Summeet of International Contemporary Dance in Armenia

English dancer Deborah Bull once said that she enjoys the freedom of modern dance as well as the constraints of classical dance. Watching the works of different choreographers, one can be convinced that modern dance also has limitations and constraints in its seeming freedom; repetitions of dance movements are inevitable, especially in long performances. As a result, some performances seemed unnecessarily long and had several endings. This is a universal phenomenon in the modern dance world. But what is important here, is the stylistic diversity, which was happily present at the Summeet. It was wonderful to be convinced again that there is a huge potential of modern dance among Armenian dancers, that next to the already established names of choreographers (Arsen Mehrabyan, Ara Asaturyan, Arman Balmanukyan, Lilit Hakobyan, Arshavir Muradyan) new, young talents stand out (Anush Sargsyan, Lusine Davtyan, Nina Hayrapetyan). This potential was also significant in the works of dramatic theater directors who performed modern dance performances and did not lag behind their choreographer counterparts. Their inclusion in Summeet gave additional colors to the festival: I mean Arsen Khachatryan’s “Offline” and Vahan Badalyan’s “La vie en rose” (“Life in Pink”) performances with the eminent participation of both experienced and new young artistes.

As for the performances presented by the Russian guests, we must once again mention and single out the creative style of Valeria Kasparova (see my interview with her in the Mirror-Spectator here: https://mirrorspectator.com/2020/09/24/valeria-kasparova-vaneh-kasyants-modernity-is-love-and-respect-for-the-past/). She gave moments of excitement to the Yerevan audience also with her performance of “Voices,” sensibly adapting the movements of modern dance to the Armenian traditional music.

By the way, let us mention that the brilliant performance of Russian dancers might arouse good envy, however, for the sake of justice, let us also note that Armenian dancers are not inferior to their northern counterparts in their openness and understanding of this type of art. Some may be only technically.

New Trends On- and Off-Stage

Bringing together the performances of Armenian and Russian choreographers, one can notice other similarities too. The youth of the twenty-first century are taking on the challenges of mankind in a globalizing world, the first of which is the problem of human communication. “Babylon” by Valeria Kasparova and Arman Balmanukyan, a unique choreographic “cacophony” “Communication Disruption” by Anush Sargsyan or the characters of aforementioned “Offline,” a boy and a girl highly dependent on the latest technologies, depict choreographically the complexities and contradictions of today’s human communication. And for the Armenian artistes, unfortunately, the war topic is still relevant today (“Black Garden” by Valeria Kasparova, “# 44” by Ara Asaturyan and Arman Julhakyan): all that remains is to wish that our artistes (and not only) never touch upon that topic again.

For years, people have rightly mentioned the lack of a proper choreographic stage in Yerevan. The Summeet showed that such a platform could be the Opera Studio under the auspices of the Yerevan Conservatory. Its directors Hasmik Papyan and Hayk Vardanyan, being representatives of vocal art, were always present at all the performances, ensuring not only the responsible attitude and positive aura of the hosts, but also emphasizing the need for the presence of representatives from different spheres at the important cultural event. Moreover, one of the organizers of the festival, Arman Balmanukyan, did not hesitate to clean and polish the stage with a stick after the performances. This is a change of mind, from which all the positive changes in the world begin.

Of course, there were also organizational flaws that are unavoidable, especially for the first one. For instance, in a significant part of the plays, there was an oral speech, which, without being translated, often caused difficulties to understand. Let’s hope that the organizers will learn a lesson from them, whose efforts, in the end, gave the desired result, giving at least a small part of the post-war Armenian society a fest of high art.

The festival ended with another pleasant newness. A new Armenian brand, Tateon apple drink, was introduced to the public at the closing reception. This strong alcohol beverage was started to be produced in Vardenis, during the wartime, by singer and businessman Armen Karapetyan, who lived in France for many years and now established in Armenia. A new festival, new names, new drink… new hopes.

The Breath of Dance Fest

At the festival, dancers from Voronezh, Igor Prudsky and Nikolay Gavrilin presented the “ARRRR” show, choreographed by Pavel Glukhov, during which they take water from bottles and splash each other.

This trick, typical of the comic film, seems nothing to do with choreography, but the boys did it so diversely, refreshingly, provocatively, humorously, that, it seemed to be pleasant to watch if they empty two more bottles.

As Vadim Kasparov, one of the organizers of this dance fest, says: “My dream is that the whole world says: we want us to be ‘like Armenia.’ And I am sure that everything will work out!”