Press Quotes
"Charya Burt fans her fingers like an exotic flower, lowers to
her knees with her back leg bent skyward and bounces gently to the
xylophone-like tones of a Cambodian roneat ek…"
–Rachel Howard, San Francisco Chronicle 2007
“With her elegant hands and extreme muscle control, Burt is an exquisite
practitioner of Cambodian classical dance. The form nearly disappeared
under the Khmer Rouge in the 1970s, but survived thanks to the dedication
of artists like Burt.
–Rachel Howard, San Francisco Chronicle, 2006
“We have in nearby Santa Rosa a magnificent practitioner, Charya Cheam
Burt, who has established an academy. Her performances are mesmerizing
in their focus and clarity of detail (she received an Isadora Duncan
Award, and fully deserved it, for outstanding performance a few years
ago).”
–Paul Parish DanceView Times 2005
“…one of the Bay Area’s hidden treasures, Charya Burt delivered the
classical Cambodian dance, Robam Chhouy Chhay. The sparkling
brocade of the dancer’s costume and the delicacy of every gesture suggested
we were glimpsing one small, precious corner of a dance tradition that
was almost exterminated in our lifetime.
–Allan Ulrich, Voice of Dance 2005
“…Burt’s exquisitely slow promenate on the side of the feet, the exact
placement of the fingers, the outstretched palm and the bent leg suggest
transformation of a sublime order.”
–Allan Ulrich, Voice of Dance 2003
“Another highlight of Saturday’s performance was Cambodian dancer
Charya Burt and her sister, Sophiline Shapiro, both of whom are
graduates of Phnom Penh‘s Royal University of Fine Arts. Burt’s hyper-extended
digits looked especially long, arched, expressive, and beautiful. Rather
than dancing to the rhythm of the sampho (barrel drums) or
roneat ek (xylophone), Burt and Shapiro floated on top of
the music. Throughout the piece, their faces remained serenely blank,
even during tricky one-leg poses, giving the piece a meditative and
even heavenly quality.”
–Joyce Nashioka, AsianWeek, 2003
Online
"Cambodian
dancer turns to Tennessee Williams"
www.sfgate.com
"An Apprenticeship
in Classical Cambodian Dance "
www.actaonline.org