The dancer who survived
The Tenth Dancer
A film by Sally Ingleton
Reviewed by Bronwen Beechey
Most of us are aware of the recent history of Cambodia, and the appalling devastation wreaked on that country by the Pol Pot regime. One lesser known effect of Pol Pot's brutality was that 90% of artists were killed, including most of the classical dancers of the Royal Court Ballet.
Em Theay was one of the few to survive. After the overthrow of Pol Pot, she returned to Phnom Penh to rebuild the troupe. There she met up with a former student, Sok Chea, whom she then trained to become one of the principal dancers in her company (now called the National Dance Company). The Tenth Dancer tells the story of Cambodia's survival through these two women.
This documentary is both a portrayal of two strong and determined women and a reminder of the importance of maintaining and rebuilding Cambodia's cultural heritage as well as its economic infrastructure. While the Hung Sen government was supportive of the dancers, it was able to pay them only a minimal salary. This means that the dancers have to supplement their income by dancing for tourists, with the danger that the dances will lose their spiritual significance and become nothing more than a colourful spectacle, as has happened in places like Thailand and Bali.
The Tenth Dancer, which recently screened at the Melbourne International Film Festival to appreciative audiences, has been sold to ABC television. Watch out for it — it's both a timely reminder of the suffering inflicted on Cambodia's people and a moving portrayal of their determination to survive.