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Armen Ra is an Iranian-born Armenian performance artist who has performed at such reputable, yet disparate venues/events as The Knitting Factory, The Gershwin Hotel, Dixon Place, The Slipper Room, Jackie 60, and Wigstock. He's been featured on CNN, has appeared on MTV, and has graced the pages of The New York Times, The NY Post and The Village Voice for his unique and elegant NYC recitals. Raised by a concert pianist, a lead soprano
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and a teacher of Ichabana, it was no surprise that Armen flourished, not only as one of New York's leading aesthetes, but also as a self-taught master of the theremin (the only instrument created in the 20th Century and held by many professional musicians to be the most difficult instrument to learn). By fusing both the visual and aural aspects of his craft, Armen Ra has developed an art form that is truly his own and is something quite amazing to behold.
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PRESS CLIPPING
April 2, 2002
The 'V' Isn't for Valentine's Day
THE NEW YORK TIMES
A Theremin, Uptown?
If downtown is in your soul, but you're tired of paying the cab fare, you might consider the Tuesday evening events at the Gershwin Hotel on East 27th Street, where downtown personalities NEKE CARSON (he's an artist) and
MICHAEL WIENER (an actor and writer), have been trying to bring downtown, uptown. In past events, RICHARD PRICE read from a new novel, the performance artist RAFAEL SANCHEZ sang inside a weather balloon, and DEBBIE HARRY read her poetry. Tonight at 8, the sometime drag queen and model ARMEN RA, who has modeled for the fashion designer PIA MYRVOLD, will be performing on the theremin, the instrument with the spooky sci-fi sound. The show will include Chopin's Nocturne. "I'm also playing `Nature Boy', `Summertime', and `Fly Me to the Moon'," Mr. Ra said. "I also throw in things like the Laverne and Shirley theme song, because it all gets pretty dark after Chopin." In the past, Mr. Ra has often performed in gowns by his old friend TODD OLDHAM. Will he be doing so this evening? "They're not all going to be elegant gowns. But, Todd has been a major supporter for all of this and I'll be stopping by the showroom. I'll always go for the tight long black robe. I love a Morticia sleeve, what can I say?"
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