Inside the Mind of an Artist
Through the McKnight International Fellowship residency program, each year an international choreographer is funded to collaborate with Twin Cities dance artists and showcase works-in-progress. Sophiline Cheam Shapiro is one of our recipients of the 2013 McKnight Fellowship. Cheam Shapiro is a Cambodian choreographer, dancer, vocalist, and educator with incredible knowledge, ideas, and energy to share with her audiences. The history of Cheam Shapiro’s life reveals why the art that she creates is so significant in its context.
Here’s a sneak-peek from the performance program on Cheam Shapiro’s history: “In 1975, Sophiline Cheam Shapiro was just eight years old when the Khmer Rouge forced her and her family to leave their home. Fleeing to the countryside, they struggled to survive. By the end of the regime in 1979, the country had lost nearly 90% of its artists and scholars, and Sophiline had lost her father and two brothers. Returning to the city with her mother and six sisters, she started her dance training at the Royal Academy in Phnom Penh where surviving artists had started to revive the traditions of Cambodian dance. She realized the healing power of art, and the role that she could play in the rebuilding of Cambodian culture. Since then, her work has embraced Cambodia’s rich storytelling tradition, building on traditional forms and their aesthetic beauty, but also addressing contemporary issues.”
The history of this woman and the influence of the events of the Khmer regime on Cheam Shapiro’s life including the personal impact of the loss of family members are remarkable and awe-inspiring.
On Thursday, April 4 at 4:00 pm, join us for the Thursdays at Four: A Bend in the River event with public conversation between Sophiline Cheam Shapiro and Artistic Directors, Choreographers, and Principal Dancers of Ragamala Dance, Ranee and Aparna Ramaswamy, on the eve of the world premiere of the Khmer Art Ensemble’s A Bend in the River. We are excited to have Ranee and Aparana Ramaswamy in conversation with Sophiline as these artists collectively view the classical form as dynamic in conveying contemporary concepts.
Also, prior to the Khmer Arts Ensemble performance, connect with Sophiline Cheam Shapiro at the Khmer Arts Ensemble Performance Preview Friday, April 5 at 6:45 pm for an in-depth conversation led by Carl Flink and Emilie Plauché Flink at Solera Restaurant. Carl Flink and Emilie Plauché Flink have a long list of dance and choreography experience. We are thrilled to have the recognized and award-winning husband-and-wife duo in leading this conversation with pointed and insightful discussion points featuring world renowned Sophiline Cheam Shapiro.
The inspirational Cheam Shapiro and her art embodies the desperately needed healing for her country and all of those who suffered at the hand of the Khmer Rouge. Don’t miss these two exciting events with Khmer Arts Ensemble Artistic Director and 2013 McKnight International Fellow, Sophiline Cheam Shapiro!
