Karikázó, 1988. október - 1989. január (13. évfolyam, 2-3. szám)
1988-10-01 / 2-3. szám
SOUTH ONTARIO REGIONAL PONTOZÓ ' El'7 FESTIVAL EVALUATION Overall Conents The South Ontario Regional Pontozó Festival is immensely strong. Because the area has a greater number of good groups than any other place west of Hungary, this Festival also acts as a magnet for groups from further afield. So this year, once again it happened that the Csúcspontozó (Pontozo finals), held in Pittsburgh in the spring, was dwarfed by the St. Catharines regional. That should be a point of pride for the South Ontario Hungarian folk dance network. Here is another: Endre Hivatal, our evaluation committee chairman claims that three or four of the Festivals top groups would not be out of place in an amateur festival in Hungary. He also found the presence of a large number of children’s groups a very good sign and noted that the material they performed was good and largely appropriate. Most importantly, he felt that on average, the participants are past the point of merely going on stage to show off. There are signs that there is an actual learning of an art, that many are really beginning to be able to dance in Hungarian. There are also some concerns. - The Festival was too long. There may be a need to restrict groups to only one number at future Pontozd extravaganzas. Or chamber groups and solos could be moved to another day. - There is a frightening gap that needs to be filled. That’s live music. Its small consolation that Ontario has on of America’s leading folk music groups, Fekete Föld. Because here we’re talking about the magic interaction between musician and dancer. And with the seeming demise of Életfa that’s disappeared from the '87 Festival. What's needed is for the leaders of the top halfdozen groups to get together and co-operate in not only bringing out someone like Béla Halmos but, also setting up a program for potential musicians within their own group. It would be an immensely tough task, but well worth the effort. A more modest opportunity but one that's easier to exploit is presented by next year’s symposium. "Tilinkó" from Székesfehérvár will be the featured band. They are excellent teachers and music lessons are part of the symposium curriculum. And, of course, Béla Halmos will also be there. There is another major problem that continues to plague the South Ontario groups and that’s the lack of leadership training. For a long time the area has been dependent on a handful of individuals for instruction. This was an unhealthy situation for it always left the future development of some groups in question. And although in recent years some of the better, more substantial groups have begun to develop leaders and even choreographers from their won ranks, most groups still don’t know from one year to the next where their instructors will come from. Instructors from Hungary are expensive and hard to come be. Trips to courses in Hungary even more so. There is, at the present, no opportunity in North America for group leaders to acquire the necessary skills to provide their group with proper stage repertoire numbers. To remedy this situation, we’ve talked with Kálmán Magyar, Steve Kotansky and Batyu. We’ve agreed that this year’s Symposium will, for the first time, give group leaders and instructors an opportunity not only to improve their dancing but to acquire better leadership skills and to come home with two model choreographies based on the dialects that Batyu and Fecske will be teaching. We will be providing you with details later. - Finally, one a positive note, perhaps the brightest sign at this year’s Festival was the number of kids who danced and enjoyed themselves at Táncház. Time was, when Táncház started the Hungarians sat down and American folk dancers stood up and danced. No longer. Young Hungarian-Canadians are now joining in and actively enjoying their heritage. And that pleases me because that’s the essence of art.# Kálmán Dreisziger 4