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Antranig
Dance Ensemble Performs in Minneapolis
The
Antranig Dance Ensemble has performed in a lot of unique
cities and countries through the past thirty years,
but most would never have expected to find them performing
in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Not that there aren't any
Armenians there, because, as the Ensemble found out
first-hand, there are. And they love the folk, ballet
and historical dance stylings of the Antranig Ensemble
just as it's loved every place the group performs.
What
made this trip even more unique was that it was sponsored
by the University of St. Thomas in St. Paul, Minnesota
as part of a day-long Armenian Education Day. The high-profile
event was
arranged by Assistant Professor Siobhan Nash-Marshall,
who has demonstrated a long-time personal love for everything
Armenian.
The
Antranig Dance Ensemble performed a spirited full program
of selections from its current repertoire under Director
Joyce Tamesian-Shenloogian, and was accompanied by their
teacher, mentor and choreographer, Gagik Karapetian
of Yerevan.
Another
aspect of the unique atmosphere for the dancers was
the audience they performed to, an audience of academics,
students and members of the college community, as well
as many from the Armenian community of the Minneapolis-St.
Paul region. The response was no less enthusiastic than
the group has experienced in New York, Yerevan or Paris.
The
beautiful stylings of Mr. Karapetian combined with the
energy of the mature dancers delivered an infectious
mood to the audience. It culminated in a demand for
an encore that had to be answered, leaving the attendees
with a feeling that they got what they came for.
The
Antranig performance was the finale of a full day of
Armenian culture and history, including a display of
materials from the SAVE Project of ALMA, lectures by
noted Armenologists Lucy Der
Manuelian, Vahakn Dadrian and Ruth Tomasian. Other speakers
included Aldo Ferrari of the University of Naples, Italy
and Michael Wegner, the son of a photographer of Genocide
atrocities.
In
addition to the University of St. Thomas and Ms. Nash-Marshall,
a major underwriter of the event was Arsham Ohanessian,
a devoted supporter of Armenian culture and activities
in the region.
The
relationship with Professor Nash-Marshall actually began
two years ago when she was involved with a grand medieval
festival in Kalamazoo, Michigan. At that time a smaller
number of dancers from the Antranig Ensemble were invited
to perform at that event and received a great response,
certainly enough for her to remember Antranig and ask
them to perform for the recent event. It's no surprise
that Ms. Nash-Marshall is already planning the next
occasion for Antranig's return to the area.
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