Starting from 2009 a youth dance group of Catholic Church is functioning in Lanjik Community Center. The members of the dance group are more than 20 children aged 6-18. During the 5 years of its activities the group has become popular by the community. There is hardly any community event without the participation of the dance group with its nice performance of traditional Armenian dances.
About 2 years ago a dance group was formed in Torosgyugh community on the initiative of the Community Center. The responsibilities of the dance teacher were undertaken by the Community Center officer Mariam Ghukasyan. Today there are more than 13 kids in the dance group, who gladly attend the dance group classes twice a week and participate in the village events.
Unfortunately, the dance groups of both communities didn’t have corresponding costumes and shoes, and even very well performed dances didn’t have the necessary quality and effect. All the dances were performed in the same costumes, which of course could satisfy neither the children not the audience. According to the dance teachers they were not able to perform many national dances because of the lack of costumes, and the quality and the presentability of the national dances depends on the existence of corresponding and correctly chosen costumes.
Seeing and highly appreciating the work of the children and their teachers, the enthusiasm and happiness of the parents while watching their kids on the stage, national costumes were sewed for 15 members of Lanjik dance group on the initiative and financial support of the NGO “Women for Development”.
But, of course, this was not enough for all the kids, and the NGO WFD applied to “Paros” Foundation with a request to help the dance groups of these communities get new costumes and shoes. After several months the organization received a letter from “Paros” Foundation, which said that Sevag and Nairi Balyans, an Armenian family living in the USA, expressed readiness to sponsor the project and help the kids living in bad conditions in the remote villages.
In about 2 months 3 types of Armenian traditional taraz dresses were designed and sewed and shoes were purchased for 31 kids (instead of the 30 foreseen ones).
Today the dance groups of Lanjik and Torosgyugh communities have corresponding costumes and are getting ready to participate in a joint event in the nearest future. Gohar Markosyan, President of the NGO WFD, is sure that several problems will be solved through this project: it will help make the cultural life of the communities more active, will raise the people’s participation in the organized activities, will help retain Armenian national and traditional dances, the repertoire will be updated and new dances will be performed, joint events and tours will be organized among the communities, and this project of “Paros” Foundation and NGO WFD will become another successful and sustainable initiative in the communities.
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