Below is an excerpt from Dan Poynton's article about CLA's 2007 Mahasroap in the Phnom Penh Post. To read the full article, please click here (subscription required).
"The festival brought together masters and students of at least 18 traditional performance arts, giving an impression of an explosion of arts in Cambodia's rich but decimated culture, still reeling after about 90 percent of its musicians, dancers, writers and artists were murdered or forced into exile during the Khmer Rouge era.
The performances were as varied as Lakhaon Bassac (traditional Khmer opera), Sbaek Thom (a form of shadow theater, perhaps Cambodia's oldest performance style), and Kantoam Ming, (funeral music with gongs, drums and a reed instrument - one of Cambodia's rarest art forms).
Because many of these art forms are on the point of extinction the festival has become a major player in the preservation of Khmer culture.
"I was so excited to see all these art-forms," said Chea Ravi, a 22-year-old Phare drama student. "I didn't know they all existed. When I heard the yike [folk opera] it made my hairs stand on end. When I heard Kong Nai play the chapei (traditional two-stringed Khmer guitar) I wanted to laugh, to cry - to hug everyone. It really compelled me to participate -like waves going through my body." . . .
The festival's 360 participants, up from 300 last year, attended workshops and classes during the day and performed at night in PPS's massive circus
tent. The evening events were unique and outrageous extravaganzas, free and eagerly attended by the local people who crammed inside the tents.
CLA country manager Phany Tum said the performances were all packed with about 600 people. "Next year we will get even bigger," she said.
The Mohaosrop was moved to Battambang last year after the first two years being held in Siem Reap as part of a policy of rotating the festival to different cities.
As with many arts events, the opulence of the festival belied its financial situation.
"We've got donors from the US, but we're still going to have to keep fund raising after the event," Phany said. CLA is supported by World Education in the U.S.