Alex Theatre

Remembering the dead: Armenian Genocide commemoration at the Alex urges people to look forward, with an eye to the past.

By Jason Wells

Glendale News Press

Published: Last Updated Thursday, April 24, 2008 10:32 PM PDT
Armenia’s past collided with its future Thursday night on a stage, in a theater, in Glendale.

The more than 1,300 people who attended the city’s event at the Alex Theatre commemorating the 93rd anniversary of the Armenian Genocide were confronted with a classic herald to the Eurasian country’s tragic past through operatic overtures, while at the same time challenged to maintain the momentum for international recognition of the genocide.

More than 1.5 million Armenians lost their lives between 1915 and 1918 in the former Ottoman Empire through either outright killings or forced migration. Turkey’s government has refused to acknowledge the genocide, contending the deaths occurred during a civil conflict.

Keynote speaker Carla Garapedian — who directed “Screamers,” a documentary on the band System of a Down as it toured to raise awareness of modern genocide — said the stateside diaspora had a duty to hold politicians accountable and keep pressure on Congress to pass a resolution recognizing the Armenian Genocide.

“We need to raise the bar for politicians who are making foreign policy in our names,” she told the audience.

“We must ask the hard questions, because if we don’t, who will?”

The genocide resolution, despite gaining a key endorsement from the House Foreign Affairs Committee and obtaining signatures from 212 co-sponsors, hasn’t been brought for a full vote by the House amid fears there isn’t quite enough congressional support to ensure its passage. Many congressional representatives are wary of damaging relations with Turkey, which is considered to be a strategic military partner.

Even with the resolution’s pause, Armenian leaders say the amount of international attention it has generated has helped keep the spotlight on their efforts, which in of itself is considered progress.

Mayor John Drayman in his address to the audience said it was an “understated disgrace” that Congress has so far refused to acknowledge the Armenian Genocide as historic fact.

Inside the Alex Theatre, Garapedian’s calls for unity in support of the genocide’s recognition, which dozens of governments have already done, were a part of a larger picture of activism mixed with commemoration. Pro-Armenian demonstrators protested Thursday outside the Turkish embassy in Los Angeles, while thousands of Armenians marched in Hollywood to commemorate the genocide’s anniversary.

But while Armenians will always look on the first genocidal event of the 20th Century with horror, organizers of Thursday’s program at the Alex wanted to show that “it’s not about crying anymore.”

“We’re beyond that,” said Jacob Parseghian, a member of the organizing committee who through Artists For Kids produced the artistic program, which saw world-renowned tenor Gegham Grigorian perform two classic operatic solos against a 25-member orchestra.

Before the display of Armenia’s classic cultural heritage on stage, Councilman Ara Najarian, chairman of the organizing committee, assured the world that even in looking to the future for progress, the Armenian community had not forgotten the mass killings, and never would.

“We have not forgotten what we went through,” he said. “We have not forgotten the genocide.”

JASON WELLS covers City Hall. He may be reached at (818) 637-3235 or by e-mail at jason.wells@latimes.com.

Entertainment
Breaking the mold: Choreographers infuse their classical training with modern stylings in works for “Celebrate Dance 2008” at the Alex Theatre.

By Joyce Rudolph

Glendale News Press

April 8, 2008

From ballet-inspired break dancing to an acrobatic aerial performance, contemporary dance will take the stage next weekend at the Alex Theatre for Celebrate Dance 2008.

Eight West Coast companies, featuring more than 35 dancers, will perform in this third annual production, which will exhibit cutting-edge choreography, executive producer Jamie Nichols said.

“The choreographers look at today’s issues, today’s life, and create works looking forward with new movement vocabulary and new ways of moving,” Nichols said.

Choreographers take what they’ve learned in their dance education and recreate their choreography in a new way, she said.

“Each of these companies create their movements in different ways,” she said. “They have different backgrounds and put their own brand on what they do.”

For instance, Burbank choreographer Jacob “Kujo” Lyons, 31, began his dance career at 16 as a break dancer.

Self-taught in break dancing, he’s created a dance form that incorporates other forms like ballet and modern dance, Lyons said.

“I have had many radical ideas of how breaking could be portrayed or how it could be redefined, and redesigned as I questioned the validity of the boundaries and definitions that have been established,” he said. “I perceived that those boundaries and definitions were much more fluid, whereas others perceive them as static.”

Lyons’ Lux Aeterna Dance Company will perform the premiere of his piece, “Metanoia” to the song “Credo” composed by Arvo Part.

“Metanoia is Greek for change of mind,” Lyons said. “In a religious or psychological sense, it means inner transformation.”

The dance illustrates the transformation of one man told through five dancers — three men and two women, Lyons said. They transform from comrades into antagonists and back again.

What impresses Nichols about Lyons’ work is how he takes his break-dancing ability and combines it with classical choreography, ballet and contemporary dance, she said. His choice of music is also interesting, she added — Part’s music is a liturgical piece.

“He doesn’t use commercial rap or hip-hop,” she said. “He chooses music that is extremely complex and usually has a deeper spiritual meaning ultimately. He does beautiful work, and it’s very heartfelt.”

Another choreographer whose work will be in the show, Viktor Kabaniaev, also pulls from a classically trained background for his modern interpretation, Nichols said.

Kabaniaev graduated from the Vaganova Ballet Academy in St. Petersburg, Russia, and has been a principal dancer with companies in the former Soviet Union, Germany and the United States.

Now living in San Francisco, he teaches and creates dance routines. His company, Viktor Kabaniaev and Dancers, will present a contemporary ballet titled “Episodes Of .?.?. ” Nichols said.

“He uses all of that training to his advantage in creating a new way of moving,” she said.

Other highlights of the show include the red silk aerial contemporary ballet, “Le Coeur Illumine,” restaged for the Alex Theatre by choreographer Marie de la Palme and her company Motion Tribe; and the debut of a new Los Angeles contemporary dance company, BodyTraffic.

In the aerial ballet, the dancer is suspended in the air on red silk fabric, similar to the acrobatics performed by Cirque du Soleil, Nichols said.

“[The dancer] leaves the floor and flies through the air,” she said. “I’m closing the show with that piece.”

Each dance company’s performance is so different, it draws audience members back every year, Avry Budka said. She has seen the first two performances and already has her tickets for the upcoming show.

“One of the things my husband and I appreciate is that every troupe has something very unique to present,” she said. “The variety is very exciting.”

Heavenly harmony
Mormon Choir and Glendale Youth Orchestra perform together for first time at the Alex Theatre.

By Ani Amirkhanian

Glendale News Press

The Glendale Youth Orchestra and Southern California Mormon Choir are joining forces for the first time for a one-night performance Tuesday at the Alex Theatre.

The concert will feature about 70 members of the 54-year-old choir and the orchestra’s 37 young musicians who range in ages 11 to 18.

“The choir sounds awesome, and the orchestra is amazing,” conductor Brad Keimach said.

The choir decided to collaborate with the youngsters after a couple of members came to hear the orchestra perform, Keimach said.

“We had several members of the Southern California Mormon Choir come to hear us in concert, and after that we got their enthusiastic stamp of approval, and it was time to start preparing,” he said.

The Glendale Youth Orchestra will perform Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart’s Symphony No. 35 in D for the first half of the program. The choir will join the orchestra during the second half for a performance of George Frideric Handel’s “Messiah.”

“The members love the idea of performing with Glendale Youth Orchestra,” said Jan Bills, associate conductor of the Mormon Choir. “They play challenging music. These kids are in that caliber.”

Both the orchestra and chorus have rehearsed independently for the upcoming concert, Bills said.

“Brad has come to one of our rehearsals, and he has such a wonderful rapport with the orchestra members,” Bills said.

For some of the young musicians, performing with a choir for the first time brings out mixed feelings.

“I’m really excited because it’s my first time playing with the chorus,” 16-year-old Katherine Park said. “They sound pretty good, and I’m happy about that. I’m proud to be playing with them.”

Katherine, a Glendale resident and cellist, also plays for the Hoover High School orchestra.

But others, including 11-year-old Alyssa Quiogue, are a bit more anxious.

Alyssa, a Burbank resident, is the assistant concertmaster and the youngest member of the orchestra. She has been playing the violin since she was 7 years old.

“It seems good, and I feel a little nervous because I have never played with another group before,” Alyssa said. “I think I’ve heard lots of good things from Brad. They sing really well.”