Lena is a San Francisco-based writer and multidisciplinary artist.  She has been a soloist with ARAX Dance since the company made its start back in 2003.  From the age of 12, she had the privilege of training solely with ARAX Dance’s founder, former Artistic Director and Choreographer Noemi Araxi, a former Principal Dancer with the National Opera and Ballet Theatre of Armenia.  Lena performed several lead roles in the company’s repertoire including Djermag Aghavni, Kisher yev Tsereg, Shalakho, Gypsy, Anoush Opera's “Harsi Bar,” Queen Nouard in Ara Geghetsig, Sayat Nova’s Tamam Ashkhar, and “Mother Armenia” in Hayastan.  In tandem with her dance training with ARAX, Lena earned a B.A. in English Literature and Art History from UC Berkeley and years later, a Master’s from UC Berkeley’s Graduate School of Journalism. Her art and storytelling are rooted in Armenian identity and experience, and are very much influenced by the two decades she spent performing with the company. She looks forward to passing on this unique performance art form to an entirely new generation of dancers.