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Page 3
Photo exhibition on traditional costume of Hungary’s Somogy Region. Zóka Éva and Horváth Tibor, directors of the Zselic Folk Dance Ensemble, have been collecting original costumes in their region for 25 years. Luthár Kristóf of Kaposvár has been photographing their collection. So far, 32 women’s costumes and 22 men’s costumes have been documented. Many of the costumes documented are used for performances of the Zselic Ensemble. A portion of the photographs will be exhibited in Budapest on April 15th and 16th at the 2023 Hungarian National Táncház Festival and Market. Report by Zóka Éva and Horváth Tibor.

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New Recording: Páll Éva – Míves Mesterségek – released by Fonó. This a recording is for the whole family presenting Hungarian folk music related to the traditional trades/crafts of flax spinning, weaving, tailoring, shoemaking, pottery making, the pottery repairer, blacksmith, miller, baker, and the spinning party.

Page 5
We mourn the recent passing of Lengyel László "Türei“ (1957–2023) Transylvanian traditional singer, dedicated and tireless supporter of traditional music and culture. He was from the Kalotaszeg village of Türe/Turea. Obituary by Henics Tamás.

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List of Hungarian folk dance and folk music summer camps 2023.

Page 9
List of national awards recieved by folks from dance house circles on Hungary’s March 15th national holiday.

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New publication: Berlász Melinda: The writings of Lajtha László I–II (two volumes) published by Rózsavölgyi, Budapest, 2022. Musicologist Berlász Melinda also published a biographical monography of Lajtha László in 1984, then in 1992 she published a precursor to the present new publication. Lajtha László (1892–1963), was a Kossuth prize winning Hungarian composer, folk music researcher, and music educator, well-known in táncház circles for his collections of the traditional instrumental music of the Transylvanian village of Szék/Sic. Along with his works on folk music, the new volumes also contain Lajtha’s writings on folk dance and much more. Announcement by Németh László.

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New recording: Mohácsy Albert–Nagy Zsolt: Tizennégy Banda – Üzenet – CD. Mohácsy Albert and Nagy Zsolt (double bass, viola) have gathered their favorite music and musician buddies to play on this privately released recording of traditional folk music from Hungary and Slovakia, in 13 tracks, with 14 bands. This is their second such project – the first of which was released in 2004 and presented these musicians’ favorite music from Transylvania. MACD01. Announcement by Mohácsy Albert, Nagy Zsolt.

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Interview: Hégli Dusán of Pozsony/Bratislava, Slovakia: choreographer, folk dancer, director of professional folk dance groups: Ifjú Szivek and Dusan Hegli Company. Dusán comes from the Hungarian community in Slovakia and his work centers mainly on dance traditions of Slovakia’s Hungarian minority. He has been active since the 1980s. He talks a bit about the process of collecting and developing the Hungarian dances of Slovakia for the dance house model. He has taught and choreographed extensively in Hungary as well. The Ifjú Szivek company is financed by the Slovak government. When Dusán began dealing with contemporary and controversial issues/problems in his choreography, his usual sources of funding refused to support these projects. He then formed Dusan Hegli Company as a framework for this kind of project. His groups perform in Slovakia, Hungary, Europe and further abroad as well. He has been invited to show his work many times at a theatre festival in Avignon. He is interested in:…addressing the ’universal problems that affect you and I, and anyone else using traditional movement culture and – arrangements of – traditional music. Conversation with Grozdits Károly.

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Timár Sára examines practices of public cultural organization under Hungary’s Kádár government during the 1970s using the example of the Kassák Klub – a community center in Budapest’s 14th district. More specificially she deals with questions of the dance house movement within the sphere of Hungary’s 1970s system of ’houses of culture’. The Kassák Klub was an important venue in dancehouse history as the site of the iconic Sebő Club held there starting in 1973. The Kassák Klub sponsored other kinds of cultural events as well during the period, including theatre and music groups. Sooner or later some of these events/groups/clubs came under suspicion and surveillance for being too avant garde for the period or in the case of the dance houses held there – for showing signs of nationionalism. This study was presented at a conference in 2012 celebrating the 40th anniversary of the first dance house held in Budapest. It was then then published in Budapest by the European Folkore Institute in the conference publication edited by Halmos Béla, Hoppál Mihály, Halák Emese.

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Dance house and the movement: An article from 1974 – the very early days of Hungary’s dance house movement. The author writes that there [was] a need for the dance house – for the movement. A few excerpts here: “We hope that the performing dance group leaders can see that there is a need for the urban dance houses.” He described the ensembles as ‘professional amateur’ in terms of level of technique and artistic performance, also describing a need for what he calls ‘the crowd’ or probably the social situation of the dance house houses. He stated that the early dance houses “[didn’t] want to be a movement, the participants [didn’t] want that, or [didn’t notice that aspect] …but we know that a movement is possible, and we will assist that.” “…a volunteer movement where professional guidance comes from a good ensemble director and the audience are young people who want to get to know a folk dance or music up to a certain point...” “A movement cannot be created …we have to stand by it, help it develop, so that it can become a real movement…” “The movement must rely on older dancers who want to continue dancing. They can use their dance experience in the dance houses to teach the dances they know and love the most…” By Vadasi Tibor. First published in: Táncművészeti Információk Táncház – Híradó 3. Sz. Budapest, 1974.

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P. Vas János’ column: Old writings still interesting today. Superstition and beliefs from all over the Hungarian language area involving the home and its furnishings (threshold, master beam, the furniture, mirror, windows etc). A few examples: In Tiszaszalka if a young man wants to get rid of a girl, he must collect nine of her footprints in a bag and put the bag under the rain gutter – then the spell can be broken. In the Jászság region they say that if the cat jumps up on top of the wardrobe and purrs, there will either be a wedding or a christening at the house. "Whoever glances at him/herself in the mirror at the stroke of midnight by candle or lamplight, will see the devil himself.” "It is especially dangerous to make an infant look at his or herself in the mirror, because the child’s teeth may not come in properly, it will have difficulty learning to speak or perhaps will never speak at all.” From a book by Fazekas and Székely published by Magvető Kiadó, Budapest. 1990. (based on Szendrey and Szendrey’s Dictionary of Superstitions)

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Szecsődi Barbara: Transylvanian villagers at the dance houses in Kolozsvár/Cluj. This project examined the effects of participation and direct contact with traditional dancers and musicians from the Transylvanian villages that attended the táncház-es held in the city of Transylvanian city of Kolozsvár in the early days of the dance house movement that is, the period from 1977–1984. Briefly discussed are differences between the Transylvanian and the Hungarian urban dance houses. She worked from materials and interviews found in the Halmos Béla archives, the Dance House Archive, and the Hungarian Heritage House’s Folklore Documention Department collections. First published in “Néptánc a médiában” [Folk dance in the media] a conference publication – published in Budapest by the Hungary Academy of Dance 2019.

Page 33
Analysis of a choreography presenting Palm Sunday folk customs from the Ipoly/Ipel and Zobor regions of Western Slovakia. The piece was choreographed by Varga Lia and danced by the Kis Rakonca Folk Dance Ensemble as part of a 2015 performance. The choreography portrayed customs where girls of a village made a doll of straw, dressed it as a bride, then ceremoniously took it around the village. In due course, the straw doll was undressed and thrown in the river or burned. The doll’s headscarf was then tied on a young girl’s head and two older girls escorted the younger girl back to the village hand in hand. For this dance/pagent-play custom the girls sing without band accompaniment. Analysis by Brusznyai Erik – as part of an assignment for students at the Hungarian Academy of Dance. The students’ task is to analyze choreographies with themes of folk customs and explain differences between the source materials and the adaptation for stage. Selected analyses are published as a series in folkMAGazin this year.

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A teacher’s reactions to the 2023 March 4th–5th Children’s and Youth Folk Dance Anthology: performances of the best children’s folk dance group choreographies of the past year. Almost 30 choreographies were presented during the two day event at the Eiffel Műhely Ház in Budapest’s 10th district. The author noted a general improvement in the level of works presented at the event – since folk dance has become part of the curriculum in cultural education programs in Hungary. Prominent amongst material presented were choreographies of dances and traditions of Transylvania, Moldavia, Bukovina, Romania and Hungarian communities in Slovakia. Most of the choreographies focused on folk dance in ‘classical presentation’. He makes special mention of the “Turka” game – a custom with a rich and complex message involving an animal figure. The event is organized by the Heritage Children’s and Youth Folk Arts Association. Report by Trencsényi László

Page 37
Kóka Rozália’s series: Moldavian Csángó Hungarian tales. After collecting folklore in Moldavia for 26 years, in 1995 Kóka Rozália went back again to collect tales for the first time. In the village of Pusztina/Pustiana she collected from two woman: Barta Mihályné and László Istvánné. She published their tales in her 2004 book: "Aranytojás” [Golden Egg]. This issue includes ’the tale of the golden haired twins’. It starts with three girls who did the harvest and a landowner’s son. One of harvesting girls promised to give birth to golden haired twins if the landowner’s son married her. He married her and beautiful twins were born with birthmarks of the sun on the forehead of one and the moon on the other. But there was an evil-minded midwife that wanted the landowner’s son to marry her daughter…

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Kóka Rózália’s column: kiböjtölés – ’fasting out’ – a folk custom involving several days or weeks of fasting and praying to rid oneself of bad luck or bad feelings, or to wish approriate punishment on someone who has wronged you. Described here are: ideas behind this custom, the phases of ’fasting out’, selection of days of fasting and the proper mediating saint’s day, the process for a day of fasting, the clear statment of the curses, their mode of completion and the role of the surrounding community. Those who assist the person fasting were family members and Orthodox priests (the practice was condemned by Roman Catholic priests). This kind of fasting was done both with the intention of helping a situation or healing illnesses; or to wish an enemy dead or to wish sickness, or harm on them: such as bad luck, seperation from a lover, financial loss, etc. Between 1968 and 1970 Kóka Rózália collected 150 stories about this custom from Bukovina Székely people in Hungary’s Tolna, Baranya and Bács-Kiskun Counties.

By Sue Foy

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Interview with the Hajdu-Németh siblings. Ilona, Balázs and László aged fourteen, sixteen, seventeen, respectively were all born in the USA into two well-known Hungarian-American families (Hajdu-Németh/Magyar) active in folk dance, music and Hungarian community in New Jersey. About ten years ago their parents decided to try living full time in Hungary and they’re still here. In addition to their school work, the children have since been immersed in folk music and dance here in Hungary. László and Balázs play and now tour with the young folk ensemble Sarjú Banda on an ever-soaring level. Balázs and Ilona dance with the Angyalföldi Vadrózsa Folk Dance Ensemble. Here the kids talk about their experiences changing countries and their plans for the future. By Grozdits Károly.

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Interview/conversation with Magyar Kálmán. Kálmán talks about the Pontozó Festival recently held in New Brunswick, New Jersey, and about the American-Hungarian folk dance movement. For decades Kálmán, his wife Magyar Judit, his children and more recently his grandchildren have been key figures, key organizers and inspiration in US Hungarian communities for upholding Hungarian tradition and culture. Kálmán – an articulate, introspective and realistic interviewee – talks about the history of the Pontozó Festival, the Hungarian Symposium, and dance groups in the New Jersey and New York area, discussing camps and events in the USA and his own reasons for his longstanding dedication. He says that "…in America the McDonald’s culture is too strong and it will easily absorb a person’s identity – unless a person makes a conscious effort to maintain it…”. Magyar Kálmán immigrated to the US with his parents at the age of 18. After spending much of his adult life in the USA, some years ago he returned to Hungary where he lives with his family. At the age of 78 he is still an active promoter of Hungarian culture. By Antal-Ferencz Ildikó published May 3rd, 2023 at 777blog.hu

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Táncház 50 is a series of articles, stories and memories from earlier years of the dance house movement. In the first article written by a journalist in 1984 criticizes commentary in a book from the same time period which pronounced the dance house to be "defunct, extinct, finished…" The author of the piece printed here had written an overview of the status of the dance house movement across Hungary which he submitted to the various media. None of the media wanted to publish his overview of the dance house claiming it was not a currently relevant topic and that the movement was "not a community forming factor". One weekly newspaper rejected his article claiming that the existence of folk culture (meaning folk music, dance, craft, folklore) was ’globally questionable’. His report of the nation-wide status of the dance house movement was published finally in a periodical called "Táncművészet" [dance culture]. By Dezső László first published in 1984 in the second issue of the Téka Füzet. As a memory folk dancer, dance teacher, researcher Redő Júlia looks back over the years offering a few of her memories and impressions of the dance house movement. She remembers going to the Kassák Klub dance house in the 1970s as a kid with her parents. Juli also remembers an evening in 1994 at the Molnár utca dance house when a group of the best traditional musicians from Transylvania’s Kalotaszeg region arrived to Budapest so the ethnomusicologists could document their music. One of the musicians, Berki Ferenc ’Árus Feri’’s now famous and fondly remembered comments are printed here. Bagi István recalls the Fonó’s Utolsó Óra [Final Hour] series of Wednesday night dance houses with traditional musicians and singers from Transylvania. In particular, a time when Zerkula János (traditional fiddler from Tranyslvania’s Gyimes region) played, and the same evening was inspired to dance to music played by Laka Kicsi Aladár (traditional fiddler from another area of Transylvania). Bagi István also remembers two traditional singers from Transylvania Szilágyi Anna and Takács Anna whom he became acquainted with at the Fonó.

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Analysis of Foltin Jolán’s dance drama ’Elmúlik’ and its use of the Bukovina Székely custom of ’csobánolás’ – a Christmas season folk pagent-play about the birth of Christ that involves going from house to house. ’Elmúlik’ is a dance piece dealing with the period of resettlement and population exchanges in the wake of WWII. It demonstrates how families and ethnic groups were embittered and affected in these processes – in particular the Hungarian Swabians, Bukovina Székely and Hungarians from communities in Upper Hungary or present day Slovakia. Just one element of this dance drama is compared with the actual folk custom (’csobánolás’) by breaking down that part of the choreography into the scenes. In the choreography the folk custom is simplified with a free use of the typical characters. The choreographer used artistic license in condensing the traditional parts of the custom toward expression of her chosen message. By Bazsinka Levente.

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New CD: Salamon Soma: Tudat alatt (Fonó, 2023 FA 527-2). The fragments of the melodies stuck in the folk musician's mind are assembled into a strange new matter. Soma Salamon is known from many Hungarian folk and world music formations, as Magos, Erdőfű, Fanfara Complexa, Buda Folk Band. As an active performer, ethnomusicologist, he is involved in many dimensions of traditional music, and for many years a constant in the Hungarian folk scene. His first individual EP is a solo project in the literal sense of the word, as the author is the sole contributor to the album. In addition, the genre classification of his visionary music is not easy either: it's neither a folk music, nor adaptation, as there are no existing folk tunes on the album. A meditation of a wind musician, steeped in tradition and personal impressions, wandering in the forest of his own thoughts. „If you ask what kind of music it is, I don't know the answer. Curious I was, I set off, along a dim, unknown path, towards myself. Before I turned back, strange tunes joined by my side. They have no age, their merit is a mystery. They break and fuse, hold together and scatter. If you listen to them in one, they have a story perhaps. Fleeting thoughts, forgotten memories: strange drawings of my subconsious.”

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On April 30th, 2023 the Béri Balogh Ádám Folk Dance Ensemble of Körmend, Hungary celebrated its 50th anniversary with a performance that also celebrated the work and dedication of ensemble director Korbacsics Tibor „Csicsa”. The performance and ensemble is complimented here for their clean ’fluff-free’, natural style of dancing …the men’s dancing was masculine without rushed tempos or exaggerated movements. The ensemble’s style brings out the lyrical elegance and poetry of the dances. Amongst material presented were dances of Csallóköz, Kalocsa, Dél-Alföld, Zemplén. Review by Sztanó Hédi.

Page 16
The Nomad Generation during Hungary’s Kádár era/’Kádár’s Arcadia’. By ethnographer, writer Zelnik József – Part 1. Written in 2012 this is an intellectual philosophical piece discussing Hungary’s back to the roots ’Nomad Generation’ and the dance house movements and their place in Hungarian history. He discusses what the re-discovery of folk art and its celebration in dance and music – meant in the early years of the movement. This long article examines the cultural/social/political environment in which the ’renaissance of Hungarian folk arts’ appeared. He discusses ’what really happened over the last half century in Hungary’. In this process he mentions the Bible, Satan, Israel and the Jews, Trianon, Áczél György, Makovecz, many ’isms (social-, liberal-, human-, commun-, progressiv-, utopia-, modern-, etc), the political philosophy of Eric Vogelin, ’gnostic movements’ and Csoóri Sándor (poet, writer, 1930-2016 – ’the true intellectual leader of the dance house movement’). Excerpt from his final comments: ”….through free [recreational] folk dancing, the [dance house] movement found the freedom that was prohibited from social life [of the period] …”

Page 19
Radák János well-known, award-winning choreographer, folk dancer, dance educator and researcher died on February 17th, 2023. He was 53 years old. Based in the Pécs area, his specialities were traditional dances of Transylvanian villages of Szék, Visa and the Bukovina, Gyimes regions. "Temperate, boundlessly self composed – his dancing was as beautiful as his life.” Obituary by dance researcher and friend Varga Sándor.

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New Publicaton: Korniss Péter: HOSSZÚ ÚTON/THE LONG ROAD – Szék/Sic 1967–2022; photographer Korniss Péter’s most recent photo album. For the last 55 years Korniss has returned regularly to photograph the people and life in the Transylvanian village of Szék. Korniss was born (in 1937) not far away from Szék in the Transylvanian city of Kolozsvár/Cluj Napoca, where he spent his childhood – then his family moved to Budapest in 1949. He didn’t visit the village of Szék until 1967. His haunting photographs document traditional life and changes the community has seen. Published by Brokart, Csíkszereda, Romania 2023. ISBN 9786068994628. Printed here is Bartis Attila’s forward from the book.

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P. Vas János’ column: Old writings still interesting today. Superstition and beliefs from all over the Hungarian language area - related to the parts of the body (the heart, nails, hair, teeth, bones, skull, shadow, foot prints, freckles, hair care, bathing, etc). From a book by Fazekas and Székely published by Magvető Kiadó, Budapest. 1990. (based on Szendrey and Szendrey’s Dictionary of Superstitions)

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Ethnographer, dance researcher Felföldi László’s study: "Folklore in the Media Through the Example of Hungary’s Danube Folklore Festival". This paper addresses: the role of the media and problems, approaches, methods in folk dance research today; present goals of research; the Danube Folklore Festival’s ’news-worthyness’ from the viewpoint of the festival founders and organizers (the festival was founded in 1967–68); the value of the festival from the researchers’ point of view; the news value of the festival from the point of view of public/cultural recreation professionals; the public media’s receptiveness to what the festival offers as newsworthy; the political stance on the value of, and the role of peasant culture in public culture; the media’s effect on folk dance and folk music. Part of his closing comments reads approximately: "…From the period starting in 1990 to the present, new forms of news, opinion forming, and ’mediazation’ have developed. These have drastically changed cultural politics, cultural policy of festival organizers, the audience and the media professionals’ methods and points of view…” First published in [Folk Dance in the Media] – a conference publication. Ed.: Pál-Kovács Dóra, Szőnyi Vivien, Varga Sándor. Hungarian Academy of Dance, Budapest. 2019.

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Agócs Gergely: [Variants of Hungarian folk melody types found amongst the folk music of the Northern Caucasian ’Nogaj’ ethnic group] – Part 1. Over the last 22 years ethnomusicologist Agócs Gergely has been exploring and documenting the folk music of the ’Nogaj’ people in the foothills region of the Northern Caucausus in an effort to find possible parallels to Hungarian folk music. He finds that 70% of the Nogaj traditional melody types fit into the morphological system of Hungarian folk music. Agócs has documented some 2800 folk melodies there. Since 2014 he has been working with ethnographer and Turkologist Somfai Kara Dávid on analysing the documented material. In this study Agócs offers examples of parallel melodies from Hungarian and Nogaj traditional music culture. An interesting note is that many from the oldest generation of his informants had been born in tents and had memories of nomadic life practicing large animal husbandry. They spent winters at the foot of the Caucausus, summers some 1500-2000 kilometers north in wooded plains areas. First published in [Myth and History II] – a collection of studies published in celebration of ethnographer Hoppál Mihály’s 80th birthday – European Folkore Institute. Edited by Hoppál Bulcsú, Szabados György. Budapest, 2022.

Page 38
Kóka Rózália: final part in her series on the folk custom of kiböjtölés – ’fasting out’. She examines this custom practiced by Bukovina Székely Hungarians which involves several days or weeks of fasting and praying to rid oneself of bad luck or bad feelings, or to wish approriate punishment on someone who has wronged you. Here actual quotes from interviews with informants are provided giving specific examples on ’fasting out’ with helpful intentions - such as wishes for: healing, good luck, for someone’s safe return to home, knowing a time of death. Examples are also provided for ’fasting out’ to wish harm on someone for: stealing, causing harm, slander (defamation), abuse, injury caused, disappointment or desertion in love and murder. Between 1968 and 1970 Kóka Rozália collected 150 stories about this custom from Bukovina Székely Hungarians settled in Hungary’s Tolna, Baranya and Bács-Kiskun Counties.

Page 40
Exhibition: The Folk Costume of Budapest’s Rákospalota district – a temporary exhibit at the 15th district Local History Museum and Cultural Heritage Center. The exhibition was open until June 30th, 2023. This district of Budapest makes a distiction between its ’old village’ and ’new village’ areas. Costume of the 20th century of the ’old village’ is presented in the exhibition. Residents of the area are described as being of a ’peasant-bourgeois’ layer of society. They were relatively well-off people which is apparant in richness of the traditional clothing. The area was known for its garden culture and tomato growers – the tomato and tomato flower themes are found in the decoration of the costume pieces. Report by ethnographer and museologist Werschitz Annamária.

Page 42
Hungarian food and tradition – A short history of the wafer from the communion wafer through a thin waffle-like unleaved biscuit snack known as ’Molnárkalács’. The Hungarian village of Borsodnádas is known for making this wafer-thin cracker-like snack food. This writing traces the roots of this tradition going back to the ancient greeks and eucharist wafers used in religious ceremony. Making of wafers for religious use was done in cloisters. In Hungary the church cantor or wife of the deacon made them. Since the end of the 20th century it has been the task of the bishopric. Old secular wafer recipes have been found in France from the 1300s and in Holland from the 1500s where they are referred to as ’wafel’. Wafers gained popularity in France in the 1700s as ingredients changed with secular use. In Hungary the oldest iron wafer cooking forms are from the 16th century. Hungarian cookbooks from the 18th and 19th centuries include recipes for wafer making. By ethnographer Juhász Katalin.

By Sue Foy

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Page 4
Csillagszeműek Dance Ensemble – celebrates 30 years. This group was founded by Timár Böske as a place to train children to dance and perform folk dance on a high level using her husband Timár Sándor’s methodology for teaching traditional dances. When the group was formed, the Timárs were still leading the State Ensemble. Csillagszeműek Dance Ensemble functions as an independant entity, though the original idea was for the group to be under the wing of the Hungarian State Folkdance Ensemble. Csillagszeműek has been directed, managed, organized and led by Böske herself; now her son Timár Mihály is artistic director and looks forward to the next 30 years carrying on the Timár family tradition and success of the group. It is no secret that Csillagszeműek has been interwined with and strongly associated with the Timár family’ life – one of Böske’s original personal goals was to create a community where their children (five, plus one) could learn to dance according to their parents’ methodology and ideas. Timár Sándor’s participation, teaching methods and choreographies have naturally contributed to the group’s success. The group has recieved the Hungarian Heritage and Prima Primisssima awards. Report by Timár Mihály.

Page 6
New Publication: [Changes in (Hungarian) Gypsy music and Gypsy musicians in the 19th/20th century from historical, social and cultural points of view] edited by Hajnáczky Tamás 2023. Gondolat Kiadó (in Hungarian) ISBN: 978-963-5564-38-5. This book contains 13 studies on subjects ranging from Liszt Ferenc to the Rostos family of Nyírvasvár, Hungary. Contributors are journalists, folklorists, literary historians and a jazz critic. Subject matter covered in the volume are: classical music, Hungarian nóta, Hungarian operetta, Hungarian jazz between the two world wars and Gypsy religious music. The editor is a sociologist and expert in minority politics. The reviewer writes: "The publication fills a gap in the literature…without romanticizing or demonising, through presentation of data and fact, stories that heretofore have not surfaced or were not allowed to come to the surface - are interpreted and explained." Review by Grozdits Károly.

Page 11
Series called Táncház 50 – articles, stories and memories from earlier years of the dance house movement. Folk dancer, dance teacher, researcher Redő Júlia remembers she went (in the mid 1990s) to the Roma community of Őrkő in Transylvania (a district of the city of Sepsiszentgyörgy/Sfântu Gheorghe, Romania) to collect and learn the Gypsy dance there.

Page 13
Traditional dance of Apátfalva, Hungary. This article addresses a question arising from recent study of a 1956 film document (film number Ft 277 in the archive) of the well-known and well-documented traditional dancers of Apátfalva: Kardos István and his wife Baka Julianna dancing the fast ("frisses") csárdás of their village of Apátfalva. The issue here is that this film shows a change of basic emphasis that occurs for the fast csárdás – namely the dance clearly changes to a so-called ’down emphasis’. The dance house movement has however, for the past 50 years taught this dance with an ’up emphasis’ throughout the dance (the slow and fast sections of the dance). Whether a dance is danced with ’up or down emphasis’ is a fundamental aspect of Hungarian traditional dance. Other film documentation of this particular dance was compared to check for this change in emphasis. This issue arose in the process of adding sound to the 1956 silent film and demonstrates the kinds of questions that can arise from the process. The village of Apátfalva is located in Csongrád County in the southeastern corner of Hungary - the ’southern plains region’. By Galát Péter professional folk dancer and dance teacher, employed of Hungarian Heritage House’s folklore documentation center.

Page 14
New choreography by Háromszék Dance Ensemble "Hazától hazáig" [From Home to Home] performed on June 16th, 2023 in Sepsiszentgyörgy/Sfântu Gheorghe, Romania. The choreography presents implement dances and couple dances from Hungary’s Somogy region; women’s circle dance and couple dance from Rimóc in Hungary’s Paloc region; shepherd’s dances from Hortobágy; dances of the town of Visk/Vyshkovo located in S.W. Ukraine (Northern Maramures region - Transcarpathia); dances of the Székely Hungarians of Bukovina; music from Slovakia’s Gömör region; Gypsy dances from Nagypalád/ Velyka Palad' – located in Ukraine though considered part of the Szatmár region; and finally verbunk and csárdás from Szeghalom in Békés County near Hungary’s border with Romania. The author of this review mentions the women’s dance that was part of the choreography of dances from Visk as the high point of the performance. The choreography was created and directed by Módosné Almási Berta Csilla and Módos Máté. Review by Kádár Elemér.

Page 16
The Nomad Generation during Hungary’s Kádár era/’Kádár’s Arcadia’. By ethnographer, writer Zelnik József – Part 2. Written in 2012 this is an intellectual philosophical piece discussing Hungary’s back to the roots ’Nomad Generation’ and the dance house movements and their place in Hungarian history. He discusses what the re-discovery of folk art and its celebration in dance and music – meant in the early years of the movement. This long article examines the cultural/social/political environment in which the ’renaissance of Hungarian folk arts’ appeared. He discusses ’what really happened over the last half century in Hungary’. In this process he mentions the Bible, Satan, Israel and the Jews, Trianon, Áczél György, Makovecz, many ’isms (social-, liberal-, human-, commun-, progressiv-, utopia-, modern-, etc), the political philosophy of Eric Vogelin, ’gnostic movements’ and Csoóri Sándor (poet, writer, 1930-2016 – ’the true intellectual leader of the dance house movement’). Excerpt from his final comments: ”….through free [recreational] folk dancing, the [dance house] movement found the freedom that was prohibited from social life [of the period] …”

Page 18
Conversation with Andrásfalvy Bertalan (born 1931) the last living member of the group of Hungarian folk dance researchers who starting in the 1950s did significant documentation work on traditional dances on location in Hungary and in Hungarian communities in surrounding countries. Mr. Andrásfalvy talks about the period when the dance research group was forming and the beginning of the revival movement. These are Andrásfalvy’s accounts of the early days of doing traditional dance collection work in the field. He mentions working with Martin, Maácz, Belényesi Márta, the Pesovár brothers, Kallós, and others. From an interview done by Sebő Ferenc and Dénes Zoltán in 2005 which was recently broadcast on Sebő’s program on Bartók Rádió in May of 2023.

Page 21
Conversation with photographer, documentary film maker Dénes Zoltán – Part I.. Much of his work has been on subjects related to the dance house movement, though he has also been involved in projects documenting architecture in Hungary and ethnography of the peoples of Asia. He worked with film director Szomjas György until his death in 2021 on the series of portrait films on traditional village musicians which then expanded to key figures of the dance house movement. He also frequently works with Sztanó Hédi. Dénes Zoltán first came in contact with the táncház in the mid 1970s. He played in the band that accompanied the folk dance ensemble in Székesfehérvár for 10 years (until 1985), then went on to photography. By Grozdits Károly.

Page 30
Changes in the Hungarian town of Mezőkövesd and Matyó folk costume from the 19th century to the present. Part 1. The author’s family connections to this town in northeastern Hungary’s Borsod-Abaúj-Zemplén County and the time she spent there throughout her life have inspired this study. ’Part One’ covers the following themes: general information about the Matyó people, Mátyó architecture and interior decoration, the Matyó folk costume in general, Matyó traditional costume at various times in a person’s life, the infant’s costume, small child’s costume, school childrens’ costume, adolescents’ costume. The Matyó people are Catholic and according to Györffy István’s research, their type of settlement format came from the Hungarian Plains region, rather than from the nearby Palóc region. By Murányi Márta Anna.

Page 34
Agócs Gergely: [Variants of Hungarian folk melody types found amongst the folk music of the Northern Caucasian ’Nogaj’ ethnic group] – Part 2. Over the last 22 years ethnomusicologist Agócs Gergely has been exploring and documenting the folk music of the ’Nogaj’ people in the foothills region of the Northern Caucausus in an effort to find possible parallels to Hungarian folk music. He finds that 70% of the Nogaj traditional melody types fit into the morphological system of Hungarian folk music. Agócs has documented some 2800 folk melodies there. Since 2014 he has been working with ethnographer and Turkologist Somfai Kara Dávid on analysing the documented material. In this study Agócs offers examples of parallel melodies from Hungarian and Nogaj traditional music culture. An interesting note is that many from the oldest generation of his informants had been born in tents and had memories of nomadic life practicing large animal husbandry. They spent winters at the foot of the Caucausus, summers some 1500-2000 kilometers north in wooded plains areas. First published in [Myth and History II] – a collection of studies published in celebration of ethnographer Hoppál Mihály’s 80th birthday – European Folkore Institute. Edited by Hoppál Bulcsú, Szabados György. Budapest, 2022.

By Sue Foy

5

English Table of Contents 2023/5  



Page 3
Sára Ferenc 1961–2023 was a talented expert on traditional dance and music of the Hungarian Csángó people of the Gyimes region of Transylvania and Romanian Moldavia. Originally from Tura, Hungary after continual visits, he finally settled in Gyimes (Sötétpatak) in the late 1990s and lived there ever since. He and his wife Varga Zsuzsanna have been dedicated to keeping the traditional music and dance alive amongst the new generations of local Gyimes people. Sára Ferenc’s efforts and work were recently recognized with the Cross of the Hungarian Knights. His funeral was held in Gyimesközéplok, Romania on October 12th, 2023. Printed here is Berecz István’s farewell on behalf of the Fonó.

Page 4
Series called Táncház 50 – articles, stories and memories from earlier years of the dance house movement. Folk dancer, dance teacher, researcher Redő Júlia writes about going to Gyimes (in Transylvania) in 1990 and watching the people there dance. As a dancer her recollections and descriptions are centered around the finer points of the dancing she observes and how that nourishes her own dancing when she performs, teaches or just dances.

Page 5–11
This year the Hungarian Heritage Award was given to the Hungarian State Folk Ensemble, Téka Ensemble and Sebő Ferenc at a ceremony in Budapest on June 24 and September 23, 2023. Printed in this issue of folkMAGazin are laudations given at the ceremony for these three recipients. Sebő Ferenc has been a performing musician, folk music researcher/collector, teacher since the late 1960s. He was one of the instigators and leaders of the dance house house movement. He also holds the national Kossuth Prize. His music, knowledge, creativity, publications and recordings have inspired many generations. Laudation by his student and colleague Bolya Mátyás. The Hungarian State Folk Ensemble was founded in 1951 as a professional state supported folk performing group and has been going strong ever since. Over the years their choreography and performance style has changed with folk performance trends and the times. Today the group is directed by Mihályi Gábor and Pál István „Szalonna”. Laudation by Kiss János – dancer. Téka Ensemble has been going continuously since 1976. They still do concerts and teach. Their many activities have included founding a summer folk camp and release of 27 recordings. Their Budapest dance houses were famous weekly events that drew hundreds of young people. An urban tánchaz band, they travelled to the countryside to learn directly from the master traditional musicians. Laudation by Eredics Gábor – folk musician.

Page 6
Sebő Ferenc: The Dance House and Science – This piece begins with the following paragraph: "With this presentation I would like to recall the bustling, agitated period at the begining of the 1970s that was heavy with argument and hard work. What resulted was a renaissance of instrumental folk music, the emergence of a new form of entertainment – the dance house, and as a side effect the staged folk dance movement saw a renewal.” Sebő’s presentation is organized under the following headings: music, the dance house movement’s connection to related fields of science, folk dance, the results of folk dance research and collection. This article from 2012 was presented at a conference celebrating of the 40th anniversary of the first dance house held in Budapest in 1972. Presentations from the conference were then published in a volume entitled: "Meg kell a búzának érni".

Page 15
The Vasi (Kis)Legényczéh [Vas County Boy’s Folk Dance Guild] of Szombathely, Hungary travelled to Taiwan in July 2023 to participate in the Yilan International Children’s Folklore and Folkgame Festival. They performed Hungarian men’s dances from five different regions with music by Csapodi Tádé and his band. Also performing at the festival were two groups from Mexico, a group from Romania, and groups from eight different Asian countries. Their trip was sponsored by four national, county and city institutions. Report by Molnár Péter.

Page 16
Conversation with photographer, documentary film maker Dénes Zoltán – Part II.. Much of his work has been on subjects related to the dance house movement, though he has also been involved in projects documenting architecture in Hungary and ethnography of the peoples of Asia. He worked with film director Szomjas György until his death in 2021 on the series of portrait films on traditional village musicians which then expanded to key figures of the dance house movement. He also frequently works with Sztanó Hédi. Dénes Zoltán first came in contact with the táncház in the mid 1970s. He played in the band that accompanied the folk dance ensemble in Székesfehérvár for 10 years (until 1985), then went on to photography. The number of films listed in his filmography (see article in Hungarian) is impressive. By Grozdits Károly.

Page 20
P. Vas János’ column: Old writings still interesting today. Superstition and beliefs from all over the Hungarian language area – regarding common health problems such as: toothaches, jaundice, erysipelas or St. Anthony's fire, abscesses, etc. "When does a person get jaundice? For example after peeking in the window of a house where someone has just died, or if he happens to step in water used to wash the dead, or when he uses the brush of someone who just passed away, or when the coins used to cover the eyes of the dead happen to come into someone’s hands." From a book by Fazekas and Székely published by Magvető Kiadó, Budapest. 1990. (based on Szendrey and Szendrey’s Dictionary of Superstitions)

Page 22
Changes in the Hungarian town of Mezőkövesd and the Matyó folk costume from the 19th century to the present – Part 2. This study was inspired by the author’s family connections to this town in northeastern Hungary’s Borsod-Abaúj-Zemplén County. ’Part Two’ concentrates on specifics of the traditional costume with surrounding customs and social rules – dealing seperately with the following age groups: small children, elementary school aged children, adolescents, unmarried young people. By Murányi Márta Anna.

Page 30
Announcement for an exhibition at the Hungarian Museum of Ethnography presenting rarely seen photographs of Hungarian gypsies from the 1950s from the estate of Erdős Kamill (1924–1962). Erdős’s method, referred to as ’both progressive and subjective’, reflects his unique relationship to the Gypsy communities near his home in eastern Hungary and other parts of Hungary. The exhibition came about through combined efforts of the National Museum of Ethnography and the Erkel Ferenc Museum of Gyula, Hungary and can be seen in Budapest until February 4, 2024.

Page 31
Éri István Péter 1953–2023 October 15: Éri Pityu was the charismatic, well-known musician (folk viola, long flute, voice, etc) who travelled Hungary and the world with Muzsikás Ensemble for more than 40 years. For the last 20 years or so he also hosted and produced a weekly folk music program known as ’Folk Music Without Borders’ broadcast on Hungary’s Kossuth Radio. He was an ethnographe and grew up in a family of Hungarian folk dance and music researchers, ethnographers. He was a leading personality of the dance house movement whose hospitality and family have been a center for generations of dance house musicians and their social circles. Printed here is the eulogy given by his friend, student, musician and ethnomusicologist Salamon Soma – at the funeral on October 22 in Tordas, Hungary.

Page 32
International Folklore Festival of Bukovina Peoples: Bukovina is a small ethnically mixed region in the Carpathian Mountains. Between 1775 and 1918 it existed as an administrative unit under the Austro-Hungarian monarchy. During the period between the two world wars the region belonged to Romania. Today Bukovina is split between Romania and Ukraine. It was/is inhabited by Ukranians, Romanians, Jews, Germans, Poles, Armenians, Ruthenians, Roma, and Hungarians. In 1990 the first Bukovina folklore festival was organized in Poland presenting nine Bukovinan Polish groups (seven from Poland, two from Bukovina). Over the years the festival has been expanded to include folkgroups of other Bukovinan ethnic groups. In 2023 the festival was held in June, July and August in six different locations in Poland, Romania and Hungary. The Bukovina Székely Folk Song circle from Érd, Hungary participated in Hungary and in Poland this year. Report by Mrs Juhász Gábor and Cserháti Gabriella.

Page 34
Agócs Gergely: [Variants of Hungarian folk melody types found amongst the folk music of the Northern Caucasian ’Nogaj’ ethnic group] – Part 3. Over the last 22 years ethnomusicologist Agócs Gergely has been exploring and documenting the folk music of the ’Nogaj’ people in the foothills region of the Northern Caucausus in an effort to find possible parallels to Hungarian folk music. He finds that 70% of the Nogaj traditional melody types fit into the morphological system of Hungarian folk music. Agócs has documented some 2800 folk melodies there. Since 2014 he has been working with ethnographer and Turkologist Somfai Kara Dávid on analysing the documented material. In this study Agócs offers examples of parallel melodies from Hungarian and Nogaj traditional music culture. An interesting note is that many from the oldest generation of his informants had been born in tents and had memories of nomadic life practicing large animal husbandry. They spent winters at the foot of the Caucausus, summers some 1500-2000 kilometers north in wooded plains areas. First published in [Myth and History II] – a collection of studies published in celebration of ethnographer Hoppál Mihály’s 80th birthday – European Folkore Institute. Edited by Hoppál Bulcsú, Szabados György. Budapest, 2022.

Page 40
Táncház in the Hungarian diaspora – Vienna. This is a report on two events that took place in Vienna in late 2022. One event was the 23rd Hungarian Dance House festival in Vienna. The festival was organized by Napraforgók Folk Dance Ensemble. In Tarcsai Helga’s words: "…it is important for Hungarians living in the diaspora to stick together and participate in community events… tradition can be learned through dance; through song one can hone their language skills …” At the festival Napraforgók Ensemble performed a choreography of dances from Transylvania’s Gyimes region, Csík János and his friends gave a concert, and the folk dance tradition preserving group from the village of Szány in Western Hungary also performed. Also at the end of 2022 was a gala performance and celebration of the 75th anniversary of Vienna’s Délibáb Cultural Association. Participating in the gala performance were: Délibáb Dance Group, the Szivárvány Children’s group, Rézsarkantyú Zither band, Barka Folk Song Circle, Bozot Dance Ensemble (from Kiscsősz, Hungary), and Sopron’s Rekettye Dance Ensemble with Fajkusz Banda. Report by Henics Tamás.

Page 42
Tradition of wafer making in Hungary – Part III. Reviving the tradition of baking so-called ’molnárkalács’ (a thin waffle-like unleaved biscuit snack) in the village of Borsodnádasd in Northeastern Hungary. The tradition of baking these wafers had all but died out in the village, however due to a concerted effort of local people, the tradition continues and folks have passed on the craft. After governmental changes in 1990 the local factory closed, causing an unemployment crisis in the region and depression. This project of reviving a local tradition was started in an effort to boost local morale. The old metal wafer baking forms were gathered and documented. Those who still remembered how to make the wafers taught others. The snack food is now produced in the village which also sponsers a yearly wafer baking festival. This tradition has been added to the official list of intellectual Hungarian Heritage. By Arkhely Fruzsina and Juhász Katalin.

By Sue Foy

6

English Table of Contents 2023/6  



Page 3
New publication: Traditional music of Magyarszovát/Suatu: fiddler Vintila Márton’s (aka ’Szél Marci’s) melodies by Mihó Attila, Árendás Péter, Nyitrai Marianna. Hagyományok Háza, Budapest, 2023. Magyarszovát, a village in Transylvania’s Mezőség region, is situated 36 km east of Kolozsvár/Cluj-Napoca. This publication examines tunes recorded there mainly by Kallós Zoltán between 1962 and 1978, many of the tunes have vocal variations. The volume, meant for use in folk music instruction, includes vocal and instrumental melodies, transcriptions, studies on performance style, photographs and original recordings. Announcement by Árendás Péter.

Page 4
A farewell to Sára Ferenc (1961 – Oct 2023). One of Feri’s filmed documents of dancing in Transylvania’s Gyimes region, a local dance event known as an ’old folks’ ball’ – provides the framework for remembering Feri and his life-work: the traditional dance and music of Gyimes. Sára Ferenc and his wife Varga Zsuzsanna moved from Hungary to Gyimes in the 1990s "to be there and live together with the people and their traditions…knowing that the music and the dance is one with the people and the life that they live". Also recalled here is a choreography Feri did for the Hungarian State Folk Ensemble which paid tribute to the music of traditional Gyimes fiddler Pulika János. Link to the documented dance is provided in the Hungarian piece. By Redő Júlia.

Page 6
Interview with folksinger, ethnographer, university lecturer Lovász Irén. Irén grew up in Balatonszabadi, studied music and ethnography and went on to a successful career as a folk singer and ethnographer interested in exploring the inherent content and healing power of the songs she sings. She tells about teachers that have influenced her work, her trips to Moldavia to collect songs in the 1980s, her recordings, musicians she has worked with, concerts and awards. By Grozdits Károly (first published in SiópArt 2023/4).

Page 10
Éri Pityu (1953–2023) – on the occasion of what would have been folk musician Éri Péter’s 70th birthday, an old friend recalls milestones of their friendship: a concert played together in 1973, working with Tilos Radio, when they were ethnography students together at university, working with Péter’s mother ethnographer Borbély Jolán, conversations during Ladikos Folk Music Festivals, Muzsikás Ensemble’s album "Ősz az idő", working together on the double album of traditional Gypsy songs "Dimó Dalai", Pityu’s radio program, and his tune "Betyárnóta" [Outlaw Song]. By Kiss Ferenc.

Page 14
Changes in the Hungarian town of Mezőkövesd and Matyó folk costume from the 19th century to the present. Part 3. This study – part of a diploma project – was inspired by the author’s family connections to this town in northeastern Hungary’s Borsod-Abaúj-Zemplén County. ’Part Three’ concentrates on specifics of the traditional costume with surrounding customs and social rules – for the wedding, costume of married persons, for old age and at death. Also discussed is style of decoration for the traditional costume. By Murányi Márta Anna.

Page 18
New publication: Berecz András: Kaptárbontás [Berecz András’ Hungarian, Chuvash, Turkish and Tuva tales. With illustrations by Szepessy Béla. POKET Publishing. Budapest. 2023]. 33 tales collected by Berecz András. Printed here is a speech heard at the book launch celebration on October 5th, 2023 at Hungarian Heritage House in Budapest. "…According to the Hungarian Catholic Lexicon: A tale is a narration with the aim of presenting an imaginatively demonstrated truth: an illustration of a moral theme or concept…good and bad are always fighting one another and good always wins…" By Iancu Laura.

Page 20
P. Vas János’ column: Old writings still interesting today. Superstition and beliefs from all over the Hungarian language area – related to the Christmas season and New Years. One example: if a girl wants to marry and her family raises pigs, she should go barefooted out to the pigpen during the Christmas midnight mass and kick the planks of the pigpen. If the pig oinks once, then the girl will marry within the year; but if the pig oinks twice it will be two years before the girl marries, and so on. From a book by Fazekas and Székely published by Magvető Kiadó, Budapest. 1990. (based on Szendrey and Szendrey’s Dictionary of [Hungarian] Superstitions)

Page 22
New publication: Nagy Károly Zsolt: Kunkovács. MMA Kiadó, Budapest – 2023. A biographical monography and photo album on the work of photographer and anthropologist, Kunkovács László (born Gyomaendrőd, Hungary 1942). "A photographer dedicated to ethnography", the volume contains three sections: 95 pages tracking Kunkovács’s career, 200 pages of photographs (mainly black and white), with a selection of related professional literature. Announcement by Tüskés Tünde.

Page 27
Book review: Oein DeBhairduin: Folk Tales of the Irish Travellers – Hungarian edition. The Irish travellers / Mincéirí /Pavee are Ireland’s nomadic ethnic group that make up about 50,000 folks – or nearly 1% of Ireland’s population. They themselves refer to the other Irish people as ’settlers’, amongst whom they lived peacefully until about 1960. The majority of Mincéirí lived in tents or wagons and travelled along with the carnivals, markets or fairs. Important to their cultural identity is music, singing and story telling. Traditionally they made a living from trade and hand craft, with the advancement of industrialization and use of plastics however, many lost their livelihood. The government, rather than offering them support, began to view them as a problem. Tales were told in the home, over a cup of tea, etc. The tale printed here is a reminder that grief can leave one paralyzed by apathy and loss if one remains in it for too long. Printed here are the author’s foreward for the Hungarian edition and one tale.

Page 30
Molnár Technique – conversation with Ónodi Béla on his upcoming book to be published jointly by Budapest’s Hungarian Heritage House and Slovakia’s Kosice County Cultural Center. Most serious Hungarian folk dancers have at least heard of the Molnár Technique which is apparantly a series of exercises – a method – designed to assist folk dance movement training and strengthen folk dancers. Dancer and choreographer Molnár István (1908–1987) developed this method in the mid 1900s. It has been part of the curriculum at the Hungarian Academy of Dance since 2010 for students in dance education and performance. In 2002 when Ónodi Béla left active folk dance performance he decided to keep in shape using the technique – now an expert on the technique, he teaches it at the Hungarian Academy of Dance and gives workshops. The upcoming publication is aimed for use by both folk dancers and classical dancers. With Ónodi Béla, co-author of the volume is dancer, dance educator, choreographer Libuša Čižmárik Bachratá based in Bratislava, Slovakia. By Busai Norbert.

Page 32
Conversation with Salamon József "Sala", founder and director of a Hungarian folk dance and music camp – Csipke Tábor – held every summer since 2007 in Michigan, USA. Nowadays the camp, which has evolved into a family camp, hosts some 160-170 participants mostly of Hungarian background. Teaching staff is brought over from Hungary or Transylvania. Sala, originally from the village of Gyergyótölgyes/ Tulgheș in Transylvania, danced professionally in the Transylvanian ensembles for many years before arriving to the US in 1999. With regards to the future of the camp he says: "…[to lead the camp] someone with a vision is needed, someone others trust and will follow… someone who is willing to work without complaint and competition, and can pull the others along…" By Antal-Ferencz Ildikó – first published on: 777bloghu/2023/07/15.

Page 38
The Muharay Folk Arts Association has since 1990 been assisting Hungarian village folk groups that perform and keep their own local folk dance, music and customs alive. The history of this network of tradition preserving groups goes back to at least to 1949, if not further. In 2023 the Muharay Association’s work and methods were added to Hungary’s national register of good practices for preserving tradition – like UNESCO’s ’good practices’. Presently 117 Hungarian villages are members of the Muharay Association. It’s worth noting that this network of local tradition preserving groups under the umbrella of the Muharay Folk Arts Association is a phenomena seperate from the urban dance house/táncház movement and also seperate from the movement of amateur folk dance ensembles that perform suites of material from all over the Hungarian language area. This report makes the comment: "…perhaps nowadays it’s as if the activities of the local tradition preserving communities would be the ’true’ movement, while the dance house movement (at least in its original form) – is something of the past..." Report by ethnographer Juhász Katalin.

Page 42
Food and tradition – Having several times covered Hungarian traditional Christmas foods and meals, this issue offers information on customary Christmas fare from other parts of Europe. Topics: In many places in Europe, as in Hungary, fish is an important component of the meal on December 24th; The traditional Swedish smorgasbord; In Poland, Lithuania and Western Ukraine the meal on December 24th has 12 courses; In Provence (France) the Christmas meal is completed by a spread of 13 different holiday desserts. Recipes included are: Norwegian/Swedish "lutefisk", Danish Christmas pork roast, Danish red cabbage, Danish rice pudding, Italian/ Spanish torrone /turrón. By ethnographer Juhász Katalin.

By Sue Foy

X

English Table of Contents 2023/x  



"I am committed to dance"
Honoring choreographer, dance educator Foltin Jolán (1943–2019) on the 80th anniversary of her birth

Page 2 
This special issue builds upon materials included in the photo exhibition entitled "Táncra ítélem magamat" [I am committed to dance]. The exhibition and this publication pay tribute to the life and work of Foltin Jolán.
The exhibition came about through support from the Halmos Béla Program, The Dance House Association and the Martonvásár Bruszvik-Beethoven Cultural Center.
Photographs by: Eifert János, Kádár Kata, Kis Ferenc, Korniss Péter, Rácz Gabriella and archival photographs.
The exhibition opened on August 20th 2023 in Martonvásár, Hungary with opening speech by Salamon Ferencné and music by Papp István Gázsa and his band
Exhibition curators: Liber Endre, Salamon Ferenc
Organization: Tari Dorottya
Installation: Farkas József
After Martonvásár, this travelling photo exhibition arrived in Budapest to open on the 80th anniversary of Foltin Jolán’s birth - September 13th 2023 – at the Fonó Music Hall. Opening speech by Lelkes Lajos
The photos included in this publication portray: Foltin Jolán with family members, dancing as a girl with the Bihári Ensemble, dancing with a traditional dancer in a village in the Hungarian Plains; Foltin in the Transylvanian village of Szék, at work, with colleagues and many photographs of groups performing her choreographies.

Page 4
Printed here is the speech given by folk dance educator, Foltin’s colleague and friend Mrs. Salamon Ferenc on 2023 August 20th in Martonvásár opening the exhibition.
Some excerpts from the speech are translated here:
"[Foltin Jolán’s] work centered around three main intellectual spheres: The Bihari János Folk Dance Enemble, the Honvéd Folk Dance Theatre and [Hungary’s] children’s folk dance movement."
"…Novák Ferenc ’Tata’ was her teacher and dance master. In her choreographic work she also drew inspiration from Szigeti Károly and Györgyfalvay Katalin…"
"… Her choreographic work placed special emphasis on portraying femininity and motherhood; she felt it important to illustrate hidden aspects of the woman’s spirit, her struggles, the mother-child relationship, relationships between women and a woman’s role in society…”
"…Alongside her creative work she also became an inspiring organizer in Hungary’s children’s folk dance movement, which following the 1990 governmental changes ….became the Heritage Children’s Folk Arts Association - of which she served as president for 10 years…"

Page 12–15
Foltin Jolán created communities
Conversation with Novak Ferenc ’Tata’ – Fall 2023 – By Grozdits Károly
Tata begins: "Okay let’s begin at the beginning of the story then…. In the Bihári Ensemble the situation was the opposite of what it ususally is in an amateur dance group – there were more boys than girls. One of our dancers, Kiss Albert and his wife taught at the pioneers group out in Kőbánya. In 1961 Albert asked me if he should bring some girls from the Kőbánya dance group. He brought 3 girls. All of them became outstanding members of the Bihari - one of them was Foltin Jolán…..and within half a year it became clear that Jolán was not only a promising dancer but she had an amazing community building personality…when there were problems within the Bihari Ensemble, Joli could put things in order in a moment….”
First Foltin Jolán was Novák’s student, then she became his muse, wife, colleague, and artistic collaborator.

Page 14
A quote from Foltin Jolán: Hungarian folk dance isn’t only suitable for a dancing at a barn dance and boot slapping – it can be made into theatre. Thematic works and folk ballads can be adapted for stage; the poetry and soul of dance can be communicated on the stage […] in the profession of choreography I think a wide intellectual horizen and a high level of cultural refinement are essential. (Foltin Jolán)

Page 28
Short statements from nine of Foltin Jolán’s students and colleagues on what it was like to know, learn from, or work with her.

Page 30
Foltin Jolán 1943 September 13 – 2019 October 27.
Foltin Jolán’s work and career: a listing of her activities, accomplishments, poets that inspired her work, awards, titles of main choreographies, Source: Hungarian Academy of Art
"Her mother tongue was folklore, but she used that language in such a personal way, with such a subjective manner of speaking - that in her work it became poetry."

By Sue Foy