A dancer arched her hands in various gestures while bending her knees as she explained the symbolism behind Cambodian dances at an event Sunday.
“Cambodian dance has 4,500 hand gestures, like a vocabulary,” said Khannia Ok, associate artistic director of the Khmer Arts Academy. “It mimics nature and the circle of life, … speaks through body and facial expressions … and represents resilience.”
Ok held a dance workshop at the 13th Annual Khmer Student Coalition Conference at UCLA on Sunday. About 200 students from across California attended the event, which was held by the United Khmer Students, a student organization that promotes Cambodian culture.
Workshops focused on various contemporary issues Cambodian-Americans face, such as mental health stigma and a lack of LGBTQ representation, as well as aspects of Cambodian culture such as traditional dance, which has a history dating back to the 10th century.
Ok said she thinks the narrative vocabulary of Cambodian dance explains its historical popularity amongst Cambodians.
“It is a true model and image that the beginning of Cambodian history began long before the Khmer Rouge (regime),” she said.
UKS Co-President Cindy Chou, a fourth-year mechanical engineering student, said she thinks people tend to only think of the genocide committed by the Khmer Rouge, which took place in Cambodia from 1975 to 1979, when discussing Cambodia, and overlook the country’s culture and traditions.
“As a club, we decided to move forward and think about the future,” Chou said.
The conference also featured workshops about mental health. One workshop covered the struggles Cambodian refugees experience while recovering from post-traumatic stress disorder.
Jaimie Chou, a mental health professional, said during the workshop many Cambodian refugees are still recovering from human rights violations they experienced during the Khmer Rouge regime and the events that followed. Chou encouraged students whose extended family members are still recuperating from the trauma of being refugees to reach out to resources such as therapy or counseling.
“The process is like a journey; it depends on the individual,” Chou said.
Chou added she thinks Cambodian-American students will be able to better connect with and support older generations of Cambodians if they learn about their culture and family history.
“You have incredible talent, your parents have incredible survival skills,” Chou said. “If you work together, you will be a great force.”
Several individuals who attended the event said they learned about parts of Cambodian culture and history they were previously unaware of.
Chanwattey He, a Cambodian-American freshman at Woodrow Wilson High School in Los Angeles, said she thinks the event offered an opportunity to ask questions about Cambodian history.
“It’s good for questions we’ve not really talked about in general,” she said.
Cynthia Gonzalez, who teaches and works with nonprofit organizations in Cambodia, said the event helped her learn more about her students’ background.
Cindy Chou said the conference is part of UKS’ effort to help Cambodian-Americans learn more about their culture, history and identity, while focusing on the future of their community.
“Being in UKS and hosting this conference is a way of passing culture along and hoping that … it can affect them in a positive way as well,” Chou said.