Armenian dance is among the oldest, richest and most varied traditions in the Near East. It is also very popular with Armenians everywhere in the world: Wherever they gather – at weddings, excursions or other special occasions – so do the music and the circle of spectators-participants, for the dance is always accompanied by clapping. Armenia has always been a small nation and there were always attempts to eliminate it, but its people have preserved their language and religion against all odds, and they have presented their culture to the world in the conviction that keeping it alive was the surest guarantee of survival. Last week, the Egyptian-Armenian Sardarabad Dance Troupe made a remarkable comeback on stage. With 38 amateur dancers aged seven to 26, the Sardarabad rocked the downtown Houssaper Theatre with 19 dances choreographed and directed by Mariam Karapetyan. Today's dancers are the troupe's third generation in Egypt. Twelve of the dancing troupe members made a remarkable first entrance on stage with one of the most popular and rhythmic Armenian dances: The Kochari. Performed by a group of men and women, the Kochari is known for its tune played on the zurna, a Eurasian woodwind instrument and usually accompanied by the davul, (a bass drum). The dance embodies the struggle for the nation's existence. During the dance, men give their cheers and encouragement to their women companions with a loud “hey” that to reenact the nation's awakening. With the music of Armenian composer Khachadour Avedissian, 10 White Doves appeared on stage and took us to a more peaceful atmosphere. The harmonious up-and-down slow movements of the Doves with their special white costumes formed a beautiful artistic tableau of real doves flying in the hall with their long, white wings. The Sabre Dance or Sword Dance is Aram Khatchadourian's best known work. It is a musical composition in the final act of Khatchadourian's ballet Gayané, in which male dancers display their skills with the sword. US music producer, reporter and blogger for National Public Radio Tom Huizenga describes the movement as one of the catchiest, most familiar – and perhaps also most maddening – tunes to come out of the 20th century. The musical movement with its percussion (especially the xylophone) playing at break-neck speed, keeps the male dancers and the female solo dancer in a continuous hopping motion. All dancers wear traditional Armenian costumes that embody the history of their culture and tell the stories of their ancestors. The design of these costumes is influenced by many factors, such as religious and family traditions and regional tradition. A beautiful dance with music by Arno Babajanian, Elegia, is a dance whose movements depend on the dancers' hands and bodies' expressions. The six girls who performed Elegia wore colourful tulles on their dresses with beautiful matching headdresses of roses that formed an expressive picture of angels walking harmoniously beside each other with fine steps. Likewise the dance of Dzirani or the Apricot Tree: It was performed with expressive body and hand movements by the seven dancing girls, wearing beautiful costumes that have Armenian manuscripts embroidered on their red aprons and crowns. The music is composed by the best-known genius of Armenian music, musicologist, composer, arranger, singer, choirmaster and priest Gomidas, who is considered the founder of Armenian National School of Music. Dzirani's finale was a unique circular formation of girls, some of them bowing down. The troupe's choreographer Mariam Karapetyan beautifully performed a ballet duet, Sareri Hovin Mernem, a mixture of sad and happy movements, moments of separation and unification: “I'll die for the wind of the mountains/ I'll die for the height of my beloved. I've stopped, I can't come to him./ I'm filled, I can't cry. I haven't seen him in a year/ Those who've seen you, oh beloved,/ I'll die for their eyes. The rivers don't bring water,/ They don't bring any news of you.” Karapetyan was born in Gyumri, Armenia. She studied classical dance at Yerevan State Choreographic College. She worked in several dance schools as a historical, classic and folk dance choreographer. Karapetyan moved to Egypt in 2011 and is currently working with the Cairo Opera House's Ballet Theatre as a classical dancer. The programme's first part was a dedication to the 101st anniversary of the Armenian Genocide, while the second was a celebration of the Silver Jubilee of the independence of the Republic of Armenia. The second part of the programme opened remarkably with the entrance of a group of teenage girls followed by another of boys. The Pert Dance is one of the most challenging dances the troupe has mastered during its many months of rehearsals. The dance is famous for having a circle of men stand on the shoulders of another circle while both rotate. Pert means “fortress” in Armenian and is so named because of the shape the dancers make. In Sardarabad's case, the age of those forming the upper circle was significantly younger than it should be. Those boys had fallen and risen many times before the performance. Together with their choreographer they decided they would take the risk and include the dance in the programme. The boys did it with great persistence, just like their ancestors in the past. A struggle for survival: Their joy on stage for achieving that difficult task was boundless. A trio performed the beautiful dance A Piece of the Sky, adapted from the music of a 1980 Soviet-Armenian comedy film, composed by Dikran Mansourian. The Armenian tri-colour flag was the actual dancer on stage here. The girls' movements together with the music took us to that piece of blue sky where red and orange melt into blue. The traditional colouring and exquisite beading of the costumes – headdresses, aprons, belts and buckles, bracelets, rings and ornaments – tie Armenian dance to the nation's tradition. According to the 14th-century Armenian philosopher and painter Krikor Datevatsi, the colours represent the black of the earth, the white of the water, the red of the atmosphere and the yellow of fire. At the same time these are symbols of moral principles: Purple for discretion and sensibility, red for courage and martyrdom, blue for heavenly justice and white for purity. The programme also included two non-Armenian dances: The Russian Dance and the Gypsy. To the tune of Act II of Tchaikovsky's Nutcracker, the Russian Dance was performed by the troupe's nine children, seven to 10 years old. Traditional Russian folk dance has its origins in various groups, including those with Slavonian and Tatar origins. Some of the first Russian folk music and dance appeared around the 10th century when the Slavic tribes first moved into Russia. Those children's joyful appearance on stage with self-confidence and keenness to present a faultless performance made their parents prouder than any audience; they got the most applause. Gypsy dance is bright, dynamic and entertaining, performed by men and women together. It's the dance of graceful and joyful movements expressing freedom, passion and playfulness. Its music is usually performed on local traditional instruments which have been changing and evolving over the centuries. Sardarabad's girl Gypsy dancers wore wide, flowery skirts which they swung while performing. They shook their shoulders and collided their bodies with the male dancers', tapping their feet and performing intricate footwork. There are several types of Gypsy dance originating in Hungary, Romania, Greece, Turkey and further east. The one we enjoyed was Russian. The Gadag Bar, a dance of humour and flirtation, has a range of choreographies in the Armenian tradition. It can be presented by a couple, triple or six dancers. In most cases the girls wear a headscarf. The three couples of Sardarabad presented a humourous show, with the boys displaying their jumping skills on stage. The beautiful movements of Armenian folk dance are capable of articulating a person's grief and joy. Each and every dance has its own story. Again, on the traditional instrumental tunes of composer Khatchadour Avedissian, the seven girls made a proud entrance to perform the Artsakh. Artsakh is used by Armenians to refer to Nagorno-Karabakh, a majority-Armenian region and de facto republic also claimed by Azerbaijan. Six young men joined the ladies on stage in a forte rhythm. Together they decided they would defend the borders from the enemy as the region belongs to Armenians. The white crowns the girls wore represent the region the dance belongs to. Sardarabad is the name of a battle of the Caucasus campaign of World War I that took place near the Armenian Sardarabad region in May 1918. With the Armenian victory over the Ottoman forces-a victory that prevented the complete destruction of the nation-the country achieved its first independence. The Egyptian-Armenian Sardarabad Dance Troupe was founded 45 years ago by Mrs Shaké Hovaghimian. The troupe operates under the patronage of the 70-year old Houssaper Cultural Association, which believes in the divine mission of keeping Armenian heritage alive and passing it from one generation to the next. Kudos to nations that fall but rise to preserve their culture, that struggle to pass on what valuable things they have, for however long it takes a nation with no culture will most certainly die. “Sassoun danced and the whole world marvelled, Sassoun danced and the whole world understood That this is not a dance, but the brave history of a country, Where even defeat has pride. And nothing can vanquish this ancient nation, That knows how to dance with such ardour and will... May you dance this dance on the slopes of Masis.” Kevork Emin (1918- 1998)
