Camp Haiastan in Franklin, Massachusetts is where my parents met in the late 1950s – at the St. Stephen’s Armenian Apostolic Church picnic. In those days and all throughout my childhood, the dance floor in front of the bandstand at the upper Camp was full beyond capacity with Genocide survivors, their children and grandchildren joyfully continuing the traditions of their respective villages. Displaced from these villages because of the Genocide, the survivors steadfastly maintained whatever
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Thank you, Pauline for this wonderful piece about Armenian dance, Houshamadyan’s project, your personal connection to it, and for the moving piece, “Arshile Gorky Dancing” (who wrote that?) I love Armenian circle dances and learned many of them growing up in Los Angeles, from Tom Bozigian. have such fond memories of going to our community picnics at the local park and dancing to the live band there. I, too, have always been surprised that most Middle-Eastern born Armenians never learned them or used them there. I consider myself lucky to have gone to the first Armenian day school in the country, Ferrahian, and having periodic lessons there from Tom Bozigian. I’ve carried those with me to every Armenian dance since then, and they give me an immediate, physical and emotional connection to my homeland and ancestors, like no other activity ever has.
Passing on the dances to the younger generation is key. Glad to have my niece Phoebe Okoomian (see photos above) of Barrington, RI dancing in the line next to me.
Thank you for writing this article Pauline. I had the privilege to watch all these amazing dancers film & document these traditional Armenian dances at the Armenian Cultural Foundation last Summer. And an even greater honor to have my daughters Nairi & Knar, Great-Grandchildren of Genocide survivors, dance along side these dancers, carrying the legacy of our ancestors. I highly encourage anyone who read this article to join me in donating to Houshamadyan, so they can continue this very important archival work. Ani Boghosian-Kasparian dedicated so much time to this initiative last August and the global Armenian community has a responsibility to preserve these traditions before they are lost forever! Thank you Houshamadyan
I too learned these traditional Armenian dances from Tom Bozigian, when we invited him to Ottawa in 1974.
To my amazement one day in May 2003, in a restaurant on Hanrapetutyan St (Yerevan). AVC volunteers were celebrating one year of volunteering. I had taught them a few Bozigian dances, and Bozigian showed-up with his own dance teacher (Karapetyan). The band played Loorke and on the floor we had 4 generations of dancers dancing with the same steps.
I am happy to see this Houshamadyan project which we must all support financially.