A fundraiser sponsored by the Hamazkayin Regional Executive Board for the Western United States aimed to fund a ballet version of Levon Shant’s play, Hin asdvadzner (Ancient gods). It was held on April 27, 2019 at the Phoenicia restaurant in Glendale, Calif., with about 100 culture lovers in attendance.
The main initiator of the program was Hamazkayin member Katia Kusherian. On the occasion of Levon Shant’s 150th anniversary, Ms. Kusheian wished to see one of her dreams come true: the presentation of Ancient Gods as a ballet. Ms. Kusherian and her sister Vardui Kusherian decided to take the initiative and donate $27,000 of their own savings to get the expensive undertaking started. They commissioned the composer Vache Sharafyan, who has written the music, and Mikael Sharafyan, who has done the costume design. Hamazkayin, acting as godparent of this project, undertook to organize the fundraiser.