Opening with a spectacular parade and show in Phnom Penh, the organisers and performers did not fail to impress in the fifth annual circus festival held in Battambang, 3-6 April.
Attracting on average 1,000 spectators a day, Manuel Trindade, chief organiser of the festival, was pleased to see that, as usual, the festival appealed to large numbers of Cambodians and foreigners. Saturday night was the most popular evening with an estimation that up to 1,500 people bulked an amazed audience.
Threatening clouds and rained caused a slight change in schedule on the last day, but this only provided the performers with another occasion to show off their physical flexibility and creative versatility as they worked together to ensure that the show went on.
Audiences impressed by the imaginative initiative, physical power and mental might of the performers, were blown away by the Guinean performances, which can only be described as exhilarating. The young artists of the acrobatic arts centre Keita Fodeba, Guinea were the guests of honour at this year's festival and they made history by being the first African group to officially ever come to Cambodia.
The German Terra Brasilis and Tebras with their Brazilian beats set themselves apart both on stage and during the daily Battambang Parade, while the Vietnamese acrobatic display left the audience astonished if not a little nerve wrecked!
Thailand's Rajanikara Leng Kaewdee left children and adults simply stunned as he spun and scaled himself up into the air as he performed his aerial silk routine.
Labelled the 'wizard' of musical instruments because of his ability to create dozens of instruments out of the most unusual objects, Mai Dink Toi left people wondering why they haven't thought to make a guitar from a motorbike exhaust pipe or a wind instrument from a garden hose...
Congratulations to both the performers and organisers for not only facilitating and delivering an awe inspiring festival, but also for bringing such examples of human ability, skill and creativity to Cambodia.
Bring on 2009.