Armenian dance songs: kochari, tamzara, yarkhushta, shalakho and the tunes to play

At an Armenian wedding, a picnic or a church hall, someone will start a line and the whole room joins. These are the dances you will meet most, what makes each one different, and the recordings that bring people to their feet, from village ensembles to the versions DJs play today.

By The Armenly team. Written October 28, 2026.

Key findings

  • Kochari is a group dance performed across Armenia at holidays and family celebrations, open to anyone regardless of age or gender, and UNESCO added it to its Representative List of intangible heritage in 2017 [1].
  • Tamzara is danced in a line or circle with interlocked little fingers, in a 9/8 rhythm with two accented beats at the end of each bar, and it is one of the Armenian dances best kept alive in the United States [3].
  • Yarkhushta is a clap dance from Sasun: two rows of men rush toward each other and strike palms [4].
  • The most played dance recording in the Armenly catalog is Sevak Amroyan's "Yarkhushta (Extended Version)," with about 1.4 million Spotify plays (catalog of September 17, 2026).

Kochari: the one everyone joins

Kochari is a group dance performed throughout Armenia at holidays, festive celebrations and family occasions, and it is open to everyone, whatever their age, gender or social status [1]. UNESCO describes it as one of the rare traditional dances whose chain of transmission has never been broken, and it has been taught in Armenian schools since 2004 [1].

It is a circle dance from the Armenian Highlands. Dancers stand side by side holding hands, and the tempo runs from moderate to fast [2]. Every region had its own kochari, with its own steps and music, which is why recordings are named for places: Alashkerti kochari, Karno kochari (of Karin, or Erzurum), Msho kochari (of Mush) [2].

Tamzara: little fingers linked, in 9/8

Tamzara is a line or circle dance done by a large group with interlocked little fingers. One version is danced instead by a man with one or two women, arms around each other's waists [3].

You can hear a tamzara before you see it: every one has a 9/8 rhythm with two accented beats at the end of each bar, and most share a very similar melody [3]. It may take its name from the village of Tamzara near Sebastia (Sivas), and it is one of the most popular Armenian dances preserved in the United States [3].

Yarkhushta: the clap dance of Sasun

Yarkhushta is an Armenian folk and martial dance from the highlands of Sasun in Western Armenia. Men dance it in two rows facing each other and rush forward to clap hard onto the palms of the dancers opposite [4].

In today's Armenia it is popular in villages settled by families from Sasun, it was revived in the 1980s, and there have been efforts to teach it in the Armenian army [4]. On Armenly it is also the most played dance of all.

Shalakho: the show-off dance

Shalakho is danced across the Caucasus to fast music in 6/8. In the best-known version, two men compete for a woman's favor; it can also be danced alone or in a group, with the women's movements slow and lyrical and the men's big and energetic [5].

Armenians, Georgians and Azerbaijanis each give the name their own origin, and the dance grew up in the cities of the South Caucasus, above all Tiflis [5]. Aram Khachaturian put it in his ballet "Gayane," staged in 1942 [5].

Halay, lorke and the shoror

A few more names turn up on wedding playlists and in diaspora dance halls. The counts are Spotify plays as recorded in the Armenly catalog on September 17, 2026; they are indicative, not official chart figures.

  • Halay: a staple of Armenian-American kef musicians such as Onnik Dinkjian and Richard Hagopian.
  • Lorke: turns up in wedding medleys, next to "Dzaghatzor" and "Hartsntzoun."
  • Shoror: named for places, such as "Erzeroumi shoror" (of Erzurum) and "Msho shoror" (of Mush). Komitas wrote shorors into his piano dances.

A dance-floor playlist

  • Open with a kochari everyone knows, so the whole room can join the circle.
  • Then a tamzara, for the 9/8 lift, and a yarkhushta for the clapping.
  • Save shalakho for when the floor wants to watch someone show off.

Questions people ask

What is the most famous Armenian dance?

Kochari. It is danced across Armenia at holidays and family celebrations, anyone can join, and UNESCO added it to its Representative List of the intangible heritage of humanity in 2017.

How do you dance kochari?

In a circle or a line, side by side, holding hands. The tempo runs from moderate to fast, and each region has its own steps, which is why recordings carry place names such as Karno or Alashkerti kochari.

What is the rhythm of tamzara?

Nine beats to the bar, 9/8, with two accented beats at the end of each bar. That limp in the rhythm is how you can tell a tamzara from the first few bars.

What is the Armenian clapping dance?

Yarkhushta, from Sasun. Men dance it in two rows and rush forward to strike palms with the dancers opposite. Sevak Amroyan's recording is the most played dance song on Armenly.

Sources

Cite this page

The Armenly team, "Armenian dance songs: kochari, tamzara, yarkhushta, shalakho and the tunes to play." Armenly, October 28, 2026. https://armenly.com/guides/armenian-dance-songs

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