Summary and important conclusions - translated here:
The audience of the National Dance House Festival and Market continues to get younger. While in 2007 and 2008 the average age of the audience was 30 years old, in 2009 the average audience age was 28 years.
Ratio of male and female attendance has become more balanced. In 2004, 38% of the audience were males; by 2009, 50% were males.
75% of the National Dance House Festival’s audience has completed a secondary school or higher education. This average is higher than Hungary’s general population, where it is 45%.
Since 2008 the percentage of audience arriving from outside the greater Budapest area has risen to 64%. The percentage of the audience arriving from outside of Hungary (the neighboring countries) has risen from 4.7% to 9.7% .
The majority of people who attend the dance house festival are already interested in the dance house movement and regularly attend related events. The dance house festival continues to be an event organized for a ’core dance house audience’. 59 % of the participants attend dance house events on weekdays. More than 80% are presently, or were earlier connected with ’local tradition preserving’ groups.
The most important source of information on the dance house festival is personal contact (word of mouth): two thirds of the audience learned about the event from friends and acquaintences; while some 30% found out about it at the dance houses. The role of the internet is growing. More than a third of the audience also got information from the internet. The traditional media, TV and newspapers, advertisements, posters put up in public areas and the radio may be more effective in reaching a new audience. The newspaper and television are a source of information for the most people (17-18%). More than half of those who attend come to the festival every year. Another fourth come every 3 or 4 years – therefore the ’core audience’ percentage is very high - about 75%. The organizers are able to entice about one or two thousand people (about 15%) of completely new audience each year.
In 2009 there were many new programs. Amongst them, the stage dance performances were the most popular. The most unpopular were the podium conversations (3.68). The film screenings and exhibitions got a rating of 4 (on a five point scale - with five as the best).
In comparison to the last two years, the general level of satisfaction with the event decreased in 2009. This gives rise to the question of whether the event has begun to ’tire out’. The ’core audience’ is generally less satisfied with the event, in comparison to those attending for the first time.
Considering the results - in order to find new audience, we recommend cooperation with other folk arts organizations to advertise and further popularize the event in their circles and at their events, since these organizations share an interest in folk arts, folk culture and tradition, but embrace a layer beyond the regular dance house circles. It would also be worthwhile to advertise more intensively in the schools with the intent of securing interest and audience in the next generations.