World Notes CAMBODIA

The tour has been hailed as a phoenix-like revival of an exquisite art form that was nearly destroyed by a country's bloodshed. But almost from the start of its five-week U.S. engagement, the Classical Dance Company of Cambodia has been tangled in the ugly factionalism that still divides the artists' homeland. Last week, after dancing for a packed house in Lowell, Mass., a 24- year-old female member of the company decided to seek asylum in the U.S. Four days earlier, three other dancers sought political refuge during a concert stop in Minnesota.

The dancers' defections have touched off propaganda attacks by rival Cambodian political factions. Sponsors of the 36-member troupe have accused enemies of the communist government of Hun Sen of intimidating the dancers with death threats and pressuring them to defect in order to embarrass Phnom Penh. A spokesman for Prince Sihanouk denied the charges and in turn accused Hun Sen of exploiting the dancers to polish his regime's image in the U.S.