About the project
“Thread_թել” Evgeniya Melkonyan
Evgeniya Melkonyan based this performance on a personal story of transformation, exploration of her Ukrainian and Armenian roots, nature, family stories, and mystical experiences. A story about the search for and awareness of one’s identity through video, authentic songs, and dances. In the preparation of the performance, the author’s methods of working with the body, voice, and images were used, which are part of the 3T system (therapy, transformation, transcendence), which is currently being developed by Evgeniya.
The performance is a journey of the subconscious, an immersion in archetypal symbols, songs, rituals, landscapes that are endlessly intertwined with allusions to time and the eternal search of man.
Do we choose our path and our destiny? Is the thread of fate woven in other worlds, and we are only conductors of the will of the Higher? Are we connected to past and future generations? Do we repeat the fates of our ancestors? Is every new life a new chance?
In the winter of 2022, I returned from Armenia to Ukraine, and two months later, a full-scale war began. In Armenia, I had a distant plan to create such a performance – the war seemed to push me to implement it. In the musical part – 3 Ukrainian songs and 4 Armenian songs. “Kalynonka” is special for me. And it’s such a strange feeling – because it’s a song that for me reflected a certain longing for home, but not for the physical home, but for the one that was lost from within… Armenian songs were chosen differently – by meaning. The first song is a lullaby, it is dedicated to the Armenian genocide, which was at the beginning of the 20th century. This is my experiment, I wanted to create a work that would tell about a certain path, which is not always joyful, but it needs to be passed.
Evgeniya Melkonyan
About the author
Evgeniya Melkonyan was born in Kyiv. She has Ukrainian and Armenian roots. She received a psychological and economic education, while also studying vocals. She studied art therapy and sound therapy, and playing Tibetan singing bowls. She developed and conducted art therapy courses and meditation concerts. At the same time, she began to study Ukrainian folk singing. She is studying at the Drahomanov National Pedagogical University at the Faculty of Musical Arts, currently engaged in choreography, Tribal dance and Indian Bharatanatyam dance, and performative practices. She continues to research Ukrainian and Armenian folklore.
Presentations
- The premiere took place on February 29, 2024, at the Les Kurbas National Center for Theatre Arts in Kyiv.
- On August 18, 2024, the work was presented in Zaporizhzhia at the Tarasov Park Festival.
- On September 22, 2024, the first international presentation took place in Vienna, Austria, at the Favoriten Festival.
- On January 16, 2025, at the Les Kurbas National Center for Theatre Arts in Kyiv.
Video teaser
Additional resources
Credits
Production proto produkciia
Lead producer Olga Diatel
Executive producer Volodymyr Burkovets
Associate Producers Yuliia Parysh, Alona Odarenko, Iryna Onishchuk
Assistant Nata Zelenska, Sofiia Levchenkova
Communication Olga Diatel
Media coordination Kateryna Lukiashko
Design of posters Yaroslava Kovalchuk
Photo Valeriia Landar
Video documentation Daria Sokolova, Andrii Borodavchuk, Yaroslav Pushkarchuk
Financial management Liliia Pylatiuk, Roman Dyma
Supported by
The work was implemented by proto produkciia in partnership with the GT Foundation from Romania with financial support from the European Union under the Europe House program.