Phare Cambodian Circus

We showered, rested and had dinner at the hotel. Doug had arranged for tickets to the "Phare Circus".

Phare artists are students and graduates from Phare Ponleu Selpak’s (www.phareps.org) vocational training center in Battambang. The association was formed in 1994 by 9 young men coming home from a refugee camp after the Khmer Rouge regime. They were greatly helped during that time by an art teacher using drawing classes as therapy and wanted to share this new skill among the poor, socially deprived and troubled youngsters in Battambang. They founded an art school and public school followed to offer free education. A music school and theatre school were next and finally, for the kids who wanted more, the circus school. Today more than 1,200 pupils attend the public school daily and 500 attend the alternative schools.

Phare The Cambodian Circus is the social business extension of Phare Ponleu Selpak. - roughly translated, The Brightness of the Arts school. The circus provides job opportunities to the school’s graduates, allowing them to hone their skills, earn a decent wage and give them self-respect and freedom, breaking the cycle of poverty. Revenue generated also funds the school’s academic and artistic education programs as well as community support and engagement.

We had underestimated the effect that the "River Festival" that was running March 15-16 would have on our transportation to the Phare Circus across town. It was an incredible crowd scene of traffic and people but we managed to get there with a tuk tuk driver working partly at the hotel who was very pleasant. It was more of a cultural show than "circus"; very enjoyable with some impressive music, theatrics and acrobatics (no net - YIKES!). We were on bench seating at the top and luckily for Doug, no one in front of him so he could stretch his legs out; otherwise it would have been a cramped hour. The talent these gymnasts showed was absolutely world-class / Cirque de Soleil level stuff.Lue lisää