On July 27, Arin Dance Ensemble of Lebanon gave a concert at Hakob Paronyan State Musical Comedy Theater in Yerevan within the framework of the “Days of Armenian Dance” program of the “My Armenia” Pan-Armenian Festival.
The first part of the program included performances of Armenian, as well as Greek, gypsy and Lebanese dances, while the second part was a compilation of short staged numbers that the dancers performed with the accompaniment of Armenian pop, folk and ethnographic songs.
The concert included a solo dance by the dance ensemble’s artistic director Gayane Madzunian, as well as beautiful performances by the individual performers participating in the “My Armenia” Pan-Armenian Festival, including Tamara Bezlyudova (Estonia) and Siranush Minasyan (Ukraine).
The concert was also attended by RA Minister of Diaspora Hranush Hakobyan, who congratulated the dance ensemble and expressed gratitude to them for the heartening performances. “Lebanon, especially Beirut, is the “capital” of the Armenian Diaspora, the “cultural capital” of the Armenian Diaspora. Different events and initiatives are organized in that beautiful city on a daily basis. Today, Lebanon morally supports our fellow Armenians in the Diaspora as well. We wish that peace is established in the region as soon as possible and that our children are able to dance so powerfully that their dance steps “reach” Armenia and continue to inspire us,” said Hranush Hakobyan and presented Arin Dance Ensemble with a certificate of participation in the “My Armenia” Pan-Armenian Festival and gifts.
On behalf of the dance ensemble’s members and administration, Director of the Armenian Youth Association of the Armenian General Benevolent Union in Lebanon, Kevork Santurian expressed gratitude to the RA Minister of Diaspora, the organizers of the “My Armenia” Pan-Armenian Festival for the warm reception and the opportunity to participate in the festival and presented Hranush Hakobyan with a beautiful gift.
Arin Dance Ensemble of the Armenian Youth Association of the Armenian General Benevolent Union was founded in the 1960s in Lebanon and had some intervals due to the civil wars in Lebanon. The dance ensemble opened its doors in 2001, and Gayane Madzunian has been the ensemble’s artistic director since 2007.
In 2011, the dance ensemble was called Arin in memory of the ensemble’s late member, Arin Cherchian. Currently, the ensemble has 110 Armenian members in 7 age groups of dancers ranging from the ages of 6 to 30. Arin Dance Ensemble gives a concert in review every year in May in Beirut.
