Hi all!I'm an aspiring illustrator. I love to draw cultural things. Right now I am interested in Cambodian arts and culture. Recently I've done a piece of the Apsara dance....

What do u think?I know it's not perfect, 'cos I had little refferences. But I enjoyed doing it.

Right now I'm trying to find a classical Cambodian dance like Apsara, but danced by male. Is there such thing?If u could, pls give some information, or preferably, pics.

Thank u in advance, GBU

hey that's preey nice. good job.
check out the other threads about Khmer dance and stuff to see more pics.

WOW! That's very nice. You got every single little detail. The bracelets, the pleats, the flowers. etc. So good.

Well, in Cambodian dance, there isn't a traditional complementary male role for the Apsara. In mythology, their husbands are called the Gandharvas (or Kanthop in Khmer) but they don't exist in the dance. And even if there were Gandharvas in Khmer dance, they would probably be dance by female dancers like in most roles.

The closest thing that you can probably pair an apsara with are these demi-gods.


Ok, here are some bas-relief of gandharvas (who are celestial musicians by the way).

Hey Dara, whats going on with Pamina Devi, have they performed it in the U.S. yet??

Pamina Devi is still in the works I think. It has yet to make a premiere performance for a public audience.

Dope work bro! Hope to see more work from you!

By the way, are you attending Pictoplasma festival in Berlin also next week? It's a conference for character based art. Tim Biskup and Gary Baseman a.o are coming!

so anime-ish, but very good with little reference used

dara, is that a khmer folk dance? i've never seen male perform any apsara dance, except the javanese ones ..

Woww, I LOVE the pics from u, Dara!Thanks a lot!The costume is so beautiful!What is the name of the dance?I'd love to draw this one. I'm so excited right now

To everyone else, thx for ur comments. My style is absolutely manga/anime, that's just the way I want it


Can u recommend a site which features Cambodian dances (with pictures, of course)?

No prob. Well, this dance is very new. And like I said earlier, the general public has never seen it before. It is all part of this dance drama called Pamina Devi which is going to premiere in Vienna in December 2006.

There is another dance which features these demi-gods and that is the dance which tells the story about the churning sea of milk. In the same dance there are apsaras which sprout out (this dance is also relatively new, maybe a few years old or something I think).

Pamina Devi?Sounds interestng!I wish I could see it. Maybe they will have a world tour someday;)
But where are the pictures?I can't see them!I didn't save it the last time, I intend to do it now, but they're gone:(

that dance call in Khmer as: " Ko Samut Tik Dors". The giant gain the power pf angel. they match by pull the dragon. the angel at the tail and the giant at the head of the dragon.

that dance rare show unless there no special occasion or ceremony in the country.



i am appreciate to see that paint. i wish that one day the Apasara dance will be in animation even 2d or 3d.

Ko Samut Tik Dors?Thank you very much for the information...do you have any more pics of Cambodian dance performed by male dancers?

Well, according the the site I got that photo from, it states that it is from "Pamina Devi."

I've seen Ko Samut Toek Daoh (Churning of the Sea of Milk) before, and it appears different. For one, there are at least 20 or so male dancers which include devatas (demi-gods), Vishnu, and asuras all lined up in a tug of war.