Karikázó, 1980. július - 1981. április (6. évfolyam, 1-4. szám)

1980-07-01 / 1. szám

January 8, 1980 to'.Karikázo Judith Magyar, Editor I would like you to answer a question: Over the years, many performing groups ( danc­ers, singers and musicians) have come to this country from Hungary to perform. Invariably, they are composed of gypsies. Which makes me wonder-don't ethnic genuine Hun­garians do any performing? Yours truly, Louis Ottovich ___________________________ California Dear Mr. Ottovich: Before answering your question, I would like to correct part of the statement you made.Unfortunate - ly, not "that many" performers have come from Hungary over the years, as we Hungarians a«l those interested in our culture would have liked. Also, to say that those that have performed here were invar­iably gypsies, is not in accordance with the facts. You mr.y have arrived at this conclusion on the basis of the groups you have seen in the past. In the last 15-20 years these might have been the Hungarian National Ensemble, the Budapest En­semble or the Rajkó Ensemble. Perhaps it was this last one that led you to believe that ethnic Hun­garians, for some reason,do not perform. The National Ensemble made a tour in the U.S.in 1964 but due to the high costs of transporting an en­semble of over a 100, to-date it was not repeated. The Budapest Ensemble travelled through the U.S. two or three times in the past 10 years, always keep­ing a frantic schedule. Yet they only gave a handful public shows in regular theaters in large citie s. For example, two years ago New York City'was en­tirely left out of their route, although they were lodged there for an entire week, bussed daily to un­known little towns in Connecticut or New Jersey to perform for audiences holding subscriptions at the local H. S. auditorium. The repertoir of both of these ensembles has been well chosen to reflect authentic Hungarian folk cul­ture, minorities' dances were put in proper per­spective within their programs. Performers, in ap­pearance, stage behavior and delivering style, kept in line with this aim. It is unfortunate, brat not of coincidence, that it is the Rajkó Ensemble, that became the most widely known of the three, groups on this continent. Today, most of the musicians are still recruited as talented youngsters from the Gypsy population and after educating them at the Academy of Music they become members of the musical ensemble, which is truly unique in the presentation of Hungarian style music of the 19th century and does reasonable jus­tice to Hungarian and Gypsy folk music. The dance troop has over 100 members, ranging from elemen­tary school age to adult professional dancers who may or may not be of Gypsy extraction. A handful of these dancers, about 5-6 couples accompany the orchestra on its American tours (the main attract­ion is the orchestra). Already advertised as "those exciting, fiery danc­es and music of Hungary, in the performance of this wonderful Gypsy Ensemble", their show is arranged with the primary purpose of pleasing the audience. Naturally, musical and dance numbers of Gypsy character are at an advantage, this also being re­quested by American artistic advisers who judge the taste of audiences in the mentality of Hollywood of the 195rfs, where Hungarian folk dancing is concerned. If any attempt is made at portraying the variety and uniqueness of Hungarian regional folk dances, it is usually lost in the presentations through flat chor­eographies and mono-style dancing. Folk dancing is enjoying a renaissancee in Hunga­ry; amateur ensembles at the front line of the move­ment put on stage most carefully researched and re­constructed regional dances and dance-cycles; mu­sical ensembles, such as the Sebó or the Muzsikás Groups, young singers, such as Ilona Budai or La­ura Faragó dedicate their talent to mastering and raising the original village music material to a.high­ly artistic level;professional ensembles also exert efforts to keep up with this trend. So called "tra­dition preserving'Village groups perform their own dances at festivals throughout Hungary. Minorities, Gypsies among them, also participate in this active folk life, presenting their respective folk dances, music and songs at county-and nation­wide events. The Hungarian folk dance movement in America is also reflective of this healthy cultural develop­ment. It also has the added task of educating the Hungarian and non-Hungarian population on wnat real Hungarian folklore is like. This substantial movement will not be entirely successful as long as groups like the Rajkó Ensem­ble continue to represent Hungarian folk culture a­­broad and yield to misconceptions, such as the one voiced in your letter. I hope that all of the above helped you to form a different and more proper image of Hungarian folk music and dance presentation and that we will all be able to see excellent examples of it on this Conti - nent by groups from Hungary.# Sincerely Yours, Judith Magyar Editor of Karikázó

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