Kristine Hovsepyan from the town of Abovyan was eight when she first picked up the dhol and heard that there are “non-girly” professions in the world. From that day on, Kristine has been walking towards her dream, and she only pauses before making a new leap.
“When I was eight years old, my family went to my father’s friend’s house to celebrate New Year’s. In their house, I noticed a dhol leaning against a wall. I set aside all the other toys and picked up the dhol. I started to beat it, feel the sound, tried to play it. Once back home, I told my family I want to take dhol classes. My parents treated it as a childly whim, but time showed that my decision was final,” Kristine recalls.
In those years, especially in a province, dhol was chosen as a musical instrument mostly by boys, and when a tiny delicate girl would get on a public bus, barely carrying the dhol in her hands, many would stare surprised. But Kristine had learnt to overlook the unfriendly gazes and not to listen to strangers.
“It may be surprising, but I understood from a very young age that I cannot listen to and be guided by everyone’s opinions about myself. Only the opinion of my family members about my decisions and actions can and should be important for me. Fortunately, I have always enjoyed strong support from my parents who always had confidence in the clarity of my decisions and the firmness of my dreams. That’s why they always gave me wings and strength to not break,” Kristine says.
People and circumstances repeatedly tried to break me. The first challenge for 8-year-old Kristine was the recital: the concert became a touchstone for her decision.
“People that play the dhol and percussion instruments in general know that it is impossible to play wearing a skirt, because you need to put the instrument on your knee. The recital was at the Drama Theatre of the town of Abovyan. I went wearing classical black pants, and minutes before walking on stage, the director of the studio that I attended said they would not allow a girl wearing trousers on stage, and I simply had no other clothes with me at the time. My first reaction was desperation, the desire to abandon everything, and to cry. But that was the moment when I realized that if I give up, I will not move forward. I asked one of the girls, not sure which one of them, for her skirt, I barely sat on a chair, put the dhol on my knees, contorted, and started to play. My tears and bitterness were choking me, but I had a dream, and so, I could not retreat.”
After attending dhol class in the town of Abovyan for two years, Kristine moved to the "Vahagn" dhol players ensemble, then to the Yerevan Drums band of girls. That’s when she decided to leave the dhol and play other percussion instruments. Kristine still can’t explain her decision to take a pause for two years, but she believes that returning to the instrument at a more mature age was the right thing to do.
“There is a very heavy stereotype about the dhol as a musical instrument; in fact, there is disdain. Some consider it not to be a fully-fledged instrument, because it doesn’t even have notes. People don’t even say “to play” the dhol, instead they use the word “to beat.” When I returned to the instrument, I realized the first thing I want is to break that stereotype, to show that the dhol is in no way worse than other percussion instruments. I realized that I want to turn playing the dhol to a profession,” Kristine says.
However, stereotypes have become an incentive for Kristine to work harder. Years back, she realized one of her dreams: she created the Dream Beat band of girls in the town of Abovyan, recruited the core members in a matter of days, and shot videos that became very popular online.
At age 18, she started to teach. Kristine says that she teaches her students not only music, but also to dream and not to give up.
“Many questioned what I could teach at the age of 18. But look at the brilliant results achieved by my students! I see how music inspires these children, how they start to understand that dreams recognize no borders.”
Besides, Kristine decided to “turn” dhol to a musical instrument by creating notes for the dhol. By converting the drum notes, Kristine created a system of notes that she has been using for three years already to teach to her students.
Kristine is confident that any obstacle can be overcome when you have a goal and see the steps that will lead you to your dream.
“One may get tired and take a pause and stay silent. It’s normal. But you need to always keep in sight the dream that will put you back up on your feet.”
Kristine’s greatest dream is to have an arts school: a center where children will get universal education, start to think freely and to pursue their dreams.
Two years ago, Kristine took the first step towards this goal: she created the Dream Beat studio. In one years of work, the number of students increased from 6 to 30. However, a year later, Kristine decided to stop the activities of the studio.
“Today, I consider that my decision was wrong. I did something that ran contrary to me: I took the advice of a stranger and stepped back from my dream. I now understand that, in spite of my wrong decision, I needed the pause to take a deep breath, to redefine the meaning of what I have, to clear up my surroundings, to regain my inner peace, and to prepare for a new flight. I have now reopened the studio, in a new place. The launch is harder than the last time, but I am not afraid of difficulties. After a year, I will have what I am already seeing today. It only requires patience and hard work,” she says.
Kristine says one should not be afraid of mistakes: they are the only way to gain experience and to find the right way forward, and there is always time to correct the mistakes.
“Mistakes cannot be viewed as defeat; they simply provide an opportunity for improvising.”