KHACHATUR ABOVYAN ARMENIAN STATE PEDAGOGICAL UNIVERSITY

The final year students of the Pedagogical University’s Department of Direction supervised by Professor Aida Hovhannisyan paid their tribute to the memory of the victims of the first massacre –the Genocide of the 20th century with quite a unique event. They made a commemorative performance of Hovannes Shirak’s “Armenian Dante-esque” in Rostov–on-Don a Russian city that has one of the biggest Armenian communities in RF.

Before the start of the performance at the Youth Theatre of Rostov, those present were following  the live stream canonization ceremony of 1.5 million of innocent victims held at the Holly See of Etchmiadzin on a huge screens installed. Afterwards, a surprise- the “Armenian Dante-esque” prepared by Aida Hovhannisyan and the future directors was presented to the already impressed audience filled up with pride; among those present was the Consul General of Armenia in Russian South –Federative Region Ararat Gomtsyan, the Spiritual Leader of St. Karapet Church Priest Thaddeus Avagyan, the Community Leader Haroutyun Sourmalyan and which is the most touching, the Genocide survival Haroutyun Boyajyan who is 101 years old.

“Aren’t we at least, equal to a dog? Why are you keeping silence? Don’t we deserve it? Can’t you even properly mourn the loss of people?” Only one performance which is a kind of resume and demand expressed in the language of art regarding the happenings in the beginning of the previous century.

The audience welcomed the Director’s choice to stage performance through plastic –musical solutions and artistic expressions of symbolism extremely warmly, with great excitements, impressions and long standing applauds. The only Genocide survival Haroutyun Boyajyan was filled with tears; he bowed and repeated in an emotional voice, “I have seen all these, I passed through this”.

Besides, there were foreign representatives among the audience who, even though, did not understand the main meaning of the words, but were still excited and deeply impressed. 

 

 

 

“We don’t need words; everything is more than clear”.

 

Likewise, the Director of the performance, Professor Aida Hovhannisyan was  also thrilled and touched with the warm welcome; she is sure that the performance was another chance for an Armenian person living far from the homeland, to express his/her words, claims, civil attitude regarding the concept of “Genocide”. Highly praising the feelings and emotional game of the students, she noticed the following.

“Future artists must understand that art is the connection between the God and a human being, accordingly, the art servants must be honest, pure and frank to the largest extent, just like they were today.”

 

What is more, the students of the Armenian State Pedagogical University, under the supervision of Professor Aida Hovhannisyan, had meetings with the Consul General of Armenia in Russian South –Federative Region Ararat Gomtsyan, the spiritual leader of the Armenian Apostolic Church and other representatives of the Armenian community.

 

More details about the meeting will be presented later on by the old.aspu.am.