Following The Serpent’s Veil: Preah Thong Neang Neak (2026)

This production was presented in partnership with The Southern Theater through the ’25–’26 Performance Partnership Program.

Performance Dates

Friday, July 10 at 7:30PM (Doors 6:30PM, House 7:00PM)
Saturday, July 11 at 2:00PM (Doors 1:00PM, House 1:30PM)
Saturday, July 11 at 7:30PM (Doors 6:30PM, House 7:00PM)

Performance Length
Approximately 90 minutes, no intermission.

"Where A Sacred Legend Rises From The Waters" 

Experience the myth, movement, and sacred lineage of Cambodia through Following the Serpent’s Veil: Preah Thong Neang Neak, a visually rich evening of Cambodian classical dance inspired by one of the kingdom’s most enduring origin stories. The legend follows Preah Thong, a foreign prince who journeys across the sea and arrives in a mysterious land inhabited by the Nagas, powerful serpent beings associated with water and the spiritual world. There, he encounters Neang Neak, the daughter of the Naga King. Their meeting begins a journey between two worlds, as Preah Thong follows Neang Neak beneath the waters to meet her father and seek his blessing. The Naga King eventually accepts their union and, as a wedding gift, uses his immense power to draw away the waters surrounding the land, revealing the earth upon which the couple will build their kingdom. Their marriage becomes a powerful origin story for the Khmer people, representing the coming together of the foreign and indigenous, the human and supernatural, and the forces of water and land. Passed down through generations in different forms, the story continues to live within Cambodian traditions, including the symbolism and rituals of the Khmer wedding ceremony.

Rooted in ancient animist belief systems, the naga, the sacred serpent, symbolizes the connection between heaven and earth, water and land, ancestry and life itself. Cambodian classical dance carries this serpent lineage through fluid, curved gestures and devotional movement, embodying centuries of ritual, memory, and cosmological belief. More than myth, this story speaks to diaspora, convergence, and continuity, reminding us that culture endures through movement, memory, and sacred connection.

“I really enjoyed the storytelling. Even without knowing the story beforehand, I felt like I could follow along through the movement.”

- Soponnie, Audience Member