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Cravath takes a fluid movement based art form and makes it dance in his words. Through his elegant descriptions of makeup, hand gestures and dance the reader is able to see the Cambodian dancers from history. He dives into the social settings around the art form which allows the reader to see the exact basis of this dance drama. Cravath clearly explains how the female dancers were there to serve the king, the gods and the land by performing ritual dances to influence monsoons and the land’s growth. Cravath even takes the description of the origins a step further by comparing them to the present day’s dance rituals. Dance started as an element of rituals for the deceased. The idea is the dancing and drums aided the deceased in his passage into the afterlife. During these dances, females would paint their faces white, blacken their teeth and paint their lips red in order to hide their faces and make themselves one with the spirits. The dancers acted as a liaison between the spirit world and earth to enhance the rebirth of the deceased. Dance is also used as a form of offering. From the third to nineteenth centuries, there are records of dancers being given as gifts to the temples or kings. Though they were considered to be slaves, it is believed they were regarded with more respect since their names were much nicer than those of other slaves. The number of dancers increased steadily through this time, groups each being dedicated to different temples or spirits. The belief being that the dancers would offer dances in sacrifice for the spirits so they could have a good afterlife. Dancers ultimately symbolized the interactions of earth: their dances would signify the cohabitation of earth and sky, man and woman, and the Feminine and the Masculine. The dancers were a representation of the welfare of the kingdom: the more dancers, the more offerings and the more fertile and prosperous the kingdom. The dancers were considered the embodiment of “life creating energy” (pp185) and believed to be a connection to the godly world. In this century, dance is still used to balance the forces of nature. In a royal ceremony, the buong suong, the dancers will dance to the feminine gods to bring rain to the country. These are private events with few records. From what is known, the dances that are to be performed are known by classically trained dancers but the difference comes from the deities appearing in the main characters. There is also a weekly ceremony to assure good health for themselves and proper rhythm for the dancers. Today however, there is little ritual dance left in Cambodia. The classical tradition is fading as Cambodia grows more modern. It believed that there are not enough records to continue this tradition. The use of pictures enhance Cravath’s article by showing the exact position of hands or the stylized costumes they have in Cambodia. I feel as though there could be more pictures to demonstrate all the caveats mentioned in the article. I feel as though a diagram for the four pillars of the stage would be a useful tool in explaining the importance of the structure. Cravath spends a lot of the article mentioning how Cambodian dance drama is not from India or like Indian dance. His point however is overshadowed by the tone of his words. By constantly mentioning the differences, he makes it sounds as though it would be bad thing to come from India. I wish he would have shown the influences of outside nations on this dance drama as several countries in Southeast Asia tend to borrow from one another. Over all, his article is diminished by the constant negation of the possibility that Cambodia could have been influenced by India.
 * The Rituals and Origins of the Classical Dance Drama of Cambodia **. By Paul Cravath. __ATJ__, Fall 1886. pp 179-203.