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Jenny Hua was born in New Jersey to parents who are ethnic Khmer - her mother from Cambodia, her father from South Vietnam. When she was five years old, Jenny remembers getting chills while watching a classical Cambodian Court dance. At age 14, she began lessons with the master Chamroeun Yin. Jenny now teaches younger girls in her temple and performs at festivals. She has also danced at the United Nations and the Cambodian Embassy. Jenny feels that dancing ties her to her heritage - as she puts it, "It's a way of telling history."



Jenny Hua, Cambodian Court Dancer, NJN/State of the Arts, 2008 (5:00)
In this story, State of the Arts visits Jenny Hua at home and meets her parents, ethnic Khmers who escaped from Vietnam and Cambodia during the war, and behind the scenes for the ritual of dressing in full costume as Hua prepares to perform in a celebration of the Cambodian New Year at the Khmer Art Gallery in Philadelphia. (Excerpt from the State of the Arts special, Culture in Context)
Slow and stylized, Cambodian Court dance began as a royal entertainment. However, during the war dancers in refugee camps began to teach others. It is now an important art form for all Cambodians.

Jenny Hua grew up in the Camden County area of New Jersey, where about 500 Khmer Krom families are part of a community centered around the Samaki Dhararam Buddhist Temple. Dance is an important part of the festivals, especially at the New Year. When Jenny and the other dancers perform, the whole family gets involved. Her father drives, and her mother coordinates the elaborate costumes and jewelry needed for each dance. She also dresses the dancers, a process that can take hours.

When she was younger, Jenny traveled with her family to meet relatives in Vietnam and Cambodia. She says it was a shock to see how people lived and that it gave her an appreciation for her own lifestyle in America. Jenny has continued to study the Khmer language and is now returning to Cambodia to work with a not-for-profit group as part of her college experience.