Tamzara Armenian Dance led by Carolyn Rapkievian at Moore Center Auditorium January 15th 2024

The Huddled Masses Orchestra and the Kotwica Band joined forces to present an afternoon of folk dancing in Ellsworth Maine January 15th 2024 at the General Bryant E. Moore Community Center Auditorium, operated by the Down East Family YMCA at 125 State Street in Ellsworth.
The Huddled Masses bookended the afternoon with a beginning and ending set of Serbian-style brass band dance music. The middle set featured Kotwica, a seven-member ensemble with accordion, base, fiddle/oud, dumbeq, and guitar as well as a trio of singers. You can find their website at www.kotwicaban...
The tunes and accompany dance steps were chosen by the respective bands on the basis of fun and ease of learning. The leaders of Kotwica, David and Carolyn Rapkievian, took turns giving a quick runthrough of the various steps, assisted by John Archer of South Gouldsboro. Carolyn is widely respected as an expert on the topic of Armenian folk dance, along with her ability to create a fun atmosphere that allows a group of dancers to enjoy the movement.
This tune is from Armenia, and it falls into the category of "Tamzara." As Carolyn explained, "There are many Tamzara dances. For the Ellsworth dance I'd planned on an Armenian-American version ("the Raisin Stomp") - usually done at parties and dances today. You can find a performance version at 3:30-3:50 here: • Arev Armenian Dance En... " The dancers in the linked video are from the Arev Armenian Dance Ensemble which Carolyn formerly led.
In the foreground of this video with has back to the camera is David Rapkievian playing oud. He is likely to be the finest oud player in all of Hancock County, Maine.
Odd musical factoid: the Oud has eleven strings, but Mr. Rapkievian only has ten fingers.
Musicians may wish to note that the beat of the tune is in 9/8 time signature. It is a tribute the skill level of Kotwica that they have mastered this. From a musician's viewpoint it is no mean feat to learn and perform this. Maine musicians are not generally taught this particular rhythm even at the university level.
More dance videos that showcase Ms. Rapkievian's work can be found at her channel: / @hyecarolyn

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beautiful dance