PHNOM PENH: Cambodian entrant Chou Rilaorhours brought Khmer classical dance to the talent round of Miss Teen Icon International 2026 on Nov 11, using the pageant stage in Jakarta, Indonesia, to showcase one of Cambodia’s best-known performing arts.
Wearing a tall gold headdress and a blue-and-gold costume, Rilaorhours moved between kneeling and standing poses, tracing precise arcs with her arms and turning her wrists in a series of perfectly controlled gestures.
She shared a video of the solo performance at Balai Sarbini Hall on social media, where she described Khmer dance as a tradition whose beauty and value had endured for centuries.
“The original owner is here. Pure gold is Cambodia,” Rilaorhours wrote.
Rilaorhours also presented a national costume under the Khmer title “Female Farmers of the Golden Land, Apsaras of the Great Kingdom”, which invoked a woman farmer from a golden land and the apsaras of Angkor. She captioned the post “Cambodia: Kingdom of wonder”.
The Royal Ballet of Cambodia has been associated with the Khmer court for more than 1,000 years, according to Unesco.
Dancers spend years mastering the gestures and poses used to tell stories and convey emotions. Unesco first proclaimed the Royal Ballet in 2003 and inscribed it on its Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity in 2008.
The tradition nearly disappeared under the Khmer Rouge, when most of its master dancers and musicians lost their lives. Dance troupes re-formed after the regime fell in 1979 and resumed performing the classical repertoire.
Rilaorhours, who won Miss Teen Cambodia 2025, began working in entertainment at the age of seven, according to Apsara Media Services.
The outlet reported in July that she wanted to encourage more young Cambodians to embrace and promote their cultural heritage.
The Jakarta competition runs from Nov 7 to 14 alongside Miss Icon International. The inaugural Miss Teen Icon International was held in Phnom Penh in March 2024, and Cambodia hosted the following edition before Indonesia took over as host this year.
The official voting portal listed teen contestants from Cambodia, host country Indonesia, Thailand, India, the UK, Lithuania, the Netherlands, Spain, Botswana, Nigeria, South Africa, Colombia, Cuba and the US.
Indonesian entrant, Stephanie Thalia Go of Surabaya, told local media before the event that her national costume would feature animal motifs from Bondowoso in East Java.
Rilaorhours led an earlier People’s Choice update across the two pageants. Under the published rules, the top vote-getter in each pageant advances to the top five, and the contestant with the highest total across both earns a direct place in the top three. - The Phnom Penh Post/ANN
