Yarkhushta

[2][3][4] Yarkhushta belongs to a wider category of Armenian "clap dances" (ծափ-պարեր, tsap parer).

The key element of the dance is a forward movement where participants rapidly approach one another and vigorously clap onto the palms of hands of dancers in the opposite row.

Yarkhushta is believed to have its origins in the early Middle Ages as it is mentioned in the works of Movses Khorenatsi, Faustus of Byzantium, and Grigor Magistros.

It has been demonstrated that the combination of hornpipe's high-frequency tone and the bass drums' deep, low-frequency beat create a combination of sounds with wide peak-to-peak amplitude that is capable of placing the dancers in the state of euphoric trance.

[7] In modern-day Armenia, yarkhushta is popular in settlements populated by refugees from Sassoun after the Armenian genocide, especially in villages around the towns of Talin, Aparan, and Ashtarak.