By Rithy Kimheng
Pka Sla – Betel Flower: The Khmer Arts Theatre is a place where Khmer Classical dance is painstakingly preserved. During the Khmer Rouge regime (1975-1979), Khmer dance was banned. Most of its practitioners were killed or died due to forced labor or starvation. In the aftermath, the few surviving artists in Phnom Penh struggle to rebuild the tradition. Sophilline Cheam Shapiro, a founder and artistic director of the Khmer Arts Academy, is also a Khmer Rouge survivor, an experience that influenced her work in many ways.