Cambodia – History – Royal Ballet: History of Groslier's Apsara Photographs

Excerpts from the script of the television series directed by Christophe Gargiulo with the assistance of His Highness Prince Tesso Sisowath, with the help of the Francophonie and the NGO NKFC, Cambodia Mag invites you to read or rediscover the illustrated script of the second part of the episode entitled ‘’The Time of Discoveries’’

Henri Mouhot

… End of 1859, Mouhot sets off to discover Cambodia. There he meets Abbé Sylvestre, who speaks of ruins buried in the forest. Intrigued by the missionary's descriptions, the naturalist sets off with him in search of them. When he reaches the Angkor site in January 1860, he experiences the shock of his life… Henri Mouhot then recounts: “At the sight of these temples, the mind feels crushed, the imagination surpassed; one looks, one admires, and, seized with respect, one remains silent; for where to find words to praise an architectural work? So unique… one can estimate the buildings of Angkor at more than 3000 years, and roughly two thousand for the most recent ones.”

One of the first major encounters of Cambodian art with the Western world was King Sisowath's trip to France in 1906. Departing from Phnom Penh on May 7, 1906, the king and his delegation arrived in Marseille on June 10, for the Colonial Exhibition.

With his court and the dancers of the Royal Ballet, he continued on to Paris, and met with members of the French government. Each public appearance of the monarch sparked enthusiasm. His good humor and elegant manners charmed the crowds.

King Sisowath

A Cambodian-style theater had been set up to receive the ballerinas, but the success they achieved necessitated a change of venue. The performances then took place on the terrace of the Grand Palais of the Exhibition.

Every evening, more than thirty thousand Parisians crowded around the stage where the ideal forms of the wonderful dancers undulated in the light of the spotlights. It was delirium. People talked of nothing but Cambodia, its King, and its dancers.

The famous French sculptor Auguste Rodin was dazzled. He attended their shows in Paris and Marseille, followed them everywhere to draw them. The little dancers, almost children, were capricious and Rodin kept giving them small gifts to keep them still for even a few moments.

Auguste Rodin

Thus, fascinated by the grace of the Royal Ballet dancers, Rodin produced more than a hundred drawings and watercolors based on the poses of the young ballerinas. He would say these words etched in memory: “These Cambodian women have given us everything that antiquity can contain; their antiquity, which is worth ours. We lived three days from three thousand years ago. It is impossible to see human nature carried to this perfection. There have only been them and the Greeks.”

Aquarelle from Rodin

Georges Groslier, a Frenchman born in Cambodia in 1887, first curator of the Albert Sarraut Museum in Phnom Penh, was also a passionate enthusiast of the Royal Ballet. Some of his works were published, others have just been discovered. More than 800 photos of the Royal Ballet have been restored at the Phnom Penh Museum.

As Bernard Porte from the Phnom Penh Museum recounts: “We are in 1927 and King Sisowath has just died.

And, according to Georges Groslier, the Royal Ballet was not doing well. It was undoubtedly this that prompted this photography campaign, this determination to record a maximum of dance poses. On the other hand, he describes the posing sessions, he describes the character of the dancers, he talks about their clothing. He talks about their role.

This allowed us to identify and recognize the dancers. It was quite moving. These photos were taken in a very, very simple way. It was the same parterre as here with little flowers, the decor was extremely simple. The ballerinas were gathered all around, they took the poses in turn.

A very large photographic apparatus called a ‘’chamber’’ was used. There was a series of 900 shots. It was truly moving, because these photos were taken in the same place where we work today.”

“It is a testimony but they are also shots of great beauty, of great simplicity. Of great restraint, very moving. For now, we don’t have good quality prints. But we will digitize them and obtain high-quality prints, with a lot of detail, a lot of precision, which will help us rediscover the life of these dancers…”