Charya Cheam Burt (born July 15, 1970) is a Cambodia-born American dancer, choreographer, vocalist, and teacher of
Khmer classical dance. She is founder of Charya Burt Cambodian Dance company based in North
San Francisco Bay Area
The San Francisco Bay Area, commonly known as the Bay Area, is a List of regions of California, region of California surrounding and including San Francisco Bay, and anchored by the cities of Oakland, San Francisco, and San Jose, California, S ...
,
California
California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...
,
United States
The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...
.
Life and career
Charya Cheam Burt was born in
Phnom Penh
Phnom Penh is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Cambodia, most populous city of Cambodia. It has been the national capital since 1865 and has grown to become the nation's primate city and its political, economic, industr ...
,
Cambodia
Cambodia, officially the Kingdom of Cambodia, is a country in Southeast Asia on the Mainland Southeast Asia, Indochinese Peninsula. It is bordered by Thailand to the northwest, Laos to the north, and Vietnam to the east, and has a coastline ...
to Bee Cheam and Sameth Chheng. Following the Khmer Rouge genocide, Burt was inspired to dance by her uncle
Chheng Phon, training with Cambodia's surviving dance masters including
Soth Sam On and toured internationally as a member of
Royal Dance Troupe of Cambodia. In 1990, she became a dance faculty member at Cambodia's
Royal University of Fine Arts
The Royal University of Arts (RUA or RUFA; , ALA-LC: ; ) is a university in Chey Chumneas, Phnom Penh specialising in architecture and fine arts. It is the oldest university in Cambodia, having been in existence since 1917. It is part of Pnom In ...
.
In 1993, Burt emigrated to the United States. Since then, she has been performing classical and original dances, creating and choreographing new dance works rooted in tradition, and training students throughout California, including multiple stints as artist-in-residence at Cambodian cultural centers in Stockton, San Jose, and Khmer Arts Academy in Long Beach.
An inaugural Dance/USA and 2022 Americans for the Arts Johnson Fellow and Isadora Duncan Award recipient for Individual Performance, Burt has received multiple grants from the Center for Cultural Innovation, Creative Work Fund, and Alliance for California Traditional Arts including their Living Cultures Grant (2021) to create the Charya Burt Cambodian Dance Digital Library.
A Hewlett 50 Commission was awarded her in 2021 to create The Rebirth of Apsara: Artistic Lineage, Cultural Resilience and the Resurrection of Cambodian Arts from the Ashes of Genocide that premiered at Sonoma State University's Green Music Center in 2024.
Burt has performed her original works throughout the United States at venues including Jacob's Pillow, San Francisco Ethnic Dance Festival, and Oregon Shakespeare Festival.
Themes of her works include preservation and renewal of the Cambodian dance art-form, elevating of community dance groups, histories of Khmer Rouge and South East Asia, and colorism across contemporary cultures.
Major choreographic works
*''Beautiful Dark'' (2024)
**In partnership with Mosaic America supported by a Creative Work Fund Grant.
**May 2024 Premiere at Mexican Heritage Plaza Theatre, San Jose, California.
*''The Rebirth of Apsara'' (2024)
**A Folk And Traditional Arts Hewlett 50 Commission co-produced by New Performance Traditions/Paul Dresher Ensemble.
**February 2024 Premiere at Weill Hall, Green Music Center, Sonoma State University, Rohnert Park, California.
**Composer:
Chinary Ung
*''Silenced'' (2018)
**Supported by grants from Investing in Artists/Center for Cultural Innovation, Dancers' Group, and Alliance for California Traditional Arts.
**June 2018 Premiere with dancers from Khmer Arts Academy at the Studio Theatre Long Beach State University, Long Beach California.
*''Of Spirits Intertwined'' (2018)
**Presented by World Arts West for the 40th Anniversary of the San Francisco Ethnic Dance Festival, War Memorial Opera House, San Francisco, California.
*''Heavenly Garden'' (2016)
Major awards and honors
*2021 - 2024 Creative Work Fund to create Beautiful Dark in partnership with Mosaic America
*2021 - 2024 Hewlett 50 Arts Commission recipient for Folk and Traditional arts to create The Rebirth of Apsara
*2022
Americans for the Arts
Americans for the Arts is a nonprofit organization whose primary focus is advancing the arts in the United States with offices in Washington, D.C., and New York City, and more than 50 years of service. Americans for the Arts is dedicated to repre ...
Johnson Fellowship for Artists Transforming Communities
*2022
Yerba Buena Gardens Festival Seed Commission Reassembladge film project
*2021 – 2022
Alliance for California Traditional Arts (ACTA) Living Cultures Grant Program to establish an archival legacy dance library
*2021
Alliance for California Traditional Arts (ACTA) Apprenticeship Program
*2019 – 2020 Inaugural Dance/USA Fellowship: Addressing Social Change
*2017 - 2018
California Arts Council
The California Arts Council functions as a state agency headquartered in Sacramento, California. Its board comprises eight council members who receive appointments from both the Governor
A governor is an politician, administrative leader and ...
Activating Community: One-year residency with KAA to produce Silenced
*2002
Isadora Duncan Dance Award for Outstanding Achievement in Individual Performance 2000-2001
References
External links
Charya Burt Cambodian Dance CompanyCharya Burt Cambodian Dance Digital Library
{{DEFAULTSORT:Burt, Charya
1970 births
Living people
People from Phnom Penh
Cambodian dancers
American choreographers
American dancers of Asian descent