by Clémence DEVILLE | Sep 12, 2024
This year, Phare Ponleu Selpak has taken a meaningful step toward creating new opportunities for young female dancers. In February, thanks to funding from the International Organization of La Francophonie (OIF) we launched a new project aimed at improving the learning...
by CHIERN Piseth Samphallyka | Jul 11, 2024
If you haven’t already heard of SOK Dina, then prepare to be amazed. Dina is the first performer from Cambodia to join Cirque du Soliel in Montreal, Canada. Dina is also a circus alumnus from Phare Performing Arts School. From 2005 to 2011, Dina – and his friend and...
![Meet the Volunteers of Phare Ponleu Selpak: Soree KIM, Communications & Marketing Intern [Video]](https://phareps.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/soree-kim-volunteer-internship-phare-ponleu-selpak.jpg)
by Eliot Witherspoon | May 16, 2024
This past academic year, Phare Ponleu Selpak received two student volunteers from the United States. They have spent around 7 months at Phare and will be leaving soon to start their first year of university. As a farewell, we asked a few questions about their...
![Meet the Volunteers of Phare Ponleu Selpak: Eliot WITHERSPOON, Communications & Marketing Intern [Video]](https://phareps.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/volunteering-opportunity-phare-ponleu-selpak-cambodia.jpg)
by Soree KIM | May 2, 2024
This past year, Phare Ponleu Selpak received two student volunteers from the United States. They have spent around seven months at Phare and will be leaving soon to start their first year of university. As a farewell, we asked a few questions about their internship...
by Soree KIM | Apr 17, 2024
From all the teachers, students, and staff at Phare Ponleu Selpak: Happy World Circus Day! World Circus Day was founded on 17 April 2009 by the Federation Mondiale du Cirque to celebrate and promote traditional circus arts all over the world – and that includes...
by Emma Perry | Mar 7, 2024
Volunteering demonstrates the best of our shared humanity. Whenever we donate time, talent, or specific skills to a community organization, we have the chance to make the world a better place and impact real people in a responsible and meaningful way. And as our...
by CHIERN Piseth Samphallyka | Feb 15, 2024
At Phare Ponleu Selpak, we are fortunate to work with volunteers and interns from across Cambodia and around the world. It’s one of the best parts of being on our team – you get to form friendships and meet people from everywhere! This week we’re proud to interview...
by CHAN Rattanakoudom | Jan 11, 2024
If you’re a fan of circus, then you know that one of the biggest circus festivals in Southeast Asia is returning this year to Battambang, Cambodia: the Tini Tinou International Circus Festival. In preparation for the 12th edition of Tini Tinou, circus artists from...
by CHIERN Piseth Samphallyka | Jan 5, 2024
When you think of Cambodia, it’s easy to think about its amazing temples and ancient ruins – especially Angkor Wat – along with its rich cultural heritage. Khmer traditional dance is a key part of Cambodian arts and culture. In fact, the beauty and softness of...
by Olivia AUDO | Dec 21, 2023
The campus of Phare Ponleu Selpak is home to volunteers from Cambodia and all around the world. This week, we’re proud to interview Eva Xiste who is from France but doing her university studies in London. During her time at Phare, Eva helped change lives through the...
by LEE Junghwa (Smiley) | Dec 13, 2023
Today, the world is closely connected, and individuals, communities, and countries live in complex interdependencies. Individual lives are connected not only to the local communities and countries to which they belong, but also to the global population. Because of...
by Bryce MERKL SASAKI | Nov 28, 2023
Wherever you are in the world, we hope you’re having a great GivingTuesday! At Phare Ponleu Selpak, we’re gearing up for a big challenge: In 2024, we’re celebrating our 30th anniversary all year long with a series of special events, fundraisers, art festivals, and...
by CHAN Rattanakoudom | Oct 26, 2023
Pchum Ben Festival is a fifteen-day Khmer festival that honors the memory and legacy of the seven generations of ancestors for many people in Cambodia. About 60 members of the Phare Ponleu Selpak community, mostly including Phare Kindergarten, practiced and...
by Emma Perry | Oct 19, 2023
The campus of Phare Ponleu Selpak is home to volunteers from Cambodia and all around the world. This week we’re proud to interview KIM Eunkyoo from South Korea who’s helping change lives through the arts across a few different subjects. Across the table, KIM Eunkyoo...
![Artist Talk: Understanding Khmer Contemporary Art [Video]](https://phareps.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/sart-festival-contemporary-arts-battambang-cambodia.png)
by Olivia AUDO | Sep 7, 2023
The tension between Khmer art preservation and development has been growing recently. During the 2023 S’Art Urban Art Festival, there were several discussions about arts and shared cultural heritage. This discussion with artists attempted to explain and...
![Meet the Volunteers of Phare Ponleu Selpak: Juliette DELORON, Graphic Designer [Video]](https://phareps.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/volunteering-battambang-cambodia-phare-ponleu-selpak-juliette-deloron.jpg)
by CHIERN Piseth Samphallyka | Aug 22, 2023
Changing lives through the arts requires the work of extraordinary teachers, staff, and volunteers from across Cambodia and all around the world. One volunteer we’re proud to have worked with is Juliette DELORON from Strasbourg, France. Juliette has been working...
![UNESCO: Understanding Shared Cultural Heritage in the Mekong Region [Video]](https://phareps.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/unesco-sart-festival-panel-mekong-shared-cultural-heritage.jpg)
by Bryce MERKL SASAKI | Jul 27, 2023
What is cultural heritage? And what does it mean (or not mean) to share it with other overlapping ethnicities and cultures in the region? If you didn’t attend the S’Art Urban Arts Festival in June 2023 held here in Battambang, you might have missed out on the panel...
by Bryce MERKL SASAKI | Jul 20, 2023
When you purchase a ticket to the Phare Battambang Circus, did you know you’re supporting an entire community? It’s true. The funds from your ticket impact a wide variety of people and programs throughout Battambang Cambodia. But First… Before we dive into specifics,...
by Bryce MERKL SASAKI | Jul 13, 2023
You might know about Phare Ponleu Selpak for our circus shows in Battambang or for the arts education we offer to children, youth, and young adults in the community, but did you know we also offer our students a wide range of social support programs? One of those...
by PPS Editor | Jul 17, 2022
As societies evolve, the difficulties that young people face – and the social support they need – change accordingly. For example, today’s youth in Cambodia have to deal with a number of challenges, including: Scholastic and peer pressure Family breakdowns or...
by PPS Editor | Jul 15, 2022
Current situation Malnutrition still impacts many children in Cambodia. Rice, some meat and vegetables is in their diet but seldom fruit and dairy products, because they are not affordable by vulnerable households. Moreover, Cambodians consume excessive amount of...
by PPS Editor | Apr 5, 2022
On 23 March 2022 Phare Ponleu Selpak hosted a roundtable discussion on child protection and the promotion of positive discipline for children under the topic, “How to Apply Positive Discipline at School”, with seven guest speakers, including Mr. Chhun Ramy, Deputy...
by PPS Editor | Oct 25, 2021
It’s been more than a year our visual arts students have been on and off school following the government’s protocol as the pandemic spread over Cambodia. We had shown you back then how the first home confinement had provided Phare Ponleu Selpak students...
by PPS Editor | Jul 7, 2021
Phare Ponleu Selpak is still taking an active role in the “Love Does Not Hurt Campaign”: a three-year advocacy campaign launched in 2020 to push for an end to Humiliating/Corporal Punishment and to promote Positive Discipline in the Southeast Asian Region....
by PPS Editor | Mar 18, 2021
History was made at 08.10 am on Monday 8 March in Battambang, Cambodia when no less than 90 circus performers from Phare Ponleu Selpak took a final bow after a continuous circus performance that lasted 24h, 10min, and 30sec in a stunningly ambitious Guinness World...
by PPS Editor | Feb 12, 2021
Do you want to be a Guinness World Record Breaker? And help Phare survive the pandemic? Then please join us on March 6 & 7 for our thrilling virtual gala and record-breaking Longest Circus Peformance Ever! We want you to join us for ONE EXCITING HOUR, where...
by PPS Editor | Dec 28, 2020
Those who have visited our campus after fall 2019 must remember the iconic « Anapyabal » mural on our circus building, painted by the world-famous Irish urban artist FinDac. After his visit to Battambang and Phare Ponleu Selpak, he made limited edition prints of...
by PPS Editor | Dec 23, 2020
Along with our main programs targeting the youth, we continue to develop greater community outreach projects with « Voice of older people – Amplifying Voice Through the Arts », which aims to use the arts as an innovative tool to raise awareness in the community...
by PPS Editor | Nov 11, 2020
Cirque du Cambodia is a documentary film showcasing the success story of Dina and Sopha, from their teenage years in Phare Performing Arts School until they became the first Cambodians to perform with the worldwide famous Cirque du Soleil. Starting on November 20,...
by PPS Editor | Sep 7, 2020
After all Cambodian schools closed in March, the Education Department at Phare Ponleu Selpak responded by developing outreach programs in the surrounding communes to provide our kindergarten children with face to face, socially distanced classes. We started off with a...
by PPS Editor | Jun 14, 2020
Working in times of COVID-19 can be unsettling. Behind the scenes of Phare Ponleu Selpak, our staff and students tell us about their concerns and their strengths. ” What is happening is worse than anything I had expected. All art workshops, shows, outside...
by PPS Editor | Mar 26, 2020
Dear supporters and followers, I never imagined to be in the midst of a global pandemic during my lifetime. It is as if we have been thrown into an horror movie activating our survival instincts. Everyone in the world is being impacted in some way or another. With...
by PPS Editor | Mar 11, 2020
Last month, our Big Top hosted an array of short showcases thoroughly prepared by our younger performing arts students and their leisure class teachers. A unique opportunity for them to gain valuable stage experience and showcase their talent. Among the acts was the...
by PPS Editor | Dec 17, 2019
This year marks an important year for Phare Ponleu Selpak as we are celebrating our 25th anniversary! On this special occasion we organized two fundraising galas, one gala in Cambodia and one in France. Our heartfelt thanks go out to all our supporters in Cambodia...
by PPS Editor | Dec 13, 2019
Sokia, our physiotherapist at Phare, joined Phare Ponleu Selpak in 2004 and has been with us since the early days of our child support initiatives. Here’s what he has to say about the evolution of child support at Phare. “When I started at Phare, there were...
by PPS Editor | Dec 13, 2019
Phare Ponleu Selpak is dedicated to upholding the rights of all children. To this end, Child Club was created in February 2015, by 30 students from 16 different villages in the communes of Ochar, Chamcar Samrong and Toul Taek. It comes from the idea that children...
by PPS Editor | Nov 6, 2019
November marks the end of the European Union Aid Volunteers (EUAV) deployment after they have joined Phare team this past year. The volunteers arrived in November, January or June for a duration of six months, nine months, or one year. The 10 volunteers have offered...
by PPS Editor | Oct 25, 2019
A brand new circus show called FENCE has been launched on our Battambang campus! This new performance is the fruit of a collaboration between our Performing Arts School and the Austrian Theater Der Sprachfehler. Its authors Andreas Jaehnert and Christian Kuehne spent...
by PPS Editor | Oct 10, 2019
Before joining Phare Ponleu Selpak, Xavier Gobin had a successful career as a dancer, collaborating with great creators such as Maurice Béjart and Jiri Kylian. However, very quickly, Gobin felt the desire to give others the same chances he had, of experiencing the...
by PPS Editor | Oct 10, 2019
Keeping children safe is everyone’s responsibility. To ensure that we stay on top of child protection, all Phare Ponleu Selpak staff received a one-day training in August to get a better understanding of our child protection policy. They became more familiar with its...
by PPS Editor | Mar 31, 2017
For nearly 25 years, Phare Ponleu Selpak has been using the arts to transform the lives of children in Battambang, Cambodia. Originally, we helped refugee children cope with trauma through drawing and arts education. Over the years, we added more arts, including...
by PPS Editor | Apr 20, 2015
What do you imagine when you think about the sorts of classes circus artists take part in here at Phare Ponleu Selpak? Flips and trapezes? Sequins and tightropes? Not always. Recently, Phare performing arts students took part in financial literacy workshops thanks to...
