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Another annual Christmas tradition in Phnom Penh is the Christmas pageant put on by the students from the Salesian Sisters' Vocational Training Center for Girls in Tuol Kork, an area on the northern edge of the city. This year the performance was moved to another school of the sisters in Teuk Thla because construction underway in Tuok Kork has left no place for a stage. |
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Every performance in Khmer culture starts with a graceful classical Khmer blessing dance.
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Folk dances are a strong part of the Khmer tradition also, and here the girls assume both the male and female parts in a dance about village life and the rhythms of the fields.
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The centerpiece of the annual Christmas pageant is a simple drama performed in English by the students. Each year the drama has been adapted from a popular Christmas story by Kathy Morefield, a Maryknoll affiliate who has worked with the girls school.
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The pre-school children at the Teuk Thla campus were invited to the pageant but they were too young--and too far in the back--to really appreciate the different performances.
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Miss Bospa Panh is a twelve-year old musical prodigy who has been performing frequently recently in Phnom Penh. She is a talented soprano with a strong voice and a broad range, and she also is an accomplished guitarist.
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The final act of the pageant was a modern dance medley performed by a group of vocational students.
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