Cambodian Royal Dance Drama is also called Khmer Classical Dance. This form of art is closely connected with Khmer court and is well-known for its elegant gesture and colorful costumes. This dance performance appears at various royal celebrations and ceremonies， like coronations， weddings， funerals and Khmers’ festivals. This art which luckily got away from the catastrophe in 1970s has always been cherished by Cambodians.

It is said that， the history of the dance is as long as that of Khmers. The statues of the dance have appeared as early as in the 9th century in some famous temples of Angkor Wat. Through the ages， the dance has a sacred symbolic role in embodying the traditional values of elegance， reverence and spirituality. The plays of the dance promote the conservation of the myth related to Khmers’ origin. For that reason， Cambodians always treat this tradition as the symbol of Khmer culture.

柬埔寨皇家舞劇，也稱高棉古典舞。該藝術(shù)形式與高棉宮廷緊密相連，以其優(yōu)雅的手勢和色彩艷麗的服飾而著稱。在王室的各種慶典和儀式上，諸如加冕禮、婚禮、葬禮或是高棉人的節(jié)日等等，都有這種舞蹈表演。這一僥幸逃脫了20世紀70年代浩劫的藝術(shù)，一直受到柬埔寨人的珍視。

據(jù)說，這種舞蹈的歷史和高棉人民的歷史一樣久遠。舞蹈的雕像，早在9世紀就出現(xiàn)在吳哥窟的一些著名廟宇里。長久以來，這種舞蹈具有一種神圣的象征性作用，它體現(xiàn)著高雅、崇敬和靈性等傳統(tǒng)價值。其劇目促進了有關(guān)高棉人民起源的神話的保存。因此，柬埔寨人一直把這項傳統(tǒng)當(dāng)作高棉文化的象征。

The classical dance drama has four types of role： Neang， Neayrong， Yeak and Sva， and every role has its own unique color， costume， make-up， mask and gesture. These stylized gestures and posture can only be mastered through years of training. They can express man’s emotions and sensory pleasures， like fear， anger， love and happiness. During the performance， the band plays solemn music for accompaniment and a female chorus explains the development of the plot and emotions conveyed by the dance through singing. These graceful dancers are regarded as messengers between the king and God and ancestors.

古典舞劇一共有四種角色類型：女人（Neang），男人（Neayrong），巨人（Yeak）和猴子（Sva），每種角色都有其獨特的色彩、服裝、化妝、面具和手勢。這些程式化的手勢和姿態(tài)，要求多年的訓(xùn)練才可掌握，它表現(xiàn)人類的七情六欲，諸如恐懼、憤怒、愛與歡喜等等。在舞蹈表演過程中，由樂隊演奏莊嚴的音樂為其伴奏，一支女子合唱隊用歌聲為劇情的發(fā)展以及舞蹈所傳達的情感進行解說。這些高雅的舞蹈者被人們看作是國王與上帝和祖先之間的信使。