Kochari

Kochari is a traditional Armenian group dance, usually performed in a circle or line with dancers holding hands or shoulders. Its repeated, coordinated steps support both social dancing and staged performance.

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Armenian folk dance: A tradition of dances developed and performed in Armenian communities, including social and ceremonial forms. Kochari is one of the best-known dances within this broader tradition.
Armenian Highlands: A mountainous region of West Asia historically associated with Armenian communities and culture. Kochari belongs to the dance traditions rooted in this wider cultural landscape.
Armenian wedding: A marriage celebration shaped by Armenian customs, family participation, and regional practices. Kochari is commonly performed as a communal dance at Armenian wedding celebrations.
Yerkushta: A vigorous Armenian men’s dance associated with the Sasun region and performed by groups facing one another. It is a distinctive dance related to the wider family of Armenian group dances.
Circle dance: A group dance in which participants form a circle and perform coordinated steps. Kochari commonly uses a circle formation that keeps dancers moving as a group.
Armenian diaspora: Armenian communities living outside their historic homeland, formed through migration and displacement. Diaspora communities have preserved and performed Kochari far beyond Armenia.
Armenian diaspora culture: Cultural practices maintained and reshaped by Armenian communities outside their historic homeland. Kochari offers diaspora communities a visible, participatory expression of Armenian identity.
Tamzara: An Armenian and Anatolian folk dance tradition performed in linked groups, with regional variations. Tamzara offers a neighboring group-dance tradition with different melodies and local forms.
Line dance: A group dance performed in one or more lines, often with dancers moving in unison. Kochari may also be performed in a line rather than a closed circle.
Armenian Genocide: The Ottoman Empire’s 1915–1917 mass deportation and killing of Armenians. Displacement after the genocide reshaped the communities that carried Armenian dance traditions abroad.