Graduating Seniors
Alina Quach
Andrew Lao
Alvin Cheam
Arune Ung
Christie Vong
Gary Chao
Grace Han
Jennifer Choum
Lillian Lee
Matthew Lake
Melinda Chiem
Nick Sugo
Rathana Keo
Stella Lee
Susan Kim
Thank you for your amazing personalities and for the endless smiles you’ve brought to our club! Congratulations Class of 2016! Love, UKS
Tonight’s Program Opening and Introductions Staff Video Classical Dance: Robam Raksmey Doung Chantrea (របាំរស្មីដួងចន្រ្ទា ) Act 1 Scene 1: The One with the Red Kramaes Scene 2: The One Where She Falls Scene 3: The One with the Beh-Doung Scene 4: The One with the Beautiful Voice Scene 5: The One with the Finest Silks & Fabrics សាត់ Traditional Dance: Robam Kangouk Pursat (Peacock Dance) (របាំក្ងោកពោធិ៍ ) Scene 6: The One with the “Stuff” Scene 7: The One with the Weird Day Intermission Intermission Videos Act 2 Scene 1: The One with the Shortcut Scene 2: The One with the Muuuusic Traditional Modern Dance: Rom Ah Go Go (រាំអាហ្គោហ្គោ) Scene 2 (continued) Scene 3: The One with the New Recruit Scene 4: The One Where He’s Running Late Scene 5: The One Where They Share Notes Scene 6: The One Where She Looks Different Scene 7: The One Where She’s in His Arms Scene 8: The One Where He’s on His Knees Scene 9: The One with the Cookie Tin Scene 10: The One with the Flowers Modern Dance Curtain Call
UKS Staff
Alvin Cheam President
Jennifer Um Internal Vice President
Victoria Lim Crystal Phay Culture Night Director Public Relations Officer
Panha Kosal Culture Events Officer
Samantha Hangsan External Vice President
Earvin Mosca Fiscal Coordinator
Alex Vong Intern
K.O.R.E.
Victoria Lim KORE Co-Director
Andrew Hean KORE Coordinator
Melinda Chiem KORE Co-Director
Cindy Chou KORE Coordinator
Grace Han KORE Coordinator
Khmer Outreach Retention Education (KORE) was started by United Khmer Students of UCLA in 2003 to address the low rate of Khmer youth graduating from high school and lacking numbers of Khmer people in higher education. KORE’s Mentorship Program promotes the importance of higher education and assists Long Beach youth in developing skills that enable them to achieve their full potential. During this year long program, UKS volunteers are paired up with Long Beach high school students from Poly, Wilson, Millikan, Cabrillo, Jordan, and Lakewood. KORE provides monthly after school tutoring sessions and workshops at the local Long Beach Mark Twain Library. As well as field trips that expose students to various fields of study and career options. Mentorship Conference and College Tour are annual events in which high school students are bused over to the UCLA campus and participate with UKS in campus tours, student panels, seminars with guest speakers, and college preparation workshops.
President’s Message Dear family and friends, Welcome to the United Khmer Student’s 19th Annual Cultural Night! On the behalf of our organization, it is my honor to welcome and thank you all for joining us tonight. In the past 19 years, our culture night brings together students from various backgrounds in showcasing the richness of Cambodian culture, whether it is historical traditions or current Cambodian-American experiences. Also, the United Khmer Students (UKS) aims to provide a safe environment where members can have a sense of belonging and individuality through culture. Culture Night truly connects us with our heritage and community, and tonight is a night where we can all appreciate the rich and diverse culture through theatre, dances, costumes, etc. With certainty, I can say that being a part of UKS and the annual Culture Night show has helped me gain cultural appreciation, individual growth, and making lifelong friendships. In this year’s Culture Night show, we proudly present to you “Bring Me Flowers.” Through countless hours of practice and dedication, I can say I am proud of everyone in our cast and crew for their hard work. I would like to acknowledge our wonderful Culture Night Directors, because without them, this show would have not been possible. I also would like to thank our talented coordinators for their diligence. Lastly, I would like to thank you all for attending our cultural show and taking time off your schedule to support our organization. Thank you and enjoy the show! Sincerely,
Alvin Cheam UKS President 2015-2016
Director’s Message Dearest family and friends, We would like to personally welcome you to United Khmer Students’ 19th Annual Culture Night Show, “Bring Me Flowers”! We have been a part of UKS’s Annual Culture Nights for the past few years and it’s an honor to be able to direct this year’s show. Culture night is truly an event that brings everyone from all generations and backgrounds together. With much research made to write this year’s script, we’re excited to present to you a momentous part of Cambodian history through a new perspective. It was with great pleasure to work with everyone that was a part of the show--cast, backstage crew, committee members, dancers. You are all such a wonderful and creative group of individuals. It was incredibly heartwarming to see everyone working together and bonding so much in such a short amount of time. Without all of your hard work, dedication, and cooperation, we wouldn’t have been able to transform this production from a script to a live performance. As much as the past several months of culture night practices and rehearsals has allowed UKS to immerse itself in our Khmer culture, we hope “Bring Me Flowers” will shed light on the beauty of Cambodian history and heritage with all of our viewers as well. Thank you so much for your attendance and support. Have a wonderful evening! With gratitude,
Victoria Lim UKS Co-Culture Night Director 2015-2016
Charrany Thiem UKS Co-Culture Night Director 2015-2016
About the Story “Bring Me Flowers” takes place in Cambodia during the late 1960’s to 1970’s--one of the most eventful decades in Cambodian history. In the midst of being in the middle of the Vietnam War, Cambodia was also brewing a civil war of its own. Albeit the political turmoil, Cambodia saw an incredible expansion in its music scene. Influences from all over the world made its way into traditional Cambodian music--Rock ’n’ Roll, Cuban, Cha Cha Cha, and more. Khmer music blossomed more than ever. Dara Hean, a young farmer aspiring a career in music, experiences the importance of art and music to Cambodian society. He quickly acknowledges that music is an entrancing outlet to help us cope with life’s daily hardships. Just like young musicians at the time, Dara and his peers view Western musical influences as a positive entity to welcome and embrace. However, with the Khmer Rouge communist takeover of the late 1970’s, Dara encounters the end of a wondrous era of Khmer art and music. The Khmer Rouge had absolutely no tolerance for modernity and Western influences. Cambodian culture was lost, and in its place were sole thoughts of surviving the genocide. We hope that “Bring Me Flowers”, sheds light on the beauty of Cambodia’s lost music scene that is often overshadowed by a tragic point in its history. The devastating effects of the Khmer Rouge still affect Cambodians and Cambodian Americans today. Despite these effects, we are still able to piece together and revive Cambodia’s lost culture. Our production aims to bring a greater awareness and share our treasured Khmer heritage with others.
Classical Dance Robam Raksmey Doung Chantrea
Coordinator: Melanie Taing and Donald Pon
Back: Crystal Phay, Panha Kosal, Lilian Tang, Cindy Chou, Aileen Pham, Sharlene Lim, Susan Kim Front: Souphea Long, Melanie Taing Classical Cambodian dance is a remarkably expressive art form that is still present today. Many centuries ago, it was a type of entertainment for the Khmer royal court. It was additionally performed as rituals for funerals, coronations, honoring visitors, and religious purposes. The dancers were frequently thought to be the intermediate between gods and people. Thus, classical dance was of great importance to the entire Cambodian empire--its king and its people. Robam Raksmey Doung Chantrea (The Moon Love Dance) tells the story of a girl admiring the moon at midnight. She has many worries in her life, but seeing the moon makes her worries vanish. She then wishes to see the moon every single night. The story symbolizes the beauty and power of the moon and expresses that life would not exist without its presence.
Thank you Donald Pon! Classical Dance Instructor
Cast
Andrew Hean as Dara
Lilian Tang as Peov
Melanie Taing as Kalianne
Earvin Mosca as Rithisak
Jekin Tilva as Soldier #3
Alvin Cheam as Chhay
Crystal Phay as Yaey Suprea
Jennifer Um as Soldier #4 & Flowergirl #1
Cindy Chou as Sreymau
Andrew Lao as Sann & Lok Taa
Victoria Lim as Yaey Ruomduol
Melinda Chiem as Yaey Putrea
Alex Vong as Soldier #1
Grace Han as Soldier #2
Souphea Long as Flowergirl #2
Rothinny Honghin as Tree
Traditional Dance Robam Kangouk Pursat
Coordinator: Victoria Lim Back: Alvin Cheam, Nick Yin Front: Andrew Hean, Cindy Chou, Lilian Tang, Andrew Lao Left to right: Crystal Phay, Sharlene Lim, Susan Kim
Traditional-Modern Dance
Not Pictured: Charrany Thiem Coordinator: Earvin Mosca Back: Alvin Cheam, Earvin Mosca, Andrew Hean Front: Cindy Chou, Jennifer Um, Melanie Taing
UKS Modern Coordinator: David Chung, Alvin Cheam, Earvin Mosca, Andrew Suykry
Back: Andrew Lao, Alex Vong, Alvin Cheam, Nick Yin, Earvin Mosca Front: Cindy Chou, Jennifer Um, Lilian Tang, Sharlene Lim Floor: Andrew Hean Not pictured: Nick Sugo, Jekin Tilva, Rothinny Honghin
Thank you UKS alumni!
Andrew Suykry UKS Modern Coordinator Dance piece: Mercy by Kanye
David Chung UKS Modern Coordinator Dance piece: Fragile by ROZES
Committees
Props + Stage Crew
Back: Andrew Hean, Andrew Lao, Alex Vong, Jekin Tilva, Alvin Cheam, Nick Yin, Earvin Mosca Front: Jennifer Um, Cindy Chou, Lilian Tang, Victoria Lim, Charrany Thiem, Panha Kosal, Aileen Pham, Melanie Taing Not pictured: Leakena Tan
Video
Cindy Chou
Andrew Hean
Victoria Lim
Costumes
From left to right: Charrany Thiem, Lilian Tang, Victoria Lim Not pictured: Leakena Tan
Graphics Thank you UKS alumnus!
Jessica Heng Flyer/Booklet Designer
Sponsors Platinum
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HONG NGY MARKET 1569 Anaheim St. Long Beach, CA
Special Thanks To....
Special Thanks To.... Student Organizations, Leadership & Engagement Melissa Veluz-Abraham, SOLE Advisor UCLA Events Office UCLA Central Ticketing Office Schoenberg Music Hall Staff Campus Program Committee of Program Activities Board Undergraduate Student Association Programming Fund Undergraduate Association Council
Khmerican
Asian Pacific Coalition and Associated Organization Khmer Student Coalition California State University, Fresno California State University, Fullerton California State University, Long Beach California State Polytechnic University, Pomona California State University, Sacramento University of California, Berkeley University of California, Davis University of California, Irvine University of California, San Diego University of California, Santa Barbara University of California, Santa Cruz Sacramento State Stanford University