Karikázó, 1988. október - 1989. január (13. évfolyam, 2-3. szám)
1988-10-01 / 2-3. szám
□UNAJ FOLKLORE TO HUNGARY AND YUGOSLAVIA by Richard Duree A long-held dream was realized this July when Dunaj International Dance Ensemble of Orange County, California, was able to tour Yugoslavia and Hungary. Richard Duree, director of the company, designed the tour to attend the Smotra Folklora in Zagreb and the "Dunaienti" Folk Festival in Kalocsa with time spent in Budapest and other parts of Hungary. We began with a full day’s visit to the beautiful Plitvice Lakes in the Lika region, southwest of Zagreb. Then we returned to Zagreb to attend the Smotra Folklora which had unfortunately been scheduled to coincide with the World University Games. This caused the festival to be cut short and worse, made it impossible to get hotel space in Zagreb. We were forced to use a hotel at Otocec, 65 kilometers north of the city, and commute to the festival. Inconvenient, but the chance to see the groups on the outdoor stages and in the huge indoor theater made it all worthwhile. Fine performances were seen by groups from Krk, Slovenia, Poland, Leningrad, as well as several groups from Croatia. After the five-hour drive to Budapest, we checked into the luxurious Duna Intercontinental Hotel on the Pest side of the Danube, right in the center of the shopping area. Since some of our tour members were not dancers and some of them were recreational dancers, we were concerned with providing everyone with ample opportunity to see performances by both the State Folk Ensemble and the Budapest Ensemble, to the delight of everyone. A visit was made to the Ethnographical Museum and the Bartók Museum, as well as a full city tour. We had scheduled a workshop with Zoltán Zsurafszky, my first opportunity to work with this fine teacher and dancer. We selected to have him do a teaching of the Dunántúli Táncok because we thought it best suited to the members of the tour who were not experienced Hungarian dancers. It’s easy to see why he is one of Hungary’s most respected teachers, as he led a very thorough and enjoyable session. Dunaj was invited to perform its American Appalachian Mountain Clog Suite at several places, including the American ambassador’s residence, a children’s day camp, and for the ending party of Sándor Sallai's Hungarian Dance Camp near Debrecen. With our four musicians, we have this performance to appreciative and enthusiastic audiences. Staying at the Piros Arany Hotel in Kalocsa is a trial at times, being a one-star establishment, but it was worth it to see the wonderful performances given at the Dunamenti Folk Festival by groups from Hungary, Austria, Poland, Czechoslovakia, Romania, and Portugal, among others. The Portuguese group stole the show with their beautiful precision footwork and excellent stage presence, highly commendable for such a shy group. Some of the finest performances I have seen by any Hungarian groups were seen here, including one by what appeared to be tl- - entire population of Bag. Four generations of villagers were on stage at once in a beautifully choreographed village dance scene. Several others were equally well-done, including groups from Szekszard and Kalocsa. I think that Kalocsa could do much to promote tourism in that area. Its too bad that there isn’t a better hotel within an hour or two’s distance. It’s quite a charming town with much to offer the tourist, including a beautifully-preserved Baroque church in which one can hear wonderful organ concerts on a slightly oversized organ. Rumor from a reliable source says that a new hotel will be built in Kalocsa by 1989. Let’s hope so. Our tour included stops in lovely Kecskemét, birthplace of Kodály. Our tour group loved the restored buildings of the town, the result of one architect’s crusade against the town fathers. It is a must-see place on any visit to Hungary. We continued on to Debrecen for an overnight stay at the Arany Bika Hotel and an evening visit to the Délibáb Dance Camp mentioned earlier. A morning workshop with Délibáb was held before leaving for a visit to the Hortobágy National Park and its famous horse show, en route to Budapest. The group had one last glorious day of shopping in Budapest before having to reluctantly return home. Almost none of the tour members had been to Hungary before this trip and they fell in love with Budapest and were charmed by the beauty of the countryside and the personality of the Hungarian people. We are all eager to visit there again. Perhaps we’ll get there for the next "Dunámén t i" Folk Festival and try out their new hotel in Kalocsa!#