Peter Veth: Teaching Khmer Classical Dance in the US Diaspora

Peter Veth, a second-generation Cambodian-American who trained solely in the United States, has become a skilled teacher and performer of Cambodian Classical Ballet. The dance form, originating over a thousand years ago in Southeast Asia, was nearly erased during the Khmer Rouge regime and is now protected by UNESCO as Intangible Cultural Heritage. Veth co-directs Urban Khmer Ballet and collaborates with Angkor Dance Troupe in Lowell, Massachusetts, a city that became home to many Cambodian refugees. He discovered the dance at a middle school Cambodian New Year celebration and forged his parents' signatures to attend classes. Veth also learned hip-hop from VHS tapes. Despite never training in Cambodia, he studied with visiting masters like Master Pen Yom of the Royal University of Fine Arts, Cambodia, who taught him the Ogre role. Veth now consults on Cambodian traditional dance worldwide. He teaches four-hour Sunday classes starting with a warm-up called Mother Exercise. As a gay artist, he has pushed boundaries by playing nontraditional roles, as men are rarely portrayed in the dance. He competed on Season 5 of "America's Best Dance Crew" with the group Static Noyze.