An evening at the Apsara dance in Siem Reap

I like to believe in the fairy tale, moonlight rendezvous, and happily ever afters. Call it being a starstruck child at heart, or someone who could nearly live off fairy tales as a child, but pretty mystical things still draw me a lot. Thus, it is no wonder that in Siem Reap, I would make time in my really tight schedule to experience the famous Cambodian apsara dance.

Apsara dance and tropical rain showers

It is a strange coincidence that during both my visits, Cambodia was experiencing heavy rain. However, they were not maddening downpours, but rather romantic thunderstorms that send pre-shower whiffs of lusty earth, crackle dark skies with streaky lightning, and tear down frangipani blossoms with their slantwise, needle-fine lashing rain. The rain showers start with a brooding expectancy, soaring sultriness, and they gradually stop at a relaxed pace. Post those rain lashings, Siem Reap smells fresher, feels cooler, and somehow seems to soften its blatant commercialism. It dons a more local aura, and Khmer life comes bustling forward. Tired tuk-tuk drivers can be seen relaxing at their favourite eateries with their friends, rather than hustling tourists for Apsara dance shows, and at the night market, entire families sit down for dinner amidst stacks of cheap touristy clothing.

The Cambodian apsara dance depicts tales of the Ramayana and the Mahabharata

Grilling smoke from food carts heaped with grilled entrails, insects, or other meaty bits fills the local lanes of Siem Reap, and televisions blast out football or Indian soaps dubbed in the Khmer language. The Uber commercial Siem Reap livens up at the Angkor Night Market, and popular watering holes like the Red Piano Bar get filled with thirsty travellers. At chic upscale establishments, posh dinner shows get laid out for the visitors‘ pleasure, and dancing bells tinkle into the Khmer nights. Delicate sound of porcelain, hushed conversation, and traditional Khmer music pour out, and the Apsara dance bedazzles the crowds. The apsaras or the celestial beauties of the Hindu mythology appear on the Cambodian stages as lithe dancers, and tales of Ramayana, Churning of the Sea of Milk get depicted.

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Siem Reap evening entertainment calls for an apsara dance

One of the most popular and enchanting evening programmes of Cambodia, the Apsara Dance is one of the must-see things to do, and Siem Reap hosts the best recitals in the country. Held at several venues across the city, these cultural shows come as packages which include a buffet dinner and a collection of traditional dance spectacles. The highlight is, of course, the Apsara Dance, which is a classical Khmer dance created by the Royal Ballet of Cambodia in the mid 20th century. Also known as Roam Tep Apsara, the beautifully costumed dancers are the signature style, and Queen Sisowath Kossomak had nurtured it passionately. She chose her own granddaughter, Princess Norodom Buppha Devi, to be its first prima ballerina, and the lovely, fine-boned young woman was selected to be a dancer since she was a baby. She gave her first Apsara performance during her grandfather King Norodom‘s tenure and toured the world promoting this beautiful traditional art form.

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Apsara dance, a Cambodian passion nurtured by royals throughout centuries

Today, talented apsara dancers hail from schools from all across Cambodia, and all of them dream of performing it at Angkor. Incidentally, the famously bewitching costumes of the performers of the Apsara dance are inspired by the carvings on the bas-reliefs at Angkor Wat, and they are a combination of rich brocade, jewellery, and flowers. Derived from Indian court dances which trace the origins of apsaras as celestial beauties who perform for the gods, the Khmer Apsara dancers wear an intricately pleated brocade dress accessorised with their signature five or three-pointed bejewelled headdress. Decorated with flowers, the headdress is completed with glittering gold jewellery, intricate anklets, and garlands of jasmine. A Khmer Apsara dancer is indeed a spectacular sight, and the performance is a photographer‘s delight. Uniquely Khmer, the Apsara dancers move with slow, poised grace, and it is a subtle, restrained dance with arched, taut postures and mysterious codified facial expressions.

After the Apsara dance, go a bit folksy with the peacock dance of Cambodia

I spent a memorable Siem Reap evening watching a traditional cultural show. It was held at the lovely La Noria Hotel, and the evening included a fusion dinner, Khmer shadow puppetry, and traditional dances, which included Apsara, Masked Dance, etc. A few interesting folk dances like the Peacock mating, Fishermen dance, Harvest dance were also included, and the folk performances were fast, rhythmic, and foot tapping. The night was young when I returned to my hotel, and sleepless under a mosquito net, I could smell an impending tropical storm as glittering apsaras swayed every time I closed my eyes. The combination of the storm and the dancing apsaras was magical, and it is rightly said that some of the most beautiful moments can be found in solitude, within one‘s imagination. Needless to say, the memories of that evening remain fresh on my mind, and perhaps it was because of the Angkor thunderstorm, my overactive imagination, the magic of the Apsara dance, or everything put together, which made the Siem Reap experience so unforgettable.

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Apsara Dance Travel Tip

The evening Khmer cultural package comes with dinner (a la carte or buffet), Apsara dance, masked dance, shadow puppetry, golden mermaid dance, and folk performances. The Royal University of Fine Arts stages Apsara dance performances only on very special occasions ( for example, on Khmer New Year, King‘s Birthday) and these are held in front of Angkor Wat and sometimes at Phnom Penh.

Listed below are the hotels and restaurants offering apsara dance shows in Siem Reap.

Alliance Cafe
Opening Hours: Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday – Dinner 19:00/ Show 20:00
Duration: 1 hour
Type: Shadow Puppet Theatre and Traditional Khmer Dance
Dinner type: Khmer set menu or à la carte
Note: No show during May & June
Price Range: Set menu + show $20.00, Show only $7.00

Apsara Terrace
Opening Hours: Monday, Wednesday, Friday – Dinner 19:00 / Show 19:45.
Location: Raffles Grand Hotel d’Angkor
Type: Traditional Khmer Dance & Khmer Martial Arts
Price Range: Adults – $40, Children under 12 – $25.50

Apsara Theatre
Opening Hours: Every day – Dinner 19:30 / Show 20:30
Duration: 1 hour
Type: Traditional Khmer Dance
Dinner type: Khmer set menu
Price Range: Adults – $25, Children under 12 – $12.50

La Noria Hotel
Opening Hours: Wednesday & Sunday at 19:30
Duration: 1 hour (1/2 hour Shadow Puppet & 1/2 hour Traditional Dance)
Type: Shadow Puppet and Traditional Khmer Dance
Dinner type: A La Carte
Price Range: $6.00 per person

Temple Balcony
Opening Hours: Every day at 19:30.
Duration: 2 hours
Type: Traditional Khmer Dance
Dinner type: A La Carte
Price Range: Free

Follow the rest of the Cambodia series

• Phnom Penh city portraits
• The lake life of Tonle Sap
• The river sculptures of Banteay Srei and Phnom Kulen
• Ta Prohm impressions
• Things to do in Battambang
• New Year at Angkor Wat
• Battambang Delights
• Khmer fresh produce in Phnom Penh
• Khmer Food Memories

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