{"id":4966,"date":"2017-09-16T03:09:11","date_gmt":"2017-09-16T03:09:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.fredastaire.com\/mamaroneck\/?p=4966"},"modified":"2019-06-04T15:59:04","modified_gmt":"2019-06-04T19:59:04","slug":"soul-dancing","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.fredastaire.com\/mamaroneck\/blog\/uncategorized\/soul-dancing\/","title":{"rendered":"Soul Dancing"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Arsen Sargsyan digs deep into humanity and changes the way we think of dance
\nBy TRACI DUTTON LUDWIG<\/p>\n

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Arsen Sargsyan has a lot to say. Yet, sometimes he doesn\u2019t have to speak a word. Instead, this accomplished dancer lets his body and his energy do the talking. And through the rich stories he conveys, he inspires audiences and students to approach dance in new ways.<\/p>\n

Sargsyan\u2019s inquisitive spirit and intuition for connection and meaning have guided his professional career. His broad training includes diverse dance disciplines and experiences. As an internationally accomplished performer, choreographer and teacher, Sargsyan is adept in folk dance, classical ballet and ballroom. Importantly, these disciplines inform his dynamic signature style, which is distinguished by ballet\u2019s elegant lines, folk dance\u2019s conveyance of deep emotion and ballroom\u2019s sensitivity to partnership and personality.<\/p>\n

Born in the Armenian capital of Yerevan in the late 1980s, Sargsyan has been dancing since the age of eight. His introduction to performing arts was an enrichment program that included everything from tap dancing, to juggling, to a youth performance of \u201cPinocchio.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAs a kid, there was something very exciting about dancing \u2018Pinocchio\u2019 on our city\u2019s big stage. It awakened an exuberant passion in me,\u201d Sargsyan said.<\/p>\n

Those early classes, however, required sacrifice. Hardships were unavoidable. There was devastation following a massive earthquake in 1988, as well as political turmoil, ethnic tensions, violent protests and economic instability related to Armenia\u2019s break from the U.S.S.R. in 1991.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn good times, I attended three classes per week. But when we didn\u2019t have money, there were breaks,\u201d Sargsyan said. \u201cMy parents did everything for my education and opportunities. But there were difficult situations: food shortages, earthquakes, no electricity and compromised resources. Looking back, I understand my parents\u2019 sacrifices even more. Whatever I can do for them now, somehow I think it can never be enough.\u201d<\/p>\n

Sargsyan\u2019s talent inspired his mother to enroll him in the Armenian National Dance Academy. As the country\u2019s only professional dance conservatory, instruction was intense. Training included Armenian, Greek, Russian and gypsy folk dance and classical ballet.<\/p>\n

\u201cI loved folk music because it was so alive. The drum and piano spoke to each other passionately, with non-stop energy. No matter how tired we were, it made our bodies want to dance,\u201d Sargsyan recalled.<\/p>\n

Folk dancing\u2019s vibrancy comes from people and their stories. Like American oral histories, folk dance preserves important cultural identities through its practice. It invites participants to experience stories in real ways. \u201cWhen you dance with feeling, you\u2019re not acting a role. It\u2019s like you\u2019re living the story,\u201d Sargsyan said.<\/p>\n

He reflected on folk dancing\u2019s powerful emotional source. \u201cFolk dance is about collective feelings and unifying emotions, larger than the individual. It might be about war, to show our people\u2019s bravery and determination, or about our Christianity, or our nationality and love of country. Or it\u2019s about joy of freedom and independence. The choreography might be about pain, like the Armenian genocide of 1915. That pain is an epic feeling. It\u2019s bigger than one person\u2019s sadness.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Through folk dancing, Sargsyan began to understand the stories that meant something to people. These stories defined cultures, but their emotions went deeper. They spoke of life and what it meant to be human \u2013 so they were powerfully universal. Sargsyan realized if folk dancing touched audiences this way, other dance disciplines could too.<\/p>\n

Sargsyan\u2019s ballet master, Hovhanes Divanyan, taught him to apply emotional sensitivity to performance: \u201cHe showed us how to reach people, how to look an audience in the eye and exchange energy, how to show life from the inside. On stage, his expression mesmerized, and his body screamed with energy. He taught us that dance was not just about movement. What touches an audience is story and soul.\u201d<\/p>\n

Without emotion, dance is dry. This lesson enables Sargsyan to touch the heart of any performance, with intensity and authenticity. His excellence in ballet is more than impeccable form and flawless technique. Likewise, his ballroom achievements reach beyond coordination, body speed and other qualities of sport.<\/p>\n

While still a student, Sargsyan started performing with the Armenian National Opera and Ballet Theater. After graduation, the Israeli National Ballet recruited him to Tel Aviv. \u201cArmenian ballet was very classical, but the Israeli approach was more modern, relaxed and elastic,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Sargsyan experienced challenge and growth in Israel. He expanded technique, explored meaning and rejected convention. Dancers were inspired to reinterpret the familiar. Choreography was daring and unexpected, but Sargsyan could always match it with striking emotional intention. This led to lead roles in \u201cDon Quixote,\u201d \u201cRomeo and Juliet\u201d and \u201cGiselle.\u201d<\/p>\n

In 2012, Sargsyan came to New York to teach ballroom and ballet at Fred Astaire Dance Studio Mamaroneck. As a performer, competitor and teacher, Sargsyan\u2019s interdisciplinary approach creates impact. The Fred Astaire corporation has recognized him as a regional top teacher, and his innovative choreography has impressed audiences and colleagues. In the studio, he is a popular and inspiring instructor.<\/p>\n

Sargsyan\u2019s favorite ballroom dance is Argentine tango. \u201cIt comes from real life experience, so it\u2019s natural,\u201d he said. \u201cThe lead and follow come from the soul, with feeling and connection in the dancers\u2019 body energies. Depending on the music and partners\u2019 intuition, the dance never feels the same. It has the variety and moods of life.\u201d<\/p>\n

Sargsyan also enjoys bolero and waltz. Like ballet, these dances reflect beautiful lines, graceful movement and stretch. Their romantic feeling is either sexy or soft. Waltz is especially close to ballet\u2019s classical refinement, posture and body language.<\/p>\n

\u201cKeep a dance true to its base, but modernize it by adding something more. Look at movement from different perspectives. Apply conventions from different disciplines,\u201d Sargsyan advised. \u201cBut most of all, find a way to feel it. \u2026 Feeling is what makes dance full \u2013 without it, dance is empty.\u201d<\/p>\n

Where do feeling and story come from? Sargsyan\u2019s job is to open these sources so students find meaning and purpose in their dancing.<\/p>\n

\u201cFeeling starts with music,\u201d he explained. \u201cWhether it\u2019s about love, despair, struggle or hope, music has character and soul. You find its story, or you imagine it. Words, visualization and partnership help. Then, if you connect that story with real emotions, it touches others.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Sargsyan\u2019s innovative approach is expanding traditional boundaries and opening up the definition of what ballroom dance can be. In bringing together various disciplines, Sargsyan\u2019s work combines different voices, cultures and stories. This attitude and practice brings people together in positive and dynamic ways.<\/p>\n

In addition to studio work, Sargsyan performs professionally and with students, nationwide. He supports Armenian cultural organizations, including the Shushi Armenian Dance collective, in New Jersey. This year\u2019s gala included a special ensemble, \u201cIm Hayastan,\u201d (\u201cMy Armenia\u201d) featuring Sargsyan in a folk\/ballroom fusion. Its choreography showed that \u201cArmenia is a small country [sized one-quarter of NY], but a big country, too. Through dance, we keep culture alive and build community.\u201d<\/p>\n

Just as \u201cIm Hayastan\u201d demonstrated how Armenia is greater than its modest size, Sargsyan similarly pushes his ballroom performances to exceed expectations. At a recent pro-am competition, Sargsyan and a junior student surprised judges with a non-traditional cha-cha set to \u201cFreaks,\u201d a techno-rap song by Savage and Timmy Trumpet. The unexpected music and bold choreography married hip-hop\u2019s urban styling and signature pops, locks and glides with cha-cha\u2019s flirty repertoire of Cuban motion, chass\u00e9s and hip action. Costuming included jeans and sneakers, sacrilegious on ballroom floors. But Sargsyan knew what he was doing. Fearlessly, he stepped outside the box and delivered the dance\u2019s soul. \u201cFreaks\u201d exploded with energy rippling through the room. It left everyone speechless.<\/p>\n

Sargsyan\u2019s approach makes him an incredible teacher. He imparts knowledge and craft, but he also guides students on explorations to find human stories they can relate to emotionally and express physically. The journey reaches beyond dance steps and engages a process of opening oneself and connecting with universal, human energy.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis isn\u2019t just a job. It\u2019s my life,\u201d Sargsyan said. \u201cWhen you understand others; you understand yourself, and you can give more. I always listen to understand what my students want from dancing, so I can inspire and encourage. I show that I believe in them, giving them positive energy and positive identity. This is very motivating. This is what makes everything real.\u201d<\/p>\n

And then he paused, slightly, ready give more: \u201cDance should never be a demonstration. It\u2019s got to mean something. No matter what, it\u2019s got to have soul.\u201d<\/p>\n

This story was originally published in The Scarsdale Inquirer, Sept. 15, 2017.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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