The Royal University of Fine Arts in Phnom Penh Cambodia has one of the must unique and, I’d wager, the most tragic history of any university of the world. Established more than 100 years ago its grounds have been graced by the most talented individuals you would find anywhere on the planet. From the classical dancers, musicians, archaeologists, to the singers, architects, and historians kings, queens, dignitaries and above all talented students and faculty it was a first rate institution. Then 1975 happened.
Those attached to RUFA suffered perhaps greater losses at the hands of the Khmer Rough than others, as if one can even say such a thing. But yeah, almost all were murdered. After the KR were ousted in 1980 the campus sat silent and decaying in the tropical climate for a dozen or more years. This is because there was no one left to carry on. Imagine that at your local university. Everyone is dead and all the books and documents destroyed. Then, no matter how beautiful the campus once was, it just sits empty.
Here is my story there as the only Westerner to have ever studied and performed with the Choreography department.
