Articles

The Universal Language of Humanity

‘Dance and Music- The Universal Language of Humanity’

Shakeh Major Tchilingirian

Grapevine, September 2024, pp. 10-11.

Dancing over the past year or so has offered me many poignant moments to connect, reflect and to reveal the unifying and universal mystery of dance and music as a ‘mother tongue’. From the experience of dancing a suite of dances with Judy King, “Our Offering is Peace”, in the majestic Wells Cathedral to a fascinating, rich cultural and circle dance tour in Taroudant, Morocco with Laura Shannon, interspersed with teaching opportunities in Marseilles and Venice with Armenian youth from different countries coming together to discover and share their sense of identity through dance, music, film, theatre and literature.

These intense dancing weeks and highly immersive opportunities have allowed me to observe and reflect on the why I teach only Armenian dances when I am completely capable of and most thoroughly enjoy dancing all the other repertoire. I am frequently asked if I also teach non-Armenian repertoire. My answer is an emphatic: “I teach, share and discover that which is my innermost language- dance and music. It is the way I communicate- dance and music give me ‘voice’ and I feel able to also give ‘voice’ to the hushed and to the unheard. It is also the language I listen to and understand best. It heals me, transforms me, and helps me make sense of the world. It evokes my sense of self.”

As the father of Armenian ethnomusicology, Komitas, writes: “Music and dance are made up of tones generated within the soul”. The wisdom within these dances and music have become apparent to me only when I go deeper into the ‘state’ of being in the movement at that precise moment. The same dance to the same piece of music differs each time in what it reveals IF I only allow it to do so. This practice makes them ‘sacred’ to me. Komitas adds: “Through its manifold movements, dance unconsciously exposes the workings of the spirit.”

The experience of being led mysteriously and unknowingly into the Berber women’s prayerful songs, dances and tones is one I will never forget. I recall  precise moments when I found myself in a ‘state’ where it was all familiar- as if it were my own. It came from deep within- like an ‘echo’ from the soul. Similarly, but entirely different is the ‘call’ of the duduk or the Zurna (lettish horn) when an ancient Armenian ritual dance is being experienced.

The much-revered duduk with its limited octave and a half sound -range remains faithful to the realm of the human voice. Its melancholic melodies touch the hearts and souls of Armenians and non-Armenians- powerfully conveying a longing and sorrow. The Zurna on the other hand, has a powerful, colourful, lively and grandiose sound- ideal for outdoors.

I have led hundreds of dances with people of diverse backgrounds and abilities and am secretly delighted to witness their ‘raw’ unexpected emotions when they least expect them. Their need to share their experience is expressed as ‘balm for the soul’, ‘a sense of homecoming’, ‘seen, heard and understood , ‘ I experience another way of being in the world’, ‘it is an invitation to be faithful to the way I live my life’…

Michael Church wrote in The Guardian (21/04/2011): “For Armenians, music is memory. And whenever they gather to honour their dead, the songs they sing are by the composer who speaks for the soul of their nation, Komitas… in his transcription, music, movement, and complex social relationships are seamlessly interwoven”. Armenia’s leading composer, Tigran Mansurian says of Komitas’; “His garden of sounds, covers a vast territory in time, stretching across millennia”. Armenian contemporary composer Vache Sharafyan describes “Our music mirrors the landscapes and language of our land.”

Being Armenian is an identity and like anything else that lives with a heartbeat, it evolves and gives birth to new creations but always a continuum of the fine thread that links us to our ancestors. Although the language of Armenian dance is quite specific on the outside, it may appear ‘similar’ and ‘familiar”. It is in this very familiarity where the magic and mysticism lies- a universal language of humanity full of the richness and depth, and colours of life. We live by these songs and dances—they remind, transform, heal and pass on much wisdom and strength of survival.