heaven.. Using This Study Guide You can use this study guide to engage your students and enrich their Cal Performances field trip. Before attending the performance, we encourage you to: • Copy the Student Resource Sheet on pages 2 & 3 and give it to your students several days before the show. • Discuss the information on pages 4-6 About the Performance & Artists with your students. • Read to your students from About the Art Form on pages 7-10 and About Cambodia on pages 11-14. • Engage your students in two or more Activities on pages 15 & 16. • Reflect with your students by asking them Guiding Questions, found on pages 2, 4, 7 and 11. • Immerse students further into the subject matter and art form by using the Additional Resources on pages 16-17. At the performance: Your class can actively participate during the performance by: • Listening carefully to the rhythms, melodies and harmonies of the music • Observing how the dancers tell a story and express ideas and emotions through their movements • Thinking about the culture, traditions and history expressed through the dance and music • Marveling at the skill of the dancers, musicians and singers • Reflecting on the sounds, sights, and performance skills you experience at the theater. We look forward to seeing you at SchoolTime! SchoolTime Cambodia’s Khmer Arts Ensemble | Table of Contents 1. Theater Etiquette 1 2. Student Resource Sheet 2 3. About the Performance and the Artists 4 4. About the Art Form 7 5. About Cambodia 11 6. Learning Activities & Resources 15 7. California State Standards 19 About SchoolTime 19 | SchoolTime Cambodia’s Khmer Arts Ensemble 1 Theater Etiquette Be prepared and arrive early. Ideally you should arrive at the theater 30 to 45 minutes before the show. Allow for travel time and parking, and plan to be in your seats at least 15 minutes before the performance begins. Be aware and remain quiet. The theater is a “live” space—you can hear the performers easily, but they can also hear you, and you can hear other audience members, too! Even the smallest sounds, like rustling papers and whispering, can be heard throughout the theater, so it’s best to stay quiet so that everyone can enjoy the performance without distractions. The international sign for “Quiet Please” is to silently raise your index finger to your lips. Show appreciation by applauding. Applause is the best way to show your enthusiasm and appreciation. Performers return their appreciation for your attention by bowing to the audience at the end of the show. It is always appropriate to applaud at the end of a performance, and it is customary to continue clapping until the curtain comes down or the house lights come up. Participate by responding to the action onstage. Sometimes during a performance, you may respond by laughing, crying or sighing. By all means, feel free to do so! Appreciation can be shown in many different ways, depending upon the art form. For instance, an audience attending a string quartet performance will sit very quietly, while the audience at a gospel concert may be inspired to participate by clapping and shouting. Concentrate to help the performers. These artists use concentration to focus their energy while on stage. If the audience is focused while watching the performance, they feel supported and are able to do their best work. They can feel that you are with them! Please note: Backpacks and lunches are not permitted in the theater. Bags will be provided for lobby storage in the event that you bring these with you. There is absolutely no food or drink permitted in the seating areas. Recording devices of any kind, including cameras, cannot be used during performances. Please remember to turn off your cell phone. SchoolTime Cambodia’s Khmer Arts Ensemble | 1 Student Resource Sheet 2 Cambodia’s Khmer Arts Ensemble Questions to Think About During the Performance • What happens in The Lives of Giants? • How do the performers tell the story of the dance? • How did the Khmer Rouge’s rule affect Cambodia? What You’ll See On Monday, October 3, your class will The angels ask the king for help, but he runs attend a performance by Cambodia’s Khmer away, afraid for his own life. The king’s wife, Uma Arts Ensemble. This troupe, led by Sophiline goes to the god Visnu for advice. When Visnu says Cheam Shapiro, performs new works and classic the giant will have to be killed, Uma disagrees, Cambodian dance pieces, set to traditional saying all the giant needs is to discover his kindness Cambodian music. At SchoolTime, the 36-member again, then he’ll stop being violent. Visnu agrees to troupe will perform The Lives of Giants, a story let Uma try her plan, but warns that he’ll step in if drawn from the Reamker, the Cambodian version it doesn’t work. of India’s ancient epic the Ramayana. Uma dances for giant, and the beauty of her performance soon calms him. But as he relaxes and The Story of The Lives of Giants joins Uma in her dance, Visnu becomes impatient A giant who lives in a heavenly kingdom and forces the giant to point his magic finger at has been teased since he was little by a group of himself. The giant rages that he will return in another mischievous angels. Tired of being bullied, he asks life to get his revenge. Then, he falls into Uma’s arms the king for a way to protect himself. The king feels and dies. Seeing more destruction to come, Uma sorry for the giant, and although his wife warns him mourns that violence has won over compassion. not to, the king gives the giant a magic finger with which he can defend himself. At first, the giant is Cambodian Dance unsure about using his magic finger. But when the Traditional Cambodian dance began in the angels start knocking him on the head, he points country’s royal courts. Classical dance centers his finger at them and breaks them into pieces. around tales of gods and goddesses, folk myths or Soon, he goes wild with his new power, destroying stories of royal characters, and were performed as the heavenly kingdom. a way to call on the gods, or give honor to royalty. 2 | Dancers wear elaborate costumes decorated with sequins and semi-precious gems as well as gold headdresses, bracelets and anklets. They use stylized movements and gestures to help tell the story. Hand gestures have clear meanings, some represent items from nature, like fruit, flowers, and leaves, some show thoughts or emotions. A pinpeat ensemble of musicians accompanies the dance, with singers voicing the characters’ words and thoughts. Cambodia Thailand, Laos and Vietnam border Cambodia, as does the Gulf of Thailand on the west coast. Cambodia’s climate is tropical. The rainy monsoon season lasts from May to November; it is dry from December to April. The terrain consists mostly of low, flat plains and mountains in the southwest and north. Phnum Aoral is the highest point. Southeast Asia’s great river, the Mekong, runs through the center of the country and is called Cambodia’s History Tonlé Thom (“Great River”) by Cambodians. Forests The area that is now Cambodia was the and woodlands account for 66% of the land; only center of the Khmer Kingdom of Angkor, a about 13% is farmland. Cambodia is slightly smaller powerful force in Southeast Asia from about than Oklahoma. the 9th to 15th centuries. Cambodia was a Cambodia’s capital, Phnom Penh (pronounced French colony from 1863 to 1953, but gained Nohm Pen) lies on the banks of the Mekong. The its independence in 1953, and entered a short city of Siem Reap (pronounced See-am Reeb) period of peace and prosperity. However, by lies at the north end of the Tonlé Sap lake and the late 1960s, Cambodian was drawn into the is the gateway to Angkor Wat (meaning “capital Vietnam war. In 1975, communist forces known monastery”), the ancient temple complex built as the Khmer Rouge captured Phnom Penh and in the 12th century. Angkor Wat is Cambodia’s emptied cities and towns. Over one million people best-known tourist attraction and appears on the forced from their homes were executed or died country’s flag. The temple is known for its beautiful from hardships. The Khmer Rouge believed that architecture and reliefs. Cambodians needed to return to a simple, farming way of life, so they targeted people they felt were elite – especially teachers, writers, artists and performers. After years of struggle, in 1993, Cambodia held general elections and restored a king to the throne. Today, traditional dance and arts are making a strong comeback, taking their place once again at the center of Cambodian culture. SchoolTime Cambodia’s Khmer Arts Ensemble | 3 About the Performance & Artists Cambodia’s Khmer Arts Ensemble 3 Circus Oz Guiding Questions: ♦ Describe what you might experience at a Khmer Arts Ensemble performance.