Phare, The Cambodian Circus

We believe in the power of the arts to transform lives.

More than just a circus, Phare, the Cambodian Circus performers use drama, dance, live music, visual arts and circus to tell uniquely Cambodian stories from their own life experiences. The artists draw from recent Cambodian history, folklore and modern society. 

Phare artists are graduates of the Phare Ponleu Selpak School in Battambang, Cambodia. The school was founded in 1994 by nine young men returning home from a refugee camp after the fall of the Khmer Rouge regime. They had taken art therapy courses at the camp and wanted to share the power of art to heal with at-risk Cambodian youth. They started with drawing classes taught to a handful of students. Soon they opened a public school, then a music, theater and circus. Phare Ponleu Selpak serves over 1,200 youth daily.

Phare Circus provides good jobs in Cambodian and overseas, and financial support to the school.

Expect the unexpected.