Hello everyone! As my appreticeship is nearing the end, I’m am quite sad, but proud of the improvements I have made. My fifth set of workshops wasn’t as bad, probably because compared to the last set, this set felt a little more relaxed. This was my last face-to-face workshops, but we’re not totally done yet. We mainly worked on reviewing the dances I have learned with her. Of course I was still soaked after every training, but she did do a lot of talking. She mainly spoke to me about how I was going to maintain my new knowledge and how I would like to make dancing a routine.
Neak Kru Charya showed me a video of her from 2000 when she went back to Cambodia. In the video was her teacher, Neak Kru Leas, who have passed on now. Neak Kru Charya had a “Sompeah Kru” ceremony for her teacher which is a ceremony to thank your teacher, a very old tradition. After the ceremony, Neak Kru Leas sang and reviewed a “Buong Soung” and “Preah Vorachun” with Neak Kru Charya. Though in her late 70s, Neak Kru Leas was still very strong and memorizing to watch. It was very interesting to see my teacher be the student and seeing her get hit for her mistakes. By seeing this video, it made me realize that my teacher was once in the same position I am today and it is very motivating to me that one day I hope to be as amazing as Neak Kru Charya.
Mea
P.S. Pictures will come soon!