Once, after the historic meeting of Gorbachev and Reagan in Reykjavik, which symbolized the end of the Cold War, the fact of establishment of the «Kirov Ballet» by renowned Soviet ballet dancers, Rudolf Kharatyan (Yerevan Opera Theatre) and Oleg Vinogradov (The Bolshoy Theatre), at the invitation of the American side was also historical. Recently, at the National Opera House, under the cultural activities dedicated to the Centenary of the Armenian Genocide, the performance “Two Suns” by choreographer Kharatyan under the high patronage of First Lady Rita Sargsyan seemed to stir the quiet process of the Armenian ballet world.
Note that we first time witnessed the harmonious use of classical, modern, neo-classic and hip-hop genres in the aforementioned performance staged by the work “Book of Lamentations” written by Narekatsi, as well as similarly harmonious musical thoughts starting from the 4th century to the present day (Mashtots, Narekatsi, Alan Hovhannes, Khachatryan Babajanyan, Terteryan, Ashot Ariyan), in succession, moreover, supplementing each other in terms of scenario. Not only our ballet theater artists but also dancers invited from abroad were participating in the performance, and as said by Kharatyan once, this is an international ballet group, the artists are invited for about a 40-week contract, then they are replaced by new ones.
Recently, the soloists Jonathan Jordan and Sona Kharatyan from The Washington Ballet played in the “Tow Suns” casting the roles of Narek and the Virgin Mary, respectively. The spouses are working in the mentioned Ballet for about 15 theatre-season and are winners of international contests in a number of international festivals and ballet, and the repertoire is extensive: performances from classical to contemporary choreography, including George Balanchine, Mark Morris, Christopher Bildon, Paul Taylor, Chu-san -Goy, Anthony Tudor, Alexei Ratmansky, William Forsythe, and Rudolf Kharatyan. The Washington post also addressed the art of the spouses.
In the interview with “Aravot”, Sona Kharatyan reminded that her father once was teaching in the various groups of the American Ballet, starting from Kirov up to Washington. She mentioned that Kharatyan is a well-known teacher in the United States and was puzzled that we, Armenians, are amazed at staging a contemporary ballet performance in Armenia. “Since 1979 until the early 1990s, my father led the group of ballet of Armenia’s television and still in those years, he implemented the so-called non-standard plays and performances, about whom the Moscow Central Television later would say that the Armenian ballet master was the first one in the Soviet Union who initiated staging contemporary ballet performances. To the point, when my father was invited to the Yerevan Opera House in 2008, here he also, certainly not in the scale of the “Tow Suns”, implemented some performances under the contemporary directing. My husband and I have watched them on CD, but today, when we are involved in the performance, we can say that this is the performance that can be surely presented to the most demanding audience and critics,” said Sona Kharatyan.
Jonathan Jordan told us that Rudolf Kharatyan had “experienced” Narekatsi on him still in America. “Really, I feel holy Narekatsi’s impact on me not only because I embody him, but in the formation of my own person. I wish the western audience would also see this performance, at least for the reason that it contains the strong cultural values, with which the Armenian nation has participated in the formation of the universal value system. I am proud that through my character in the performance I emphasize Narekatsi’s practical influence on strengthening the Armenian essence. Ultimately, Narekatsi is considered to be the mediator of the Armenian nation with God. Truly, it is an expressive performance, in which time and space do not exist, the ballet is presented in cosmic space,” stated Jordan.
Samvel DANIELYAN
In the photo: Sona Kharatyan (Holy Virgin Mary) and Jonathan Jordan (G. Narekatsi) in the “Two Suns” performance
“Aravot” daily
