Karikázó, 1976. július - 1977. április (2. évfolyam, 1-4. szám)

1976-07-01 / 1. szám

Many folk dancers believe that making mistakes is a grievous sin and that everyone should dance more or less uniformly. Contrary to opinion, it is this neces­sary art of improvisation that precludes the need for identical movement. Each brings his or her own char­acter and mood to the dance and it is this composite picture which carries forth the spirit and rhythm of the dance. Understanding can be acquired by seeing the totálity of a dance, knowing its background and its country's heritage, by allowing ourselves to interpret its projected feelings and permitting time to refine them. Bernard Finley Member of the Hungária F. D. Ens. * My impression after having seen G. Martin1 s movie on "Hungarian Folk Dance Dialects" On April 3d, 1976 the Scout Folk Ensemble of New RrnriHwirk presented an evening of folk dancing in So­merset, N. J. Those of us who observed the programs of this ensemble over the years, are fortunate enough to have witnessed the development of a very special folklore group. What is the secret of their success? How are they able to preserve their folklore so well? Why is it that all members of the group speak Hungarian fluently and enjoy it ? According to Erzsébet Teszár - one of the Scout lead­ers, the reason is that participation in the folk dance group is subject to a condition: membership is gjvenon­ly as a reward for outstanding work in the scout troop. This rule encourages most scout members to study and speak Hungarian. The Hungarian scouts in New Brunswick practice their traditions not only on stage, but also in real life. In May of each year they place a "májusfa"(maytree) in front of all the girls' houses; at Easter time the boys go to tte girls' houses and water them (locsolás); ( in June they conduct the ceremony of "Szentivani Tuzug­­rás" . This fine group of young people feels and knows what these traditions mean and this allows them to perform them with more credibility on stage. The "Százszorszép" program opened with a concise slide presentation of the Hungarian ethnographical re­gions, followed by the dance program. Performeduere "Első Szerelem" (First Love), an adaptation of Miklós Rabai's choreography; "Szentivani Tuzugras" ( chor.: Kálmán Magyar); "Maiusfa Tánc" (chor. :Kalman Ma - gyár & Tamás Teszár); Pántlikázó (chor. :L. Varhelyi); Pásztorbotoló (chor. :László Kürti); "Le any vásár'(chor: Judith Magyar) Three ballad adaptions made the show versatile.They were staged by Robert Teszár, a member of Ihe scouts. He deserves special mention for his accomplishment. The audience also enjoyed the performance of the younger scouts, who presented a bouquet of children's songs and games from the Sarkóz Region of Hungary. In retrospect, the two most interesting numbers were Pásztorbotoló and Leanyvásar; both new, excit­ing choreographies. They brought a new dimension in­to the repertoir of the Scout Ensemble. The evening was a memorable one for all who attend­ed. The Scouts of New Brunswick proved the fact that they developed tremendously. But where are they to go now, how can they improve themselves any fur­ther ? I believe that they should consider working on more authentic and less grandiose productions. To accomp­lish this they need new dances and live music. I know that they have the talent and the resources to reach this goal in the near future. JÓ munkát, Magyar, Kálmán Hungary and its FOLK FESTIVALS In the April issue of Karikazo (vol. 1, no 4) I de­scribed one of the three major folk dance festivals in Hungary: the Zala Festival. Its uniqueness as a chamber festival is qiite interest­ing. However, this unusual characteristic forces re­strictions on certain types of dance compositions that require a larger number of performers on stage, such as a wedding or harvest scene. For this reason, the festival at Szolnok has be en pro-, moted by the Ethnographical Institute (Néprajzi Intézet); Folk Dance League (Néptánc Szövetség) and by other cultural institutions in Hungary. The high standard that this festival has reached over the years makes it a "must" for amateur groups to attend. It is held biennially, alternating with the festival at Zalaegerszeg. This way there is an important compe­titive festival event every year. The competition takes place at the Szigligeti Theatre of Szolnok in late May, at which time most of the cul­tural leaders of the town actively participate and the town takes on a festive air. A note of interest about this festival is that would-be participants have to apply two months in ad­vance. The deadline for applications to be submitted is very strict and no exceptions are made. On the appli­cation forms the ensembles must note the names and number of dances to be performed, the length of time for each piece, names of choreographers and musical composers. For various reasons, such as time limi­tation, not all applications are accepted,but in the end the well-deserving few get to participate. Great importance is lent to the event by the presence of most of the amateur groups of the country as well as of the members of many professional ensembles. The members of the jury and the chairman are usually well known and respected individuals. The rules of the competition are few but adhered to strictly. One of the major tenets is that dance numbers performed in the competition must not have been pres­ented publicly before. This condition assures the fresh­ness and newness of the competition and lends incen­tive to the work of the choreographers.3 TT m

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