On April 3, at Vanadzor Palace of Culture after Charles Aznavour, “From the Depth of Centuries” concert program will take place with the participation of Vanadzor “Horovel” song and dance ensemble and “Teryan” cultural center. Today, during the press conference at Artist.am cultural center, the organizers of the concert opened up about the idea and the objective of the concert: “Teryan” cultural center reproduces old Armenian traditional costumes. The costumes are mainly displayed as défilés and we decided to include them in the program of the concert and try to present them in a more theatricalized way,” explained the director of Artist.am, Manvel Alevoryan.
To the director of “Teryan” cultural center, painter and designer Lilit Melikyan, the restoration of the Armenian traditional costumes has been a hobby, which afterwards has become a goal to represent the national: “We have always thought to exhibit traditional costumes in a theatricalized way, and not so as the model came, walked in a beautiful manner and went. We are frequently asked what costume this was, which kind this was, etc. If a fashion show, then it is not perceived. If you stage all that, giving way to both a concert and a speech, it will be perceived easily. Or you should provide people with literature for them to read in parallel with watching, for example, that King Abgar was wearing this cloth, etc., or it should be staged so well for people to perceive.”
The general choreographer of “Horovel” song and dance ensemble, Arayik Gevorgyan is convinced no such cooperation has taken place in Armenia yet, this is a precedential one: “King costumes’ collection will be exhibited, the costumes of traditional wedding gowns, children’s clothes and traditional costumes of our region. We have tried to connect all this with the dances we have. We made the proposal and “Teryan” cultural center agreed with great pleasure. Our dance ensembles are not good at representing and wearing national costumes, inasmuch as we do not have specialists who will deal with it. Or, everyone wears whatever they have for some reasons. Now the audience will finally see the true traditional costume with few contemporary elements.”
Mainly the traditional costumes of Western Armenia will be exhibited during the concert. Collections of 5 kings and queens will be exhibited, as well as wedding dresses: “Armenian singing, dancing, traditional costumes are ideologies. This concert will show the audience how the traditional costumes coming from the depth of centuries are exhibited merged with songs. Only the basis of the national ideology is presented here. Hereby we should awaken the traditional costumes, the traditional song, and dance within the inner self of our youth,” says the director of “Horovel” song and dance ensemble, Armen Nersisyan.
Tatevik Ghazaryan
