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Kochari

Kochari (Armenian: Քոչարի) is a traditional group folk dance native to Armenia, executed by participants forming lines or semi-circles while holding hands or shoulders, featuring synchronized steps that emphasize energetic knee bends and forward progressions.^[1] Performed widely during holidays, family ceremonies, and social gatherings across Armenia, it accommodates dancers of all ages, genders, and social backgrounds, promoting communal solidarity and cultural continuity.^[1] Inscribed in 2017 on UNESCO's Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity, Kochari exemplifies Armenia's longstanding traditions of collective expression through movement, with transmission preserved via community practice and formal education initiatives since the early 2000s.^[1]^[2] Historically rooted in the Armenian Highlands, the dance's basic form involves rhythmic patterns of dips and walks, adaptable across regions with variations in tempo and styling that reflect local customs.^[3] While primarily an Armenian cultural element, analogous line dances bearing the name Kochari or similar terms appear among neighboring ethnic groups such as Azerbaijanis and Kurds, suggesting shared regional influences predating modern borders, though the Armenian variant maintains distinct communal and festive emphases.^[4] Its endurance, spanning at least a millennium in oral and performative transmission, underscores resilience amid historical upheavals, positioning it as a symbol of ethnic identity and mutual respect within Armenian society.^[5]

Origins and History

Ancient Roots and Etymology

The name Kochari (Armenian: Քոչարի) derives from Armenian linguistic roots associated with knee movements, as analyzed in scholarly examinations of the dance's form, where etymological ties reflect the bent-knee steps that define its technique. Armenian dance expert Srbuhi Lisitsyan further connects the term to symbolic elements, including potential links to ancient cults of the ram, evidenced in regional motifs and choreography that evoke animalistic postures beyond mere kinematics. Historical roots trace to the Armenian Highlands, an ancient pastoral region encompassing areas like Chorzene (modern Kars vicinity), where Kochari emerged as part of a broader family of archaic folk dances with motifs preserved in prehistoric cultural patterns.^[6] Oral and ethnographic traditions assert continuity from antiquity, positioning it as a totemic expression; for instance, the Dadiki variant mimics goat-like gaits (koiagerb, "like a goat"), suggesting origins in pre-Christian herding rituals tied to animal veneration for survival and fertility. Armenian cultural documentation describes it as known "from ancient times" across highland communities, integral to pre-modern social and ritual life before Ottoman-era suppressions altered transmission.^[7] While direct textual references predate only medieval periods, the dance's structural invariance across Armenian, Assyrian, and neighboring variants supports deep regional antiquity, predating 1000 years of attested practice.^[8]

Evolution as a Ritual and War Dance

The Kochari dance originated as a martial form in ancient Armenia, with movements derived from military maneuvers and hunting techniques, serving as a preparatory ritual for warriors to psych themselves for battle.^[8]^[9] Performers, typically men, executed synchronized steps mimicking combat formations, fostering unity and resolve among fighters.^[4] This pre-Christian practice, dating back over two millennia, incorporated totemic elements, such as dedications to the ram—a symbol of strength in Armenian Aryan traditions—to invoke protection and vitality.^[10]^[11] Over centuries, Kochari evolved from a strictly combative exercise into a broader ritual expression, blending warfare symbolism with communal rites that reinforced social bonds and spiritual harmony.^[12] Historical accounts describe it as a "conspiracy" or collective incantation among soldiers, transitioning post-battle into celebrations of victory, as evidenced by depictions of Armenian troops performing it after conflicts, including Soviet-era footage from 1945 showing dances outside the Reichstag.^[13] By the medieval period, ritual aspects emphasized life's cycles and divine favor, with steps symbolizing resilience and group cohesion, though core aggressive hops and formations retained martial echoes.^[14] This dual evolution reflects Kochari's adaptation from battlefield utility to cultural staple, where war dance vigor symbolized not only triumph but also enduring communal strength, performed before engagements for morale and after for commemoration.^[15] While primary evidence relies on oral traditions and ethnographic records due to limited ancient texts, consistent cross-regional variants underscore its prehistoric ritual-war fusion in the Armenian Highlands.^[3]

Description and Technique

Formation and Basic Movements

Kochari is executed in a mixed line formation, with participants of all ages and genders joining hands while extending arms downward in a V-position, typically facing the center of a semi-circle or line.^[16] This setup facilitates synchronized movement and emphasizes communal unity, as the dance accommodates varying numbers of performers without fixed size limits.^[1] The foundational movement, known as the Kochari step, consists of jumping onto both feet positioned diagonally forward to the left with toes turned outward and knees bent on the first count, followed by two bounces on both feet while lifting and lowering the heels, maintaining a straight back.^[16] Performed to 2/4 meter music, this step repeats in sequences that mirror directions to the right and left, often starting slowly and accelerating to incorporate more vigorous knee bends and stomps.^[16] Variations build upon the basic step through figures directed by the lead dancer, who signals changes approximately four measures in advance to ensure group coordination.^[16] Common figures include the double bounce, involving side steps with bounces to the right followed by a touch and bounce; a deep knee bend hold for emphasis; and crossing steps where one foot crosses over the other with aggressive lifts and bounces.^[16] These elements demand balance, strength, and precise timing, with the leader's improvisation guiding transitions between slow walking patterns and faster, energetic phases.^[16]

Musical Accompanement and Rhythm

The musical accompaniment for Kochari traditionally employs wind and percussion instruments, prominently featuring the zurna—a shrill, double-reed aerophone—and the davul, a large double-headed drum beaten with thick and thin sticks to produce varied tones. These instruments generate a loud, driving sound essential for guiding group synchronization in open-air or festive settings.^[17] ^[18] Kochari's rhythm is structured in 2/4 or 4/4 meter, with pronounced accents on every fourth beat that align directly with the dance's core phrasing of steps and stomps. This pattern underscores the forward-leaning posture and collective advances, fostering a sense of unity and momentum among performers.^[13] ^[19] Tempo variations occur across performances, often commencing at a moderate pace of approximately 120-140 beats per minute before accelerating to intensify the vigorous movements, though some regional forms incorporate uneven meters like 10/8 for added complexity.^[3] ^[20]

Cultural Significance

Role in Armenian Society and Symbolism

Kochari occupies a prominent role in Armenian social life, routinely performed at holidays, weddings, family ceremonies, and community gatherings to reinforce interpersonal connections and collective participation. Its inclusive nature, welcoming individuals of all ages, genders, and social strata, underscores its function as a communal activity that transcends generational and hierarchical barriers.^[1] The dance embodies symbolism of unity and solidarity, with participants forming a closed circle while clasping hands or shoulders, visually and kinetically representing the indivisible bonds of the community. Energetic steps and synchronized movements further signify collective strength, resilience, and national pride, evoking historical endurance amid adversity.^[3]^[4] Originally tied to male warriors celebrating military victories—potentially mimicking combative postures like those of rams clashing—Kochari has evolved into a broader emblem of cultural continuity and ethnic identity, transmitting historical memory through embodied practice. UNESCO's 2017 inscription highlights its contribution to fostering mutual respect and safeguarding intangible heritage, ensuring its transmission via family traditions, school programs since 2004, and dedicated folk ensembles active from the 1960s onward.^[1]^[4] Kochari is performed across a range of social gatherings in Armenia, including holidays, festive celebrations, family ceremonies such as weddings and baptisms, and other communal events.^[1]^[5] These contexts emphasize its role as a participatory group activity, typically executed in lines or circles by participants holding hands or shoulders, accommodating large numbers of dancers.^[1] Historically rooted as a male-dominated ritual associated with military preparations and post-victory commemorations, it has evolved into an inclusive practice open to individuals irrespective of age, gender, or social status.^[4]^[21] The dance serves key social functions by cultivating shared identity and solidarity among participants, reinforcing communal ties through synchronized movements that symbolize collective strength and resilience.^[1] It contributes to the preservation of historical, cultural, and ethnic memory, transmitting generational knowledge of Armenian traditions via embodied practice.^[1] By promoting mutual respect across diverse participants and fostering social cohesion, Kochari acts as a mechanism for maintaining cultural continuity amid social interactions.^[1] In contemporary settings, these functions extend to public performances and informal family transmissions, enhancing community bonds during events like Easter celebrations or national holidays, where the dance's energetic steps underscore themes of unity.^[5]^[1]

Regional Variants

Armenian Kochari

The Armenian Kochari, transcribed as Քոչարի, represents a core traditional folk dance originating from the Armenian Highlands, executed in linear or circular formations by groups of dancers standing shoulder to shoulder. Participants typically link arms by draping the right arm over the neighbor's left shoulder while placing the left hand on the waist or clasping handkerchiefs or pinky fingers, with men often comprising the core group due to the dance's demanding physicality.^[4]^[22] The movements commence with deliberate marching steps on the balls of the feet, progressing to quicker grapevine patterns, knee lifts, and culminating in explosive jumps or tremolo shakes involving the entire body, reflecting regional styles such as the vigorous Sasun variant from western historical Armenia.^[23]^[24] Musical accompaniment features the shrill zurna (a double-reed wind instrument) paired with the resonant dhol (double-headed drum), dictating a lively rhythm in 2/4 or 4/4 time that mirrors the dance's accelerating tempo. Each locality in historical Armenia—spanning areas like Van, Sasun, and eastern provinces—developed distinct melodic and choreographic nuances, with faster eastern Armenian adaptations incorporating pronounced tremolo figures post-19th century migrations.^[22]^[25] The dance's endurance stems from oral transmission in villages and ensembles, preserving pre-Christian elements amid historical disruptions including the Armenian Genocide of 1915.^[26] In contemporary Armenia and its diaspora, Kochari serves joyous communal functions at weddings, baptisms, holidays like Easter, and national festivals, fostering intergenerational bonds and ethnic continuity.^[5]^[4] Armenia nominated the dance for UNESCO's Intangible Cultural Heritage list in 2017, highlighting its role in promoting solidarity and cultural memory, though the 2018 inscription encompassed multi-ethnic variants from the region, prompting debates over singular attribution.^[27]^[1] Professional groups and youth ensembles in Yerevan, such as those performing in Aznavour Square, adapt it for stage while retaining authentic vigor, ensuring its vitality amid modernization.^[28]

Azerbaijani Köçəri

Köçəri, also known as a variant of Yalli, constitutes a traditional group dance form integral to Azerbaijani folk culture, especially in the Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic and surrounding regions.^[29] Performed predominantly by men in lines, semi-circles, or chains, it features synchronized steps involving knee bends, heel strikes, jumps, and acrobatic elements such as shoulder-to-shoulder physical contact and imitations of military marches or hunting scenes.^[29] Women may participate in certain song-accompanied variants, though male-only performances emphasize vigor and endurance, often lasting extended durations without pause.^[29] The dance incorporates rhythmic clapping, foot stomps, and occasional pantomime of animals or birds, set to asymmetrical meters typically in 2/4 or 6/8 time, accompanied by instruments like the zurna (double-reed oboe) and davul (large drum).^[29] Historical evidence links Köçəri to prehistoric practices, with petroglyphs in Gobustan National Park—dated by archaeologists to approximately 10,000–8,000 BCE—depicting figures in group formations suggestive of early dance rituals, interpreted by Azerbaijani cultural authorities as precursors to Yalli variants including Köçəri.^[30] These rock carvings, recognized as UNESCO World Heritage since 2007, portray communal gatherings with bent-knee postures and linear arrangements mirroring modern executions, supporting claims of continuity in Azerbaijani expressive traditions from Paleolithic eras through nomadic Turkic migrations.^[30] Etymologically, "köçəri" derives from "köç," denoting movement or migration in Azerbaijani Turkish, evoking the peripatetic heritage of pastoral communities in the Caucasus and Anatolia, though the dance's fixed formations contrast with literal nomadism.^[13] In contemporary Azerbaijani society, Köçəri serves ritualistic roles at weddings, circumcisions, Novruz celebrations, and national festivals, fostering communal bonds and transmitting generational knowledge orally through master-apprentice lineages.^[29] Preservation efforts, including its inclusion on UNESCO's List of Intangible Cultural Heritage in Need of Urgent Safeguarding in 2017 via the Yalli designation, underscore threats from urbanization and youth disinterest, prompting state-sponsored workshops and performances to revive participation rates, which have declined to fewer than 500 active practitioners in Nakhchivan by the early 2020s.^[29] Regional specificity distinguishes it, with Nakhchivan variants emphasizing acrobatics over the more linear marches seen in mainland Azerbaijan, reflecting localized adaptations to terrain and social structures.^[13]

Pontic Greek Kotsari

The Pontic Greek Kotsari (Greek: Κότσαρι), also spelled Kotchari or Kotsari, is a traditional folk dance originating from the eastern regions of Pontus along the Black Sea coast in what is now northeastern Turkey, particularly areas like Kars, Argyroupoli, and Paipourt, as well as among Pontic Greek communities in the Caucasus.^[31]^[32] It belongs to the broader family of Kochari dances shared across Armenian, Azerbaijani, and other regional traditions, characterized by linear formations and heel-driven steps, but distinctly emphasizes the Pontic style of rapid shoulder tremors and precise heel strikes known as kotsa (from kots, meaning "heel").^[33]^[13] Historically performed as a men's war dance to prepare for battle and intimidate foes through vigorous, synchronized movements, it has evolved into a mixed-gender social dance preserving Pontic Greek identity amid 20th-century displacements, including the 1923 population exchange between Greece and Turkey.^[34]^[35] In formation, Kotsari is typically executed in an open circle, straight line, or originally closed circle, with dancers linking arms at the shoulders or using a basket hold for stability during energetic sequences.^[35] The basic technique involves straight-step patterns with alternating heel touches to the ground, starting with two "lame" steps (kotsa) in the initial measures, followed by quick lifts and stamps that absorb impact at the ankle, creating a rhythmic shock distinct from softer footwork in other Greek dances.^[32]^[36] Unlike many Pontic dances in odd rhythms (e.g., 5/8 or 7/8), Kotsari maintains an even 2/4 or 4/4 meter, allowing for faster tempos and group synchronization, often accelerating to showcase endurance.^[33] Accompaniment features the Pontic lyra (kemenche), daouli drum, and sometimes bagpipes, with melodies evoking martial vigor through sharp, repetitive motifs.^[31] Culturally, Kotsari symbolizes resilience and communal solidarity among Pontic Greeks, who developed it over centuries in isolation from mainland Greek traditions, fostering a unique "nervous energy" in movements that reflects historical survival against Ottoman pressures.^[34] It serves social functions at weddings, festivals, and diasporic gatherings in Greece, Russia, and the United States, where it reinforces ethnic heritage post-1914-1923 genocides and exiles, often performed in lines to mimic battle fronts.^[32] While sharing heel-step mechanics with Armenian Kochari from the Kars borderlands, Pontic variants prioritize aesthetic flair over pure aggression, adapting for women without altering core steps, thus bridging ritual origins with modern preservation.^[33]^[13]

Other Regional Forms

Assyrian communities perform a variant known as Khigga, a collective line or semi-circle dance where participants clasp hands and execute varied foot patterns, including steps and knee bends, often at tempos of 115-125 beats per minute.^[37] This form emphasizes communal participation during social gatherings like weddings and parties, mirroring Kochari's group dynamics but adapted to Assyrian musical accompaniments featuring dawoola and tabla percussion.^[38] Kurdish renditions appear as Halay or Govend, line dances led by a caller who directs formations and steps, with dancers linking shoulders or hands in chains to perform synchronized hops, slides, and leg extensions.^[39] These are prevalent in weddings and festivals across Kurdish regions in Turkey, Iraq, and Iran, utilizing fast-paced rhythms from zurna and davul instruments, and sharing Kochari's emphasis on endurance and unity without fixed choreography.^[40] In Turkey, eastern Anatolian Halay dances incorporate Kochari-style elements, such as straight-line formations and pronounced leg lifts with shoulder sways, performed to energetic folk tunes on similar wind and drum ensembles.^[40] These variants, common in regions like Elazığ, blend local improvisations while retaining the core line dance structure, often in open spaces during communal celebrations.^[13] Across these groups, the dances underscore regional interconnections in the Armenian Highlands and Mesopotamia, with shared mechanics evolving through cultural exchange rather than uniform origins.^[13]

Recognition and Modern Practice

UNESCO Inscription and Preservation Efforts

In 2017, the UNESCO Intergovernmental Committee for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage inscribed "Kochari, traditional group dance" on the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity, based on a nomination submitted by Armenia during the committee's twelfth session.^[1]^[41] This recognition highlights Kochari's widespread performance across Armenia, particularly in provinces such as Aragatsotn and Tavush, during holidays, family ceremonies, and social gatherings, where it promotes communal solidarity, ethnic memory, and intergenerational participation regardless of age, gender, or status.^[1] The inscription supports safeguarding by increasing global awareness and encouraging targeted preservation, with communities, practitioners, and state institutions identified as primary bearers responsible for its vitality.^[1] Transmission occurs formally through integration into school curricula since 2004, youth arts programs, folk dance ensembles established in the 1960s, and NGO-led classes, alongside non-formal channels within families and spontaneous community groups.^[1] Institutional efforts include media documentation, institutional training initiatives, and the "Our Dances and We" community program launched in 2008, which engages practitioners in documentation and teaching to ensure continuity amid urbanization and modernization pressures.^[1] Armenian state cultural policy further aligns with UNESCO goals by prioritizing intangible heritage preservation, incorporating Kochari into national festivals, ethnographic ensembles like the Bekor Dance Ensemble, and educational projects that study and revive regional variants.^[42]^[43] Collaborative expert initiatives, such as those documenting Western Armenian folk dances including Kochari, emphasize authentic reconstruction and performance to counter generational loss.^[44] These measures have sustained Kochari's practice without identified acute threats, reinforcing its role in cultural identity.^[1]

Contemporary Performances and Adaptations

Kochari continues to be performed widely in Armenia during holidays, festive celebrations, family ceremonies, and social events, often in public spaces like Yerevan's streets where young participants engage spontaneously.^[1] In the diaspora, ensembles such as Sydney's Hamazkaine Armenian Dance Ensemble staged Kochari at their 2024 annual concert in August 2025, preserving the form through structured group performances.^[45] Similarly, Chicago's Siragan Armenian Dance Company has featured Kochari in rehearsals and shows, adapting it for stage presentation with varsity groups.^[46] Diaspora communities integrate Kochari into commemorative events, such as the May 2025 gathering in Berlin where Armenians performed it to mark the 80th anniversary of the Great Patriotic War's end.^[47] In Lebanon, the Nairi Dance Group Sydney performed Kochari variants at the Dhour Shweir Armenian Night on July 28, 2025, blending it with other cultural elements for evening festivals.^[48] These performances maintain the dance's communal line formation while adapting to urban and expatriate contexts, fostering cultural continuity among younger generations.^[49] Adaptations include symphonic reinterpretations, such as composer Serouj Baghdassarian's 2025 premiere of Kochari with full orchestral accompaniment under the "SymphonicFolk" banner, enhancing its traditional rhythms with classical instrumentation.^[50] Cross-cultural fusions appear in collaborations, like the April 2025 stage pairing of Armenian Kochari with Pontic Greek Kotsari, highlighting shared regional motifs through dual performers.^[51] Dance ensembles worldwide, including those in the U.S. and Australia, modify Kochari for theatrical settings by incorporating precise choreography and costumes while retaining core steps like knee bends and line advances.^[52]

Controversies and Debates

Disputes Over Origins and Ownership

The Kochari dance, originating from the Armenian Highlands, has been subject to competing national claims primarily between Armenians and Azerbaijanis, reflecting broader geopolitical tensions in the South Caucasus region. Armenian cultural authorities maintain that Kochari is an indigenous Armenian folk tradition with roots traceable to ancient communal practices in historical Armenia, emphasizing its performance in regions like Sassoun and Mush as a symbol of ethnic resilience. This assertion is supported by its 2017 inscription on UNESCO's Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity specifically as an Armenian group dance, highlighting its role in social events across Armenia.^[1]^[53] In response, Azerbaijan has asserted ownership over a variant known as Köçəri or Yalli, portraying it as an ancient Azerbaijani form predating Armenian associations, with references to petroglyphs in Gobustan depicting group dances dated to 10,000–8,000 BCE. Azerbaijani submissions framed Yalli (explicitly including Kochari and Tenzere) as originating from Nakhchivan, leading to its separate 2018 UNESCO inscription on the List of Intangible Cultural Heritage in Need of Urgent Safeguarding. Armenian officials criticized this as an attempt to politicize UNESCO and appropriate shared regional heritage, arguing that Azerbaijani variants derive from cross-cultural exchanges in the Armenian-influenced highlands rather than independent origins.^[54]^[55]^[56] These parallel UNESCO recognitions underscore the absence of a singular "owner," as the dance's core steps—shoulder-to-shoulder lines with synchronized knee bends and leaps—appear in variants across ethnic groups, including Pontic Greeks (Kotsari) and Kurds, suggesting prehistoric diffusion through migration and trade in Anatolia and the Caucasus. Nationalist narratives, amplified amid Armenia-Azerbaijan conflicts like Nagorno-Karabakh, have led to accusations of cultural erasure, with Armenian diaspora groups decrying Azerbaijani claims as revisionist and Azerbaijani sources dismissing Armenian primacy as unsubstantiated. Scholarly analyses of regional folklore indicate no definitive archaeological or textual evidence pinning exclusive origins to one modern nation, prioritizing instead its evolution as a shared pastoral and martial expression among highland peoples.^[57]

Nationalist Claims and Cultural Integrity

Armenian nationalists have asserted Kochari's centrality to ethnic identity, portraying Azerbaijani variants as illegitimate appropriations amid broader accusations of cultural erasure, particularly following the 2020 Nagorno-Karabakh war and 2023 Azerbaijani offensive in Artsakh.^[58] They argue that Azerbaijan's 2018 UNESCO nomination of "Yalli (Kochari, Tenzere)" deliberately incorporates the term "Kochari" to dilute Armenian heritage, viewing such actions as extensions of territorial aggression that threaten the dance's historical continuity as an Armenian war and communal expression.^[29] This perspective frames preservation efforts as defenses against systematic denialism, with calls to elevate Kochari in diaspora and homeland performances to reinforce collective memory against perceived theft.^[18] Azerbaijani nationalists counter that their Yalli dances, including Kochari forms from Nakhchivan, represent indigenous Turkic traditions predating Armenian claims, dismissing Armenian UNESCO inscription as politicized revisionism.^[54] They highlight regional variants as evidence of shared but distinctly Azerbaijani roots, with performances like the 2015 European Games opening emphasizing national pride and continuity.^[59] Sources aligned with Baku decry Armenian efforts to monopolize the name as cultural expansionism, insisting on safeguarding local styles against external imposition to maintain ethnic authenticity.^[60] These claims underscore tensions over cultural integrity, where nationalists on both sides prioritize exclusive transmission through community-led teaching and ritual contexts to prevent hybridization or dilution by rivals' interpretations.^[1] Armenian advocates stress Kochari's role in intergenerational socialization and resistance symbolism, urging vigilance against Azerbaijani adaptations that allegedly alter rhythms or contexts to sever historical ties.^[61] Azerbaijani perspectives similarly emphasize unadulterated group formations and motifs in Nakhchivan practices as bulwarks against what they term Armenian cultural hegemony, reflecting a zero-sum view of intangible heritage amid geopolitical rivalry.^[29] Despite UNESCO's parallel recognitions of national variants, these stances reveal underlying causal dynamics of identity assertion in contested borderlands, where folk practices serve as proxies for sovereignty.

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Learn About Kurdish Dance
In Kurmanji, the most common type of folk dance is known by its Turkish name, Halay. The Kurdish equivalent is Govend, and the leader of a folk dance (like the ...
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Halay (L*) – West Asia/Eastern Anatolia - Folkdance Footnotes
According to Wikipedia “The Turkish word Halay is derived from Iranian Hālāy (هالای) meaning “to stand”, “jump” and “dance”. In Kurdish, it is known as Govend ...
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Decision of the Intergovernmental Committee: 12.com 11.b.2
R. 1: Kochari possesses a symbolic meaning (the perpetuation of fertility and of a harmonious relationship between humans and nature), a social meaning (as a ...Missing: significance | Show results with:significance
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Intangible Cultural Heritage - RA MօESCS
The preservation of intangible cultural heritage is one of the main directions of the state cultural policy of the Republic of Armenia. In recent years, there ...
[43]
A Deep Dive into the Rich Layers of the Armenian Dance, Kochari
Oct 22, 2024 · The project team was hosted at the Bekor Ethnographic Dance Ensemble's studio, where they conducted an in-depth study of the Kochari dances and ...
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Experts Team Up to Preserve Armenian Folk Dance
Jan 20, 2022 · The folk dances of Western Armenia like “Tamzara,” “Haleh/Kochari,” “Papouri,” “Lorke” and many others have consistently been played (in their authentic form)
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Kochari | Hamazkaine Armenian Sydney Dance Ensemble - YouTube
Aug 17, 2025 · KOCHARI - ASDC 2024 Annual Concert Instructor: Gigo Giragosian Dancers: ASDC Senior Mixed Group.
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Kochari | Siragan Armenian Dance Company of Chicago | Facebook
May 26, 2019 · The group just knocked out their first run-through at Nort... May 28, 2025 · 3.6K views. 00:10. Some of our varsity guys have a special ...<|separator|>
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Armenians gathered in #Berlin to perform the traditional ... - Instagram
May 8, 2025 · 11 MAEDONK MEDIA MEDIA AKOONK Armenian Kochari dance in Berlin: 80th anniversary victory 80thanniversaryvictoryofthe of the Great Patriotic War ...
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Dhour Shweir - Armenian Night 2025 An Enchanted Evening Under ...
Jul 28, 2025 · Experience an unforgettable evening of Armenian music and culture, featuring performances by the Nairi Dance Group Sydney ( Senior girls ), and ...
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AGBU - Facebook
Oct 3, 2024 · Armenians have more than 35 folk dances such as Kochari (Circle group dance), Shalakho, Yarkushta (warrior dance), Iskhanats par (Lords' dance) ...
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Kochari, reimagined with symphonic power. Our most iconic dance ...
Jul 19, 2025 · Kochari, reimagined with symphonic power. Our most iconic dance premieres with a full symphony. #SymphonicFolk – One Nation. One Night.
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Kochari - Pontian Greek & Armenian - YouTube
Apr 25, 2025 · Two dancers take the stage—one Greek, one Armenian. The Greek moves with the powerful rhythm of the Pontian Kochari, the Armenian with the ...Missing: contemporary adaptations
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Armenian | Sahlala Dancers
The Armenian dances we perform take root in traditional dances such as Kochari, Papuri, and Shavali, and blend them with Naz Bar (graceful dance) of the natural ...
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Armenian Traditional Dance Kochari on UNESCO 'Intangible ...
Dec 6, 2017 · Armenian Traditional Dance Kochari on UNESCO 'Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity' List. Weekly StaffDecember 6, 2017Last Updated ...Missing: inscription date
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UNESCO: "Kocheri" isn't Armenian dance - AzerNews
Dec 3, 2015 · ... etymology of the “kochari” word. Throughout the years Armenians continue to steal, appropriate and present Azerbaijani music, folklore and ...
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Yalli, traditional group dances of Nakhchivan, inscribed on UNESCO ...
Nov 28, 2018 · UNESCO has decided to inscribe Yalli (Kochari, Tenzere), a traditional group dances of Azerbaijan's Nakhchivan, on its List of Intangible Cultural Heritage.
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Armenia MFA: Azerbaijan's attempts to politicize UNESCO platform ...
Nov 30, 2018 · During the 13th session UNESCO approved Azerbaijan's application “Yalli (Kochari, Tenzere) traditional dances of Nakhichevan” to include the ...
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Kochari - Notes of a Spurkahye Finally Come Home
Jan 31, 2012 · Kochari is an old folk dance, danced today by Pontic Greeks, Azerbaijanis, Armenians, Assyrians, Turks and Kurds. It is closely related to ...
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UNESCO removed its records, proving that the Kochari dance is ...
Oct 4, 2023 · UNESCO removed its records, proving that the Kochari dance is Armenian and no name change and manipulation can take it away from the Armenian people.
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Kochari Dance - BEST PERFORMANCE! At Baku 2015 ... - YouTube
Jul 4, 2015 · It is one of the widely spread dances known as Yalli (Halay) in Azerbaijan, especially in Nakhchivan and surrounding areas. This dancing is ...Missing: origins | Show results with:origins
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UNESCO Committee doesn't recognize 'Kocheri' as Armenian ...
UNESCO Committee doesn't recognize 'Kocheri' as Armenian folklore dance. "Traditional group dance Kochari" presented by Armenia disapproved by UNESCO. Baku. 2 ...
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Black Kochari - The Armenian Weekly
Jun 17, 2020 · Kochari is a war dance—an expression of indomitable strength, courage and resilience. In kochari, we form an impenetrable line and shake the ...Missing: origins disputes