Articles by Initial Letters

Zsuráfszky (Sr. - born 1956) is one of Hungary’s foremostfolk dancers, teachers, choreographers and professional folk dance ensemble directors. He was trained to be a professional folk dancer at the Hungarian Academy of Dance (then known as the Ballet Institute) and was part of the Dance House Movement from the beginning..Zsuráfszky says "...From the age of fifteen I was trained in folk music and folk dance. That’s what I was studying andwhatinterested me. And perhaps I have actually been able to make the very most out of it, that I possibly could have.""[In the 1970s]we were able to participate infolk dance field collection work done by Martin György, Kallós Zoltan,Andrásfalvy Bertalan, the Pesovár brothers"[the most brilliant ethnographic researchers working in folk dance at the time S.F.]. " I finished my training 51 years ago"….He and his classmates were there at the very first Budapest táncház-es. "It was a fantastic period!” Zsuráfszkymentions ensembles he worked withall over Hungary in the earlier years. He talks about founding the Kodály Ensemble - their own professional ensemblein the 1980s - the desire to show what he was capable of – then facing the challenges of financing the group. Later on he was responsible for the dance collection portion of the ’Final Hour Collection Project’. Hehas taught and/or perfomed Hungarian folk dance all over the world. He was director of the Budapest Ensemble, then went over to the Honvéd Ensemble which has since morphed into the Magyar  Nemzeti Táncegyüttes –the Hungarian National Folk Dance Ensemble: all professional groups. He talks about repertoire and working closely with his artistic collaborator and wife of 40 years Zs. Vincze Zsuszsa – who is co-director of the National Ensemble. Their lives still move at a dizzying tempo. By Grozdits Károly.