Art and Peacebuilding
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Wishing Wishes

The dance project Wishing Wishes invites young people from Armenia to explore their own wishes and visions, and encourages them to expand their familiar horizons of action and to position themselves independently in relation to the social norms of their home environment. New spaces for play are created in the encounter of traditional folk and national dances of the South Caucasus, which are oriented towards communality, with Western-influenced contemporary dance, with its focus more on improvisation and the individual. These spaces set themselves apart from everyday reality and make it possible to try out role patterns and actions that would not (yet) be possible in everyday life. Swiss dancers and choreographers work in close collaboration with colleagues from the South Caucasus.

 

Wishing Wishes – Workshop IV

Video: artasfoundation

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After over a year’s preparation with three workshops (see description below), in September 2022 it was finally going to happen: After a brief training session the choreography developed in the preceding workshops would be shown to an audience. But the resurgence of the Nagorno-Karabakh war, which directly affects the home villages of the young people involved, made us hesitate. In the end, our Armenian partners suggested that, for security reasons, we should forego performances in those villages and instead perform in Dilijan and the capital Yerevan. A bus service to the performance locations was arranged for the young dancers’ family members and friends.

The two performances were a great success. The 24 girls and boys between the ages of 12 and 17 presented their piece with great self-confidence, combining elements of traditional Armenian dance with those of improvised contemporary dance, giving space to a very personal touch of each participant. Although it had been a great challenge in the preceding workshops, the connection of the different dance cultures was very successful. Everyone could get behind the end result, and the audience was enthusiastic: These were moments of joy and shared success in difficult and uncertain times for Armenians. 

Video

Place and Year
Armenia, 2022

Participants
Hasmik Aleksanyan, Arkadi Antonyan, Milena Avalyan, Gisane Bayramyan, Yeva Chilingaryan, Syuzanna Grigoryan, Naira Khachatryan, Milena Kocharyan, Elen Mailyan, Hasmik Margaryan, Davit Minasyan, Shushan Muradyan, Angelina Papyan, Iren Papyan, Hayk Petrosyan, Mariam Qaryan, Vahan Sargsyan, Mariana Shahnazaryan, Haykanush Smbatyan, Lilia Tomoyan, Susanna Torosyan, Elen Yesayan, Ina Avagyan, Syuzanna Grigoryan

Composition and Live Music
Tiezerk Band, Yerevan 
(Lusine Galstyan and Eliza Baghdiyan)

Artistic Direction
Meret Schlegel
Kilian Haselbeck

Assistant Artistic Direction
Tsolak Mlke-Galstyan

Project Management
Dagmar Reichert (artasfoundation)
Shoghakat Mlke-Galstyan, Yerevan

Interpreter
Stella Loretsyan, Yerevan
 

Partner Organisations
Aygepar National Dance Group and House of Culture, Berd (Satik Arzumanyan)
Sose National Dance Group and House of Culture, Berd (Armine Harutyunyan)
Nazani Dance Group and Dilijan Community Center, Dilidschan (Artur Grigoryan)
Ametist Dance Group, Koghb (Gayane Vardanyan)

Financial Contribution 
Foundation Smartpeace

Wishing Wishes – Workshop III

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Photo: Kilian Haselbeck

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Photo: Kilian Haselbeck

Video: Meret Schlegel

The third Wishing Wishes workshop (11-17 April 2022) was not planned in this way. By that time, the jointly developed choreography should have already gone on tour in the participants’ hometowns. The reason for this was that the process-oriented work required much more time and energy than expected. As the project progressed, it became unclear whether and how the Armenian and contemporary European dances would be able to combine at all and if everyone would stand behind the result with full conviction. Despite the challenges, the dance performance of the 25 young people took an impressive form at the end of this additional workshop. The performance was supplemented by the Armenian band Tiezerk, which masterfully managed to combine contemporary and traditional music. “When you work together with concentration,” said dance teacher Artur Grigoryan, “the final result ends up convincing.”

Place and Year
Armenia, 2022

Participants
Hasmik Aleksanyan, Arkadi Antonyan, Milena Avalyan, Narek Avalyan, Gisane Bayramyan, Yeva Chilingaryan, Syuzanna Grigoryan, Naira Khachatryan, Milena Kocharyan, Elen Mailyan, Hasmik Margaryan, Davit Minasyan, Shushan Muradyan, Mane Seyranyan, Angelina Papyan, Iren Papyan, Hayk Petrosyan, Mariam Qaryan, Maria Sargsyan, Vahan Sargsyan, Mariana Shahnazaryan, Haykanush Smbatyan, Lilia Tomoyan, Susanna Torosyan, Elen Yesayan

Artistic Direction
Meret Schlegel
Kilian Haselbeck

Assistant Artistic Direction
Tsolak Mlke-Galstyan

Project Management
Sandra Frimmel (artasfoundation)
Shoghakat Mlke-Galstyan, Yerevan

Interpreter
Stella Loretsyan, Yerevan

Partner Organisations
Aygepar National Dance Group, House of Culture, Berd (Satik Arzumanyan)
Sose National Dance Group, House of Culture, Berd (Armine Harutyunyan)
Nazani Dance Group, Dilijan Community Centre, Dilidschan (Artur Grigoryan)
Ametist Dance Group, Koghb (Gayane Vardanyan)

Financial Contribution
Foundation Smartpeace

Wishing Wishes – Workshop II

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The second Wishing Wishes workshop (25 – 31 October 2021) holds challenges for all participants. Based on their wishes, small and big, for themselves, for others and society, the young people develop their movements and choreographies under the guidance of the Swiss workshop leaders. They experiment, combine, and thereby dissolve the boundary between male and female movements – a very strong feature in Armenian dance. The group works intensively on precisely this dissolution of traditionally defined movements together with the young people's Armenian dance teachers. If the exercise gives everyone a lot of pleasure, it is also highly energy-consuming. That stems from the fact that while choreographies are usually developed collectively by all the participants in contemporary dance, it is common practice to teach the ensemble an already elaborate choreography in Armenian traditional dance. Nevertheless, the result convinces everyone equally despite the different approaches and bridges the different worlds.

Place and Year
Armenia, 2021

Participants
Hasmik Aleksanyan, Arkadi Antonyan, Milena Avalyan, Narek Avalyan, Gisane Bayramyan, Yeva Chilingaryan, Syuzanna Grigoryan, Naira Khachatryan, Milena Kocharyan, Elen Mailyan, Hasmik Margaryan, Davit Minasyan, Shushan Muradyan, Mane Seyranyan, Angelina Papyan, Iren Papyan, Hayk Petrosyan, Mariam Qaryan, Maria Sargsyan, Vahan Sargsyan, Mariana Shahnazaryan, Haykanush Smbatyan, Lilia Tomoyan, Susanna Torosyan, Elen Yesayan

Artistic Direction
Meret Schlegel
Kilian Haselbeck

Assistant Artistic Direction
Tsolak Mlke-Galstyan

Project Management
Sandra Frimmel (artasfoundation)
Shoghakat Mlke-Galstyan, Yerevan

Interpreter
Stella Loretsyan, Yerevan

Partner Organisations
Aygepar National Dance Group, House of Culture, Berd (Satik Arzumanyan)
Sose National Dance Group, House of Culture, Berd (Armine Harutyunyan)
Nazani Dance Group, Dilijan Community Centre, Dilidschan (Artur Grigoryan)
Ametist Dance Group, Koghb (Gayane Vardanyan)

Financial Contribution
Foundation Smartpeace

Wishing Wishes – Workshop I

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Photo: Stella Loretsyan

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Photo: Kilian Haselbeck

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Photo: Stella Loretsyan

Video: Kilian Haselbeck

Wishing Wishes starts in Armenia in 2021/22 – one year later than planned due to the resumption of the Nagorno-Karabakh war in 2020. From June 15 to 20, 2021, twenty-five young people between the ages of 11 and 17 from eleven towns located on the border with Azerbaijan travel to Dilijan and almost immediately come together as one large, inseparable group. During the first workshop, Swiss dancers and choreographers Meret Schlegel and Kilian Haselbeck give an introduction to contemporary dance. Physical exercises and improvisations teach the young people new approaches to reacting to music and expressing emotions and desires through free movement. The Swiss project participants also get an insight into Armenian dance through the Armenian dance teachers Satik Arzumanyan, Armine Harutyunyan, Artur Grigoryan and Gayane Vardanyan. They experience the difference between the energetic folk dance, danced in group cohesion, and the stylised, so-called national dance, strongly influenced by the Soviet ballet tradition.

The choice of name for the newly formed dance company shows how strongly the young people's lives are shaped by the omnipresent war, even during this brief respite: Dancing Mountains – because, as they put it, during the war the participants owe their protection to the mountains.

Place and Year
Armenia, 2021

Participants
Hasmik Aleksanyan, Syuzi Aleksanyan, Arkadi Antonyan, Milena Avalyan, Narek Avalyan, Gisane Bayramyan, Yeva Chilingaryan, Syuzanna Grigoryan, Naira Khachatryan, Milena Kocharyan, Elen Mailyan, Davit Minasyan, Shushan Muradyan, Mane Seyranyan, Angelina Papyan, Iren Papyan, Hayk Petrosyan, Mariam Qaryan, Maria Sargsyan, Vahan Sargsyan, Mariana Shahnazaryan, Haykanush Smbatyan, Lilia Tomoyan, Susanna Torosyan, Elen Yesayan

Artistic Direction
Meret Schlegel
Kilian Haselbeck

Assistant Artistic Direction
Tsolak Mlke-Galstyan

Project Management
Sandra Frimmel (artasfoundation)
Shoghakat Mlke-Galstyan, Yerevan

Interpreter
Stella Loretsyan, Yerevan

Partner Organisations
Aygepar National Dance Group, House of Culture, Berd (Satik Arzumanyan)
Sose National Dance Group, House of Culture, Berd (Armine Harutyunyan)
Nazani Dance Group, Dilijan Community Centre, Dilidschan (Artur Grigoryan)
Ametist Dance Group, Koghb (Gayane Vardanyan)

Financial Contribution
Foundation Smartpeace

¹artasfoundation would like to underline that its use of names and titles particularly in regards to conflict regions should not be understood as implying any form of recognition or non-recognition by the foundation or as having any other political connotation whatsoever.