Karin - Ishkhanats Par / Կարին - Իշխանաց Պար

ԻՇԽԱՆԱՑ ՊԱՐ
ISHKHANATS PAR (Dance of Lords)
Supposedly, "Ishkhanats Par" belonged to holy dances. There have been listed three variants of the dance. One of them is "Shekhani" which was also a martial dance danced by the Armenians in Hayots Dzor. It was too difficult to perform, that's why only few, young people mainly performed it. The princes, the lords and powerful people stood in front of the dance line and made donations to the drum and zurna players. Sometimes the poor also danced. The Armenians played "Shekhani" during the pilgrimages, at the churches in Van, Timar, Berkri in all celebrations and weddings.
"Ishkhanats Par" is a very solemn and noble dance, technically one of the most complex dances in Armenian dance art. The musical measure of "Sheykhane" is 4/4. They hold hands with crossed palms, the left hand over the right, The dancers stand in a line which is never arched. The line moves forward, then comes back and making a turn at 90 degrees, moves to the right and turns back. During the movements on the spot the ankles are bent raising the palms on the breast level, during the movement to the right they are raised on the waist level. The music and the dance become more lively.