In 1965, at the age of 15, she was crowned the prima ballerina or principal dancer, where she punctually replaced princess Bopha Devi, a position she held until 1970 when the royal family collapsed.
In 1991, after almost a decade in the camps, Voan and her young dancers were invited to the United States of America to carry out a three-month tour, during which she helped set up the Khmer Royal Ballet in California.
[13] As democracy returned to Cambodia, she settled back in Phnom Penh, but after the 1997 coup, she fled the country once more to find asylum in France, where she and her husband lived for two decades teaching Cambodian traditional dance.
[14] After two decades in France, Voan Savay re-established herself in Phnom Penh in 2016 at the invitation of Princess Buphadevi and Prince Tesso Sissowath who were eager to transmit the heritage of the last living apsara of Cambodia.
[19] Voan Savay relied on the transmission of the Royal Khmer Ballet in the camps to protect the human dignity and rights of the refugees, so they could continue to live through their national heritage and pride.
This is seen in the evolution from the theatrical whiteface covering up any facial emotion of the dancers under King Sisowath of Cambodia to a more expressive form of dancing which be manifested either through pain or joyful smiles nowadays.