at NKK Dance Centre Residence, Buddhist rites for the dead are heard close by in the community, while the author observes small moments in daily life. Autumn 2020, Siem Reap Cambodia

recorded in November and December 2020, at dusk, around NKK Dance Centre Residence, sounds heard are flocks of myna birds congregating to roost, a gecko, a neighbourhood funeral featuring traditional Khmer singing called 'Smot'.

to those women who are pregnant, know that today, this Buddhist ceremony was performed on your behalf. Monks associated with Wat Po Banteaychey nearby, have begun 9 nights and 10 days of encampment and prayers around a sand stupa to emanate blessings to women who are carrying children and to honour them for this fundamental female power. You can see each monk’s hut where they sleep and shelter, for they will not leave the sacred enclosure for the 10 days, nor will anyone else be permitted to enter. This is all embedded in the middle of a rural neighbourhood with daily life happening all around. I am impressed with how integral this special event is within its community, so that it is both extraordinary and quotidian at the same time. I made sure to ask permission to photograph the event. I felt lucky to stumble upon this, and apparently, it is not a usual kind of ceremony for all pagodas. Perhaps it is a speciality of Wat Po Banteaychey, and I hear they perform his ceremony every year.

An all Cambodian contemporary dance workshop, for the first time at the NKK Dance Centre in Siem Reap Cambodia, with Noun Sovithou, Leavchanlyka, Belle Sodachivy, Soy Chanborey and Hul Rasy, led by Peter Chin of Tribal Crackling Wind. Video by Peter Chin