kbach Dance: lakhon kbach boran The same term kbach which is used for decorative arts is used for dance, suggesting both fixity and movement. Kbach designates a visual esthetic composition, whether it be engraved in stone or more in the more ephemeral gestures of the Khmer royal ballet. In this sense, Kbach Khmer is a "system of dance gestures" used in one of the three main theatre genres, all dating back to the Angkorian period—and all based on the Khmer version of the Rāmāyana—the Reamker: lakhon khol (male masked dance mime); sbek thom or sbek touch (Shadow theater) and lkhaon preah reach trop (theatre belonging to the royal family or Royal Ballet of Cambodia) which was renamed lakhon kbach boran after the monarchy was overthrown in 1970. In Khmer tradition, there are eight basic hand gestures that, in various combination with five basic foot positions, form the "original dance alphabet". Dancers performing court dance act out plots using the kbach language of dance, articulated by the chorus during vocal and instrumental performances. While they resemble the karanas of Indian classical dance in form, they are quite different. While the Indian karana is seen as the framework for the "margi" (pan-Indian classical) productions which are supposed to spiritually enlighten the spectators, the kbach of the Khmer Royal Ballet is an ornament or a detail, not a general frame. Martial arts: Kbach kun boran Kbach kun boran in Khmer literally means “Ancient Cambodian Fighting Arts”. It is currently a term that includes all pre-modern Cambodian martial arts. It consists of 12 basic techniques (mae) and eight patterns of "door systems" or footwork patterns (tvear). Textiles: kbach on costumes Kbach were applied beyond decorative arts and dance to a variety of applications, including textiles, which used ornamental patterns for the Khmer hul. This application of kbach to Khmer costumes as evidenced in the devatas of Angkor Wat was studied extensively by Marchal Sappho. References Bibliography Chan Vitharin, Preap Chanmara - Kbach (A study of Khmer ornament), February 2005, Reyum Publishing, Architecture in Cambodia Visual motifs