Khmer Traditional Dance and Performances

It has been a tradition since the earliest days of tourism in the 19th century to treat visitors to Siem Reap with a ‘Apsara dance performance’ - a taste of classical Khmer culture. These days no visit to Cambodia is complete without attending at least one traditional performance.

In Siem Reap dinner performances are now the most popular venue with most places offering buffet or set menus combined with a one-hour traditional performance, usually dance though some places also offer traditional puppet performances.

Dinner ordinarily begins at 6:00 or 7:00PM and the performance at 7:30PM or 8:00PM. The usual dance performance consists of 4 or 5 different dances, both classical and folk dancing. Most dinner performances run $10-$35 including dinner and admission. Some place do not charge admission for the performance, but you are expected to order dinner. For the best seats, call for reservations.