More Than 500 Performers Celebrate Armenian Heritage Through Traditional Dance in Yerevan

Hundreds of dancers and musicians took over the Cafesjian Sculpture Garden at Yerevan’s Cascade on Saturday evening, filling the landmark with Armenian folk music, traditional costumes and dances passed down through generations.

The Armenian Report was on the ground covering the Gutan Armenian National Traditional Song and Dance Festival, where more than 500 performers from 26 ensembles gathered for one of the country’s largest annual celebrations of traditional Armenian culture.

This year’s festival carried particular meaning. It was dedicated to the 60th anniversary of the birth of Gagik Ginosyan, the late Armenian dancer, choreographer and cultural figure who spent decades working to preserve and revive Armenian traditional dance.

Ginosyan, an Honored Artist of Armenia and founder of the Karin Traditional Song and Dance Ensemble, died in 2024. His work reached well beyond the stage. Through performances, research and teaching, he helped introduce generations of Armenians to dances rooted in communities across historic Armenia.

That legacy was visible Saturday night.

One of the evening’s defining moments came as the participating groups appeared together in traditional Armenian dress, bringing hundreds of performers onto the same stage. The gathering created what festival organizers describe as a “living Armenian carpet” — different costumes, dances and regional traditions brought together in a single performance.

The festival also reflected a culture that has survived far beyond Armenia’s borders.

Ensembles from Armenian communities abroad traveled to Yerevan to perform alongside groups based in Armenia. They included Zark from Rostov, Nzhdeh and Kayts from Moscow, Armat from Belgorod and Khoyak from Munich.

Among the Armenia-based participants were Akunk, Karin, Sasna Tsrer, Nubar, Masunk, Van, Areg, Menk Enk Mer Sarery, Menk, Sebastatsiner, Hrayrk, Tsovak, Nairi, Maratuktsiner, Dare, Tavros, Artsap, Andok, Dizak, Tarerk and Tsilk.

Organized by the Mrro Armenian National Art Center, Gutan is built around a straightforward principle: Armenian folk music and dance should be presented as closely as possible to the forms in which they were inherited.

Organizers emphasize performances without modern adaptations and the use of traditional Armenian musical instruments. The aim is not simply to put on a show, but to keep traditions alive by passing them to younger generations and giving the public a chance to encounter them in their original form.

That work continues beyond the main stage. Gutan organizes interactive concerts in Yerevan and rural communities ahead of the annual festival, bringing performers into neighborhoods and towns across Armenia.

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