APSARAS;THE MESSENGERS OF THE DIVINE


  • Photographer
    JAVIER SANCHEZ-MONGE ESCARDO
  • Prize
    Honorable Mention
  • Company/Studios
    PERIODISTAS EN ESPAÑOL
  • Date of Photograph
    11/10/2012
  • Technical Info
    F2.8 SPEED1/50ISO400

Carved into the ancient temples of Angkor Watt in Cambodia, there are extremely beautiful and enigmatic figures of dancers dating to the 12th century and who seemed not to belong into this world. These enigmatic figures represent the Divine Apsara dancers, who, according to the Hindu and Buddhist mythology, they were the female spirit of the clouds and waters. On the other hand, they were the wives of the Gandharvas, the court servants of Indra, and danced to the music composed by them, performing for the Gods and the fallen heroes. During the Angkor Watt period it is believed that since the Kings of the Era belonged as well to the realm of the Divine, they had the Apsara Dancers as lovers, and they performed very sensual and complex dances in order to please the Kings. To be an Apsara dancer was considered an important honor, and they had very expensive clothes and jewelry made of gold. In Cambodia ,the traditional Apsara dancing was passed on from generation to generation and during the Khmer Rouge Era it was suppressed for many years, along with all the Cambodian arts. At the present, a big effort is being done to recover it, and some old teachers who knew how to dance Apsara before that period are trying to rescue the complex movements of the dance. Today, there are similar dances around Asia, such as in Thailand, Indonesia or India, but the Cambodian dancers try to remain as close as possible to the dancing rituals performed during the Angkor Era. The dream of many Cambodian girls is to become an Apsara dancer, but they are afraid that this type of dance will not be understood in the international arena, and therefore becoming difficult for them to earn a stable income.

You can create multiple entries, and pay for them at the same time.
Just go to your History, and select multiple entries that you would like to pay for.