The closest Sabane Thach (nursing-sophomore) could ever get to the traditional dances of her fellow Cambodians was through a television screen -- until Saturday night.

As part of the celebration of Asian American Awareness Month, the Khmer Students Society (KSS) presented "Reincarnation," Penn State's first Cambodian cultural show in HUB Heritage Hall to an audience of about 120 people.

"People generally know China, Japan and Korea, but not Southeast Asia. We wanted to promote Southeast Asian culture through Cambodia," Sarun Chan, KSS public relations chairman, said.

On stage, female dancers adorned in gold performed traditional dances that originated in the seventh century and represented the Apsaras -- divine celestial beings of Cambodian myths.

"These dances were originally performed for kings, and only the royal family would get to view them," Thach said.

During the Blessing Dance, which is often performed on holidays such as the Cambodian New Year, dancers sprinkled flower petals on the audience, representing the gods showering their blessings.

"The dancer's hand movements are in ancient sign language," Chan said.

The Cambodian American Heritage Group then performed the coconut dance, a popular folk dance where dancers bang coconut shells against each other to keep rhythm. Another dance mimicked the courtship rituals of Cambodia, with men trying to attract women by offering gifts, music and flowers. The presentation included many vocal performances sung in Khmer, the native language of Cambodia.

The program also featured a Cambodian fashion show. Models, donning both traditional dress and modern styles, took the stage to the cheers of male audience members.

"Who thought the models were really hot?" Chan said, laughing.

At the end of the fashion show, KSS raffled off a traditional Cambodian dancing outfit and sarongs.

"You can wear them to bed, you can wear them to Players, you can wear them anywhere," Chan said jokingly.

A slideshow was also shown about victims of Pol Pot and the Khmer Rouge, who forced Cambodians out of cities and onto farmland in an effort to make a classless society in the 1970s. The educated, artistic or wealthy were murdered. Others who had no background in farming starved or died of exhaustion when forced to work fields. Almost one-third of the population died. Some became refugees in camps in Thailand.

"One hundred and fifty thousand Cambodian people in the United States now were either born in a refugee camp or their parents were born in a refugee camp," Chan said. "The person that sits next to you in class may be a refugee."

Danny Senh (freshman-electrical engineering) said he enjoyed the dance performances, but he liked the refugee presentation the most.

"It was really touching," he said.

Thach said problems still exist in Cambodia today. She comes from a part of Vietnam that previously belonged to Southern Cambodia. As a Southern Cambodian, the Vietnamese barred Thach and her family from good jobs and political positions, causing them to come to America when she was 16.

Her family members who remain in Vietnam are forced to farm and struggle for food, she said.

"I'm so lucky because most who come to America at my age work to send money home to feed their families. I am going to school, so I made a promise to my family that I would be successful," Thach said.

Thach said she values being in a free society, where she can speak out for her people, but worries that younger Cambodians are missing out on their heritage.

"Cambodians in my generation are losing their culture. Tonight has brought me closer to my roots. I feel proud," she said.