The Washington Post: Did Armenia just dance its way to revolution?
The Washington Post newspaper has reflected on the recent political developments in Armenia in an article titled “: Did Armenia just dance its way to revolution?”
“Ousting your prime minister can be seriously hard work. But it should be fun, too,” says the article, noting that is the impression Armenia gave in recent weeks, where hundreds of thousands staged anti-government rallies, part of a bloodless revolution in the small country that “managed to throw off – at least, so far – authoritarian rule”.
And when the people in the country of 3 million were not blocking highways, going on strike and waving the tricolor Armenian flag, they were engaged in an activity altogether unassociated with revolution: dancing.
The Washington Post writes that with folk music blasting from the stereos of parked cars, groups of protesters would break off from the crowds to link arms and cavort in concentric circles.
“Sometimes, men shakily hoisted each other onto their shoulders to rapturous applause from fellow revelers. Demonstrators also performed the traditional kochari dance, holding hands and crossing their legs in unison to the melodies of string and wind instruments,” says the article.
“We’re Armenian. We dance when we’re happy,” 24-year-old design student Sona told a reporters of the newspaper, clapping and swaying her hips one recent sun-bleached afternoon. “And showing this government that they can’t deceive us,” she said near the oval-shaped traffic circle in central Yerevan, “makes us very happy.”
The article added that a group of musicians, including violinists and cellists, blocked the entrance to the Ministry of Culture this week, where they played harmonies from the late 19th- and early 20th-century Armenian composer Komitas Vardapet. They were joined by a puppet troupe, who poked fun at lawmakers. Later the same day, the minister resigned.