Dance has been a part of mankind in every stage of the development of mankind. People have always had a desire to dance and an interest in dance. The only thing that has changed is the ways of expression. Dance helps a person not only create, but also express his feelings, relieve himself of negative emotions and be in a better mood. Dance is a means of self-expression.

Armenian national dance spans millennia and traces back to the pre-Christian era, that is, the pagan times in historic Armenia. Dance is one of the most brilliant means of expression of the traits and aesthetic thinking of the Armenian people and reflects the national traits and spiritual world of the Armenian people and their attitude towards nature and life. It is an integral part of Armenian culture, and Armenians have never forgotten their culture, songs and dances and have stayed clung to their roots in any part of the world that they have settled by fate.

Being devoted to dance, Kristine Abrahamyan also had to disseminate and teach Armenian national dances and transmit her knowledge to the generations after settling in a foreign country. Teaching Armenian dances in two Russian cities at once (Tolyati and Samara), she helped dozens of Armenian children return to their roots and learn about the culture, history and traditions of the Armenian nation. She has faced and still faces many hardships, but they have never stood in her way of achieving her goals and fulfilling her dreams. Even today, she remembers her first students and says their names with pleasure and with a feeling of warmth. “I am a member of the Union of Dance and Dance Experts of the Republic of Armenia. In 2013, head of the Armenian community of the city of Tolyati of the Russian Federation Rafayel Harutyunyan invited me to establish an Armenian dance ensemble. It took a lot of effort, but the ensemble was established and grew. Of course, this was also made possible through the efforts of my students and their devoted and persistent parents. The parents of the children have very often sewn the dance costumes before the concerts, and sometimes I have sewn them. This goes to show that there was a need for Armenian dances, culture and soul food, and we decided to fill the gap and create an Armenian atmosphere,” the dance instructor stated in an interview with Hayern Aysor.

The Argishti Dance Ensemble of Tolyati has participated in several concerts, festivals and competitions, won competitions, presented Armenian dances and made them recognizable for foreigners. The ensemble performed Armenian dances during a festival held in Samara. “It was a festival of nations where representatives of different cultures presented their respective national values, and dance is also one of the most typical and the most presentable of those values. Our little and adult dancers won first place. We felt very proud. After all, this was also a victory for Armenian culture. It was not only our victory, but also the victory of Armenian dance and everything Armenian. After the festival, we visited the Holy Cross Armenian Apostolic Church of Samara to receive blessings. We met Azatuhi Ghukasyan, director of the “Hayordats Tun” Armenian youth center adjunct to the church, and I was offered to give lessons to the local Armenian dance group,” Kristine Abrahamyan said.

Traveling from Tolyati to Samara twice a week for more than two hours, the dance instructor teaches Armenian dances with pleasure and generosity. She half-jokingly says an artist also needs to be a little crazy. But this is not just something crazy that an artist does, but also a great desire and dedication to preserve Armenian culture and national dances and make it become a part of the lives of Armenian children living far away from the homeland. “My students’ parents always tell me that their children dance all day at home. They show their relatives videos of their children’s choreographies. This motivates me and gives me wins to move forward and turn my new ideas into a reality. I love my job and am happy that that love is transmitted to my students who no longer imagine their lives without dance. For them, attending the dance lessons is like a celebration,” Kristine says.

Kristine gets emotional whenever she remembers her students’ performances. “On the day of the Armenian Tyarndarach holiday, it was -20^o outside, but the children danced so well in their thin costumes and put so much spirit into it that the attendees were simply stunned. They perform with the same spirit at every concert. This gives me strength. It’s obvious that there are many problems. We try to solve them and only move forward,” Kristine Abrahamyan proudly mentioned.

The dance instructor has achieved all this through her professionalism and by showing an individual approach to each of her students. Her dance lessons become lessons on Armenian culture and the arts and on preserving the Armenian identity. “During the days of the four-day Artsakh war in April, we all united as one. We were far away from the homeland, but it was as if we were in the heart of the homeland. We all felt sorrow and tried to help. We organized a concert entitled “The Call of the Blood, the Duty of the Blood”. We called it “call of the blood” because the homeland and the genes were calling us, and “duty of the blood” because we had to assume our duty for the homeland, stand united as one and reach out to the homeland. The children danced in such a way that it looked like they were soldiers, and I am certain that our real soldiers on the border felt the children’s spiritual force,” Kristine Abrahamyan mentioned.

Amalya Karapetyan