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Folk dance of the Armenian Highlands From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Kochari (Armenian: Քոչարի, romanized: K’očari; Azerbaijani: Köçəri; Greek: Κότσαρι, romanized: Kόtsari; Turkish: Koçari) is a folk dance originating in the Armenian Highlands.[1] It is performed today by Armenians,[2][3][4] while variants are performed by Assyrians,[5] Azerbaijanis,[6][7] and Pontic Greeks.[8] It is a form of circle dance.
Young Armenians dancing kochari in Yerevan | |
| Native name | Քոչարի |
|---|---|
| Genre | Folk dance Circle dance |
| Origin | Armenia |
| Kochari, traditional group dance | |
|---|---|
| Country | Armenia |
| Domains | Folk dance |
| Reference | 01295 |
| Region | Europe and North America |
| Inscription history | |
| Inscription | 2017 (12th session) |
| List | Representative |
Each region in the Armenian Highlands had its own Kochari, with its unique way of both dancing and music.[9]
John Blacking describes Kochari as follows:
Group dancing, when dancers imitate jumping goats, is known as kochari. Dancers stand abreast, holding each other's hands, The tempo of the dance ranges from moderate to fast. Squatting and butting an imagined opponent are followed by high jumps.[13]
Armenians have been dancing Kochari for over a thousand years.[14] The dance is danced by both men and women and is intended to be intimidating. More modern forms of Kochari have added a "tremolo step", which involves shaking the whole body. It spread to the eastern part of Armenia after the Armenian genocide. The Armenian Kochari has been included to the List of Intangible Cultural Heritage in Need of Urgent Safeguarding of UNESCO in 2017.[15]
Today this dancing is played in the Nakhchivan land of which Sharur, Sadarak, Kangarli, Julfa and Shahbuz regions' folklore collectives and it is performed at weddings.[16] Kochari along with tenzere has been included to the list of Intangible Cultural Heritage in Need of Urgent Safeguarding of UNESCO in November 2018 as versions of Yalli dance.[17][7]
The Pontic Greeks and Armenians have many vigorous warlike dances such as the Kochari.[18]
Unlike most Pontic dances, the Kotsari is in an even rhythm (2
4), originally danced in a closed circle.[19]
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