Cambodia for Le Monde d’Hermès
Sean Rocha went to Cambodia on assignment for Le Monde d’Hermès to photograph (and write about) the choreographer Sophiline Cheam Shapiro, who runs an academy on the outskirts of Phnom Penh to rejuvenate Cambodian classical dance. During the Khmer Rouge years, a reign of terror that officially ended in 1979, most of the master dancers were killed and the art of classical dance, which is transmitted orally from master to student, was in danger of being lost. For Hermès, not only was the survival of this art form inspiring but, in particular, for a House in which the people currently making bags might have learned the trade from a parent or grandparent who also worked at Hermès, the notion of the human links to culture and tradition has a special resonance.
Click here to see the tear sheets of the article on Cambodian dance published in Le Monde d’Hermès in Autumn 2007. The photographs below are outtakes from that assignment.
Click on image to enlarge, then on the arrows to scroll through the gallery. To inquire about contract or stock rates click here.
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