AKH’TAMAR: AN ENSEMBLE BUILT ON CHERISHED VALUES
by Elyssa Karanian

Armenian Reporter
October 25, 2008
Armenia

The dynamic dance troupe gears up for a rare Glendale performance

The girls of the ensemble depict the waves of Lake Van, the home of
the legend of Akhtamar. Photo

Philadelphia – Sylva Asadourian has been dancing all her life. As a
teenager living in Lebanon, she was a member of the Antranig Dance
Group. During her last two years of high school, she taught her own
Armenian dance classes, greatly influenced by Vanoush Khanamiryan,
the longtime choreographer of Armenia’s State Dance Ensemble. In
those years, Sylva learned and drew new ideas by watching videos of
Khanamiryan’s performances.

After moving to the United States, Sylva continued to teach dance in
a variety of places, including the Hovnanian School in New Milford,
New Jersey. During her five-year stint there, the children’s dance
group which she taught boasted over 90 members.

Despite the existence of the AGBU Antranig Dance Ensemble in New
York, the early 90s saw a lull in Armenian dance-group membership
and performances, leading Sylva to decide that it was the perfect
time to start her own ensemble.

"I approached one of the mothers and gave her my idea for the dance
group," she recalls. "About seven or eight ladies joined me and helped
make costumes and recruit members."

Talar Sarafian, who grew up dancing in the Antranig Dance Ensemble,
remembers: "At that time there was a lot of need for these young
Armenian girls to belong somewhere. There was a need for an activity
beside the occasional school hantes [group performance]."

That need for belonging was soon filled for more than 70 girls,
with the creation of the Akh’Tamar Dance Ensemble in 1994.

Building a family Since its creation, Akh’Tamar has developed into a
successful troupe comprising a sparkling collection of young Armenians,
ranging in age from 5 (and sometimes even younger) to 22.

The ensemble’s Friday-night rehearsals are not what one would
imagine in terms of a typical dance rehearsal or sports practice,
with parents leaving their child with a quarter (or a cell phone)
and telling them to call when they’re ready to be picked up. Rather,
Akh’Tamar’s Friday-night rehearsals are family nights. Mothers stay
to watch and enjoy a fellowship of their own, sewing costumes and
showing their support for the group.

"It started like that because we were initially independent and
without financial support," Sylva says of the Friday-night gatherings
of volunteer moms and committee members. "But now everyone comes to
the church and we all participate. Everyone has a great time and we
are all producing something."

These gatherings were not always possible for Akh’Tamar. Until
recently, the ensemble did not have a permanent home. What started
as a group of seven or eight Istanbul-Armenian women – led by Sylva
and co-founder Zvart Gulian – making costumes and trying to start
their own group eventually grew into a comprehensive effort that was
"adopted" last year by Tenafly, New Jersey’s St. Thomas Armenian
Church, which provided the ensemble with a real home.

Sylva calls the church their "umbrella," as she credits it for giving
her dance group everything it needed to function as an independent
ensemble. "Besides," Sylva says, "we have an even larger family
now. The hayr soorp [Father Papken Anoushian] leads the dancers and
directs them in different ways, the parish council is there supporting
and encouraging them. It’s a big deal for the girls to see someone
beside the Akh’Tamar committee members supporting them. It’s been a
great, great blessing for us."

Just as Sylva expresses her gratitude for the presence of the church
in the life of her ensemble, her dancers feel equally blessed to
have her. Twenty-year-old Shushan Barsanogullari, one of Akh’Tamar’s
soloists, says that Sylva’s involvement in each of her dancers’
lives makes them feel something incredibly special. "She taught us
that everyone needs to be made to feel equal," Shushan says. "She
taught us to set good examples for the younger girls. We have Sylva
to steer us and guide us in the right direction." Shushan gushes on
without taking a breath: "We have our moms there at practices. They’re
there. Having them devote so much time to this group, that’s what
makes us appreciate everything that much more. We’re at home here."

Daughters (and sons) of Akh’Tamar Today approximately 80 dancers call
Akh’Tamar home. While membership is mainly female, this past summer
Sylva opened the group up to a small group of younger boys. There
are currently about 15 boys ranging in age from 5 to 12.

What seems to hold this dynamic group together is a set of solid
family values. Many of the dancers say, above everything else,
it is the closeness they feel that makes them successful. "There’s
something different about it," Shushan says of the ensemble. "I think
it’s because we don’t look at it as a dance group. We’re all really
good friends. We’re all very close. Our oldest members will hang out
with the younger girls. We just had a birthday party for one of the
nine-year-olds. These are our sisters."

Talar, who is now a committee member and a parent of two young
Akh’Tamar dancers, comments: "I think the key to this group
is Sylva and her right-hand woman, Zvart, who does most of
the costume-making. They work as a team and they are really the
cornerstones. They are energetic women and strong women and they are
very resourceful. They keep it going through thick and thin."

The combination of young and old, dancers and choreographers,
committee members and volunteers, and those who simply come to give
their support, is what gives this group its edge. "It’s all about the
people that you have with you," Shushan says earnestly. "That’s what
makes you shine."

Dance group of the community Another thing that sets Akh’Tamar apart
is its dedication to staying non-affiliated. In a culture that seems
to demand that we make choices and take sides, Akh’Tamar manages to
remain the "dance group of the community."

With acknowledgement in her voice of just how great a feat this
seems to be in the Armenian diaspora, Talar says, "Akh’Tamar is
a very non-political and non-affiliated group. This past May, for
instance, we performed for an ARF event. It really goes to show you
that there are very few dance groups that cross community lines. We
pride ourselves on being the dance group of the entire community,
not just on one side of it."

Regarding that performance, Sylva says, "It was very together. It
was just one Armenian group. The girls [who danced together] became
friends. They call each other sometimes. It really hasn’t been too
difficult for us to stay non-affiliated."

Akh’Tamar gives several performances each year, appearing at various
Armenian events and ethnic festivals throughout the United States. The
ensemble also gives an annual performance at Felician College in New
Jersey. Last year Akh’Tamar participated in an Iranian parade and most
recently performed for a Saint Vartanants celebration alongside the
Sayat-Nova and Yeraz dance groups. "It was a huge success," Sylva
says of the last appearance.

On November 2, at the invitation of the Tekeyan Cultural Association
and the Organization of Istanbul Armenians, Akh’Tamar will be
performing for the first time in Glendale, California. Harout
Yeretsian, vice-chairman of Tekeyan’s Glendale branch, says, "Sylva
is a very talented choreographer and Akh’Tamar is a very interesting
group. We are excited to have them perform here."

Shushan, and the other members of Akh’Tamar, are just as
excited. "Every time we have a rehearsal, we just keep giving each
other pep talks," she says. "I still can’t believe that we were given
this opportunity."

Giving back Akh’Tamar has given an immeasurable gift to all
involved. "I remember my years of dancing," Talar says. "It’s a whole
different sense of belonging to a group. My friends and I still keep
in touch, and now it’s our children that are a part of this."

And if you’re not involved but you wish to be, "Just show up on a
Friday night and say you want to dance," says Talar. "Sylva works
with the newcomers one-on-one until they are used to the steps and the
environment." Akh’Tamar’s learning environment fosters a shared love
of dance, Armenian culture, and this growing family of dancers. "Once
you get there," Shushan says, "and once you feel the music, that’s
it. That’s all there is. It’s not an obligation, it’s your life."

For all those who have watched, or will watch, Akh’Tamar perform,
you are not without these gifts of belonging. Shushan says, "Everyone
is there for one reason." She doesn’t elaborate on the "everyone"
part, but I take it to include dancers, audience members, supporters,
parents, and a host of others. And that "reason?" "Because you love
your culture," she says. "Akh’Tamar is a family, but we’re all the
same – every dance group. We’re all in it for the same reason: we all
love to dance. And we’re all special because we give the community a
different way to look at our culture, and that’s in how we express it:
through dance."