On May 29, at the State Music and Ballet Centre in Sofia under the patronage of the Embassy of Armenia in Bulgaria, took place the show called "Reflecting the Armenian spirit".
The spectacle was organized by AGBU – Sofia Chapter and was dedicated to the 25th anniversary of the Independence of Armenia and the 110th anniversary of the creation of the Armenian General Benevolent Union - AGBU.
The chief choreographer and author of the play is the Armenian Julia Mutlu. The production included the two parts, which managed through honest and artistic message to demonstrate to the completely full hall, the strength and the depth of the Armenian soul and spirit.
In the first part, the audience enjoyed the show of 101 traditional Armenian hand-made costumes, made with the full support of Julia Mutlu’s main fellow, the photographer Janine Papazian.
On stage in succession and in synchrony, photos appeared on a white screen, which was an additional visual effect, paintings were shown demonstrating the everyday life and everyday life of Armenians from IX to the XX century. These included: the families of the mountain regions, going to the local markets or, female city costumes, the finesse of the ladies, wedding, young wives accompanied by her companion with a rifle on his shoulder, waist gun, grandfather and grandchild, conversations.
In this diverse range of real life situations, the faces of those artists complemented with their natural emotional message of the clothes. The costumes included from the brightness of purple, red, pink and blue costume to the moderate elegance of black and brown. Everything was appealing and gained the hearts of the audience, who were taken to a multifaceted walk back in time. The overall ensemble of clothes displayed included: fine jewelry, belts with beautiful buckles, gowns with exquisite embroidery, scarves, veils hanging from hats.
Each of these elements created in an evocation overall picture of an aesthetic experience, focused of the influence of Asian and European traditions.
Among the pointed slippers with sequins, leather sandals and knit socks, this performance proved that the Armenian traditional costume during different centuries has become a cultural value that keeps the collective memory alive.
At the final of the production, the costume of the Armenian Patriarch emerged on the scene, which seems like blessed everybody that was present and the entire Armenian community.
The second part was concentrated on the Armenian Music and Dance. Extremely fine and powerful was the performance of the young Armenian singer Maral Ataman, who presented songs lauding the historic glory of the country’s capital, the city of Yerevan. The climax of the show was the dance performance, which recreated the suffering of the Armenian people during the terrible crimes of the Genocide. The folk choreography included the elements of modern ballet. The scene was shown a dramatic narrative that touched every spectator in the hall.
Two primary colors with deep symbolism - black and red, set the accents in the dance of the ballet, while the combined total in unison movements of the men and women of the ensemble managed unconditionally to instill the virtue of national spiritual commitment.
At the end of this great event dedicated to the Armenian culture, everyone present in the hall emotions became content in empathy by the ability of a nation to express its feelings and share its story.
|
|
Pictures from the magazine Diplomatic Specter and AGBU - Sofia:
On the last picture - the closing of the concert, from left to right: Mr Ehiezar Uzunian (Honorary Consul of the Republic of Armenia in Plovdiv), Ms. Nelly Matevosian (Advisor to the Armenian embassy), H. E. Mr. Armen Sargasian (Ambassador of the Republic of Armenia in Bulgaria), Ms. Sonya Bedrosian (chairlady of AGBU - Sofia), Ms. Julia Mutlu (chief choreographer and author of the play).
