Help Sy Naet Finish Her Dance Training
In 2019 Sy Naet was offered a place at Rambert School of Ballet and Contemporary Dance in the UK to study for 3 years. This meant leaving behind her family, friends, culture and country to take a leap of faith into the unknown. But it also represented an opportunity for Cambodia! It was an opportunity to experience and learn from a wealth of resources not currently available in Cambodia and bring this experience back to her country to teach, train and share her work with others.
At the start of this journey the mountains seemed so high. Sy Naet would be the first dance student to be offered a place at a professional training institute overseas. It is no small feat to be the first at anything. Some even call it the “bleeding” edge because of all of the challenges that come with being the first. One of the largest challenges was the financial hurdle.
When we started this journey we were looking at £54,000 for 3 years just for school fees. Through generous donations, scholarships and very frugal spending we are now within £7,000 of our goal. Just £7,000 will provide the funds needed for Sy Naet to complete her studies and graduate in 2022!
Will you help us cross the finish line and help Sy Naet complete her training at Rambert. Each year we have stepped out in faith and have been amazed at the result.
We need 70 people who are willing to give $100. Would you consider being one of the 70?
Thank you to all who have supported Sy Naet over the last 2 years, every gift no matter how small has been an important part of this journey. We could not have made it this far without you. Now that we are so close to the finish line we are asking for help once again.
Please share this page with your friends, family and anyone you think may be interested so that we can share Sy Naets story as widely as possible.
Any help you can give is greatly appreciated!
The Journey
This has been an incredible journey for Sy Naet in so many ways. In her own words...
“We do not have the same opportunities in Cambodia. Here there are so many resources to learn from. There are beautiful studios to use. There are so many talented and experienced teachers and choreographers. There are performances to go and see. There are books, libraries, galleries and museums. We do not have any of these things in Cambodia.”
When she goes back to Cambodia Sy Naet wants to be able to share all the things that she is learning.
“I want to become a dance teacher. I want to give other children the opportunity to enjoy moving, creating and performing. I want to be able to teach them in their own language and to encourage them to follow their dreams. Maybe eventually there will be enough dancers to form a dance company and travel to different parts of the country.”
Her training in the UK will prepare her to go back and contribute to the developing arts culture in Cambodia.
“When I go back to Cambodia I want to be able to work with other Cambodian artists. The more I learn about contemporary dance the more I think of ways that this could be combined with traditional Cambodian dance to create something new for the world. Doing this would be a way of sharing what I am learning with Cambodian audiences and sharing Cambodian traditional dance with the rest of the world.”
Sy Naet has overcome many huge obstacles to get this far. Passing an english exam, getting a visa and raising funds were just the start of many. Although her course is primarily practical there is a strong academic component. She has had to learn how to research and write about dance, engaging in topics around the physical, psychological and emotional health and wellbeing of dancers as well as the historical evolution of dance and its impact on society. All of this will also contribute to the skills and abilities that she will take with her.
This final £7,000 will enable Sy Naet to finish her studies and receive a BA Degree in Ballet and Contemporary Dance. She will be the first Cambodian dancer to achieve this level of study in dance. We are excited to see the long term impact this will have on her life and on the arts in Cambodia.
Thank you for taking time to read this. We appreciate all of the support that has come in so far. If you would like to read more about Sy Naet and follow her journey from the beginning you can visit and subscribe to her blog on the link below.
We are excited to watch Sy Naet take this final step to complete her training. We are excited to see where it will take her in the future and we hope that others will want to be a part of this journey with us.
