Kosta Karakashyan: Expanding Dance Limits and Language

Yes, one of the most valuable things for me is the conversations that have sparked from these projects. It’s moving to see an audience come to a screening or performance with one frame of mind and to leave with their mind open for debate, or with a new understanding how a different group of people lives. We’ve done this with our performance “KITCHEN” which shows the psychological trauma of professional chefs in the culinary industry and with another immersive performance called “The Last Sunset” which deals with the negative impact of fossil fuel on the environment and takes the audience to the Regional Landfill for Nonhazardous Waste in Gabrovo. That was an amazing experience. Sometimes it’s difficult to measure how many minds you have changed, but we always give the audience a space to reflect in writing, so we know that this type of soft work is doing.

That’s what I’m hoping will happen with the new film “They,” which follows two university professors who cannot reveal they are a couple. Unfortunately, over the last few days Bulgaria passed a new law banning the discussion of any LGBTQ+ topics in schools, labelling it as propaganda. By accident, the film became even more relevant with the current political and social situation, so when it’s time to present it in Bulgaria after its international festival run, it will start a lot of conversation for sure. We are really grateful to the National Culture Fund of Bulgaria for supporting the project with their Creation grant, which made it possible to create a queer film even with this more conservative climate.

I loved your documentary “Surrender” about the masculinity in dance. Attending ballroom dance classes in Armenia and USA I can say that there is a lack of men in such classes not only in relatively conservative Armenian, but also in American society. The opposition of ballroom versus gym for men will always exist, although both do not disturb each other, don’t you think so?

Absolutely! And if you look at dancers, they are incredible physical athletes that can be just as impressive as football or basketball players. There is a sensuality and freedom in dance that a lot of men are afraid of. There’s a social stigma about being vulnerable, playful and being perceived as “soft,” which is a shame because it creates a lot of unrealistic pressure for men to put up a strong front both physically and mentally. But sooner or later, we can’t push down all of our emotions and they want to come to the surface in some way, so I hope more men turn towards dance and other healthy forms of expression rather than toxic masculinity in all of its dangerous forms. There’s nothing inherently embarrassing about being vulnerable, and the more men realize this, the better!

Please tell us about your Armenian heritage.

On my father’s side of the family, which is Armenian, his father’s side of the family were living in a Turkish village and came to Bulgaria around 1920 via Greece. Half of the family left on a ship to France, while the rest came to Bulgaria, and after a few years the ones in Bulgaria told the others to rejoin them because they had found a stable way of life in Plovdiv, where the largest concentration of the Armenian diaspora is in Bulgaria. On his grandmother’s side, her father was a soldier whose whole family was killed in the Armenian Genocide in 1915 – his wife, two children, brothers and parents. His second wife was orphaned and they found their way to Bulgaria as well, where my father’s parents met.

In Bulgaria, I was raised by my Armenian dad and my Bulgarian mum, but we observe all the Armenian holidays as well. My brother and his kids, as well as me were all baptized at the Armenian Apostolic Orthodox Church Surp Kevork in Plovdiv, which was founded around 200 years ago, and we are close to the Armenian community in the city.

Nowadays I am following some younger Armenian creatives and artists thanks to my dear friend Theresa Voskanyan, who is an editor for ELLE Magazine in Bulgaria but regularly visits Armenia and shares what the local creative scene is up to. I have yet to visit! We were supposed to come with my immersive performance “KITCHEN” for a performing arts festival last year, but unfortunately the timing didn’t work out, so I am looking into other opportunities to come to Armenia with some of my performances or films. That would be the next dream come true!