Angkor Dance Troupe

Today, Angkor Dance Troupe joined arts leaders, advocates, policymakers, and cultural organizations from across Massachusetts at the Creative Sector Summit in New Bedford.

Executive Director Bora Chiemruom and Program Director Chummeng Soun represented ADT in conversations about the role of arts, culture, and creativity as essential civic infrastructure and powerful drivers of community connection, economic vitality, and cultural belonging.

As ADT continues to preserve, teach, and innovate Cambodian performing arts, opportunities like these allow us to share our work, learn from peers across the Commonwealth, and strengthen partnerships that support thriving creative communities.

Thank you to MassCreative and all the organizers, presenters, and participants who brought the creative sector together for a day of learning, collaboration, and inspiration.

Together, we are building a future where arts and culture are recognized as vital to the health and well-being of our communities.

Thank you to the Greater Lowell Community Foundation. 🙏

Yesterday at GLCF's 2026 Annual Meeting at Coburn Hall, UMass Lowell, we were so honored to share that GLCF is supporting our new FEED Youth Initiative (Fueling Engagement, Equity, and Development).

FEED provides nutritious, culturally familiar meals to students experiencing food insecurity during our Sunday classes and performances. Because young dancers can't train, can't focus, can't grow if they're hungry. Every child in our studio deserves to arrive ready to learn, move, and belong.

This support means families don't have to choose. It means our students can keep dancing, fully fed and fully present.

To everyone at Greater Lowell Community Foundation (and the families, donors, and neighbors who make this Foundation possible): thank you for seeing our community and showing up for our kids. 💛

Angkor Dance Troupe is proud to recognize Merrimack Repertory Theatre (MRT) as an Apsara Lead Sponsor of our 40th Anniversary Gala, A Legacy in Every Step, taking place on October 17, 2026.

For many years, MRT has been a valued artistic partner, helping create opportunities for meaningful cultural exchange, artistic excellence, and community engagement. Most recently, MRT partnered with us on A Khmer Swan Lake, one of the most ambitious and groundbreaking productions in our 40-year history.

Their continued support reflects a shared commitment to the arts and to strengthening the cultural fabric of Greater Lowell.

We are deeply grateful to the entire MRT team for standing with us as we celebrate four decades of preserving, teaching, and innovating Cambodian performing arts.

Thank you, MRT, for helping us honor our past and inspire our future.

Please visit our website to learn how you can become a sponsor and be a part of our history and future: https://www.angkordance.org/gala

Our team, Program Director Chummeng Soun, Executive Director Bora Chiemruom, and Development Manager Sophy Pich are attending the Barr Convening in New Bedford at .

They are connecting with 14 other cohorts participating in the Powering Cultural Futures initiative. We are currently in the fourth year of a six-year grant funded by the Barr Foundation.

The team will remain at the convening through Thursday night.

We’re honored to share that Angkor Dance Troupe has been awarded a FY26 Cultural Facilities Fund Capital Grant through the Massachusetts Cultural Council and MassDevelopment.

This funding will support important improvements to our facilities and help us continue to preserve, teach, innovate, and share Cambodian performing arts with future generations.

As we approach our 40th anniversary, investments like this strengthen our ability to serve youth, artists, families, and the broader community for years to come.

Thank you to Mass Cultural Council, MassDevelopment, and the Commonwealth of Massachusetts for supporting arts and culture across our state.

We cannot contain our excitement…! Huge congrats to our program director Chummeng Soun on being awarded a Fulbright Scholar award !!!

(Here Chummeng is dancing the role of គ្រុឌ Krut, Garuda King, in our most recent performance of A KHMER SWAN LAKE, but we love all our dancers and students and they are all our favorites !)

We are so proud of Peter Veth for this well-deserved recognition in Dance Teacher Magazine. Congratulations on this remarkable honor and achievement!

Entrenched in Cambodian tradition, Cambodian Classical Ballet originated over a thousand years ago in Southeast Asia. This sacred dance form was nearly erased after the Khmer Rouge killed a quarter of Cambodia’s population, often targeting master dancers and musicians. Now protected by UNESCO as an Intangible Cultural Heritage, it has reemerged as a powerful symbol of Cambodian culture.

Outside cities like Phnom Penh and Siem Reap, few possess the skill and knowledge required to pass on these graceful storytelling dances, known for their spirituality and distinctly upturned fingers and toes. Yet Cambodian culture thrives in Lowell, Massachusetts, where waves of refugees fleeing the Cambodian genocide made a new home.

Here, Peter Veth, co-director of Urban Khmer Ballet and collaborator with Angkor Dance Troupe, shares his heritage as both a performer and teacher of this highly nuanced movement style: https://dance-teacher.com/peter-veth-cambodian-classical-ballet/ .tab=0?utm_medium=social&utm_source=facebook&utm_campaign=May

📝: Barry Kerollis
📸: Photos courtesy Veth.



Description: Peter Veth dressed in traditional Cambodian dress performs on stage. Text: Peter Veth Is an Ambassador of Cambodian Classical Ballet

Thank you to Mayor Gitschier, the Lowell City Council, and especially Councilor Vesna Nuon for this recognition. We are grateful to the City of Lowell for celebrating the contributions of the AAPI community and for continuing to support the arts, culture, and communities that make Lowell such a vibrant city.

Lowell has long been home to one of the largest Cambodian American communities in the country, and we are proud to continue preserving, innovating, and sharing Khmer performing arts here in our city. Thank you for celebrating the contributions of the AAPI community and for your continued support of the arts and culture in Lowell. 🙏❤️

Link: https://www.facebook.com/share/p/1DgwwjxH4Q/

We celebrate AAPI Heritage Month and recognized Angkor Dance Troupe, Lowell Southeast Asian Water Festival, Sreyvan Nget, Richard Chhon, and Kowith Kret. These organizations and individuals embody the core values of community, passion, and service that exemplifies the spirit of AAPI Heritage Month.

Thank you for your continuous work to contribute to the success of the Lowell community. We appreciate all that they do to give back and support the residents of Lowell.

For 40 years, Angkor Dance Troupe has carried Cambodian performing arts across generations through resilience, artistry, and community.

Now, we invite you to celebrate this milestone with us.

✨ A Legacy in Every Step | Celebrating 40 Years of Impact

📅 Saturday, October 17, 2026
📍 Lenzi’s, Dracut, Massachusetts

Our 40th Anniversary Gala will feature live performances, storytelling, food, a sneak peak of our video documentary on the making of A Khmer Swan Lake, and a powerful evening honoring the artists, teachers, students, and community members who shaped ADT’s journey from Lowell to stages beyond.

Interested in becoming a sponsor and helping sustain the next generation of Khmer arts and culture? Please email [email protected] to learn more about sponsorship opportunities.