KHACHATUR ABOVYAN ARMENIAN STATE PEDAGOGICAL UNIVERSITY

The State Theater of Musical Comedy after Hakob Paronyan hosted a jubilee event marking the 70th anniversary of creative activity and 85th birth anniversary of Honoured Artist of

 Armenia, Senior lecturer Artashes Karapetyan.

 

 “The forefather of modern-day Armenian dance…” Karapetyan’s students, colleagues and art-loving people characterized his pedagogical activities with these words. 

 

Before the concert, representatives of the Ministries of Culture and Diaspora gave the choreographer awards and conveyed their congratulations. 

 

The dancing master was also congratulated by Rouben Mitrzakhanyan, Rector of Armenian State Pedagogical University. The latter passed Artashes Karapetyan the congratulations of the University’s professorial team and students and awarded him with “Khachatur Abovyan” gold medal - the highest award of the ASPU. The rector stressed that the award was given only to the famous and distinguished educators and Artashes Karapetyan was one of them. “This medal that bears the name of the Great Illuminator [Khachatur Abovyan] has great meaning. You are the Illuminator of the Armenian national dance,” said Mr Mirzakhanyan.

 

In his congratulatory speech, Professor Karen Gevorgyan, Head of the Chair of Choreographic Pedagogy, Honored Worker of Culture, could not find the right words to describe Karapetyan’s contribution to the development of the Armenian dance. He stressed that Karapetyan is one of the devotees who ho has been able to collect, store and transfer to the present generation the remains of our centuries-old dance. “Folk dances have been an inexhaustible treasury for Artashes Karapetyan and he used its sources with insatiability and avidity peculiar to a fastidious artist. National thinking and consciousness predominate in his performances which are spread across the world by his dazzling torch-bearers – pupils of different generations,” said Karen Gevorgyan.

 

On behalf of dance-loving people, Karen Gevorgyan said that Karapetyan’s name is engraved in gold letters in the history of the Armenian dance which was welcomed by the audience with a prolonged standing ovation.

 

Tatoul Altunian folk dance and song ensemble, "Maratuk" ethnographic musical ensemble, state orchestra of national instruments, Armenia state minstrel and folk ensemble, "Berd" dance ensemble, singers Rouben Matevosyan, Alexander Poghosyan, Nune Yesayan, Laura Mamyan, modern dance groups and the choreographer’s pupils who live and create in different countries congratulated Artashes Karapetyan with their artistic performances.