TITLE:Sárközi Ugrós GENRE:
Folk DIRECTOR: Viktória Szabó ASSISTANT DIRECTOR: Daniel Cassell
Before World War I, the political map of Hungary included what is now
Translyvania, currently part of Romania, which has remained home to many
ethnic Hungarian communities.
The Eszterlánc
Hungarian Folk Ensemble has been showcasing Hungarian folk culture in the
Bay Area since 1977. Ensemble dancers—twelve to twenty young adults ranging
from age sixteen—receive training in the ensemble and from guest teachers. Most
are of Hungarian heritage (the Hungarian community numbers in the tens of
thousands in California) but membership is not limited. Eszterlánc performs at
international festivals, social events, patriotic holidays, and world dance
events. Recently, the group toured to Los Angeles, Sacramento, and Vancouver,
B.C.
2012 PERFORMANCE
DANCE ORIGIN:
Sárköz, Hungary GENRE:
Folk DIRECTOR: Viktória Szabó ASSISTANT DIRECTOR: Daniel Cassell CHOREOGRAPHER: Katalin Persik Lazar, assisted by Viktória Szabó on the bottle dance DANCERS: David Adam, Adriana Andres, Daniel Cassell, Guillaume
Chartier, Levente Garda, Zoltan Kelemen, Borbala Kozek, Bill Lanphier,
Sebestian Ligeti, Darren Lipski, Monty Low, Miamon Miller, Diana Nemethy,
Anna Ordasi, Ever Palko, Vilmos Palko, Agnes Sonkoly, Gyongyi Sonkoly,
Victoria Szabo-Lengyel, Viktória Szabó MUSICIANS: Levente
Garcia, Bill Lanphier, Miramon Miller
The beautiful Sarkoz region in Southwest Hungary is known for its mild climate, its thermal baths, and its stunning
vistas of the river Danube as it meanders through fertile plains.
It’s also home to the richest variety of dance styles of any of the
Danube regions, with many unique variations on traditional
styles.
For this year’s Festival, Eszterlanc Hungarian Folk
Ensemble will perform a Sárközi Ugrós, a jumping dance from
Sarkoz. Flirtatious young men and women try to impress each other with difficult maneuvers. The young women dance in
circles while balancing bottles on their heads and singing love
songs. The young men respond with vigorous jumping while
twirling five-foot long shepherd’s sticks. In the final section,
the groups dance for each other, and the young dancers partner off.
The women’s costume is specific to the village of Decs,
known for its longstanding excellence in folkloric arts. The
men’s costume is also traditional to the Sarkoz region.This piece is dedicated by the company to Katalin Persik
Lazar, its choreographer. Katalin chose this as her first piece
to appear at the Festival because of its importance to the
Hungarian traditional dance revival movement: in the 1970s and 80s,
it was commonly taught in Hungary because it is simple to learn
and joyful to perform.
2010 PERFORMANCE
Title:Traditional Dance Cycle from the Village of Magyarszovát Choreographer:Laszlo Dioszegi Dancers:Adriana
Andres, Dan Cassell, Guillaume Chartier, Atilla Lazar, Chris McHugh, Dia
Nemethy, Anna Ordasi, Viktória Szabó,
Levente Varadi, Agi Sonkoly Musicians:
Szilvia Gilbert (vocals), Lajos Miklos (viola), Laszlo Orban (violin), Magdolna
Ordasi (vocals), Mike Pratt (bass)
In Magyarszováti,
three generations of Eszterlánc dancers
present a traditional Hungarian folk dance cycle, from the village of Magyarszovát. Akaszto'st
is a couples dance with lyrical music. The dancers warm up to each other, enjoying
a rare chance to dance close. Lassu Csardas is a
slow couples dance and is sometimes danced—by the highly skilled, in a
dance named szászka for the szasz people of Transylvania—with
two girls and one man. Ritka Magyar is a men’s
dance, and at times two men and two women will join the men in the background
while doing the Negyes dance and singing old, sad village songs about lost love: ". . . even the sun leaves the blue sky, but my
darling, how am I to leave you…."
S’ru showcases the men's solo form
in a lively competition for the best male dancer.
Hungarians are said to "party hard in their
sorrow" and drinking often fuels the fun.Individual dancers call out spontaneously, and together, the
women's voices shout traditional encouragements, upbeat and suggestive. They
promise special favors to musicians who keep playing; they call to the single
men to show their stuff; they shout how "as the star shines on the
mountaintop" they forgive their cheating lovers because they are not so
innocent themselves.
Eszterlánc learned the dances in the Bay Area from
Hungarian Master Dancer Laszlo Dioszegi. These are traditional Hungarian social
dances that originated in village celebrations—harvests, weddings, birthdays,
and coming of age. Hungarian dance—as well as Hungarian language and other
traditions—was preserved in remote regions of Transylvania.
The small village of Magyarszovát has
preserved its unique turning dance—shown in this cycle—since the sixteenth
century. The dancer’s costumes and jewelry are also based on Magyarszovát tradition as well as the music. The
soloist and visiting guest artist from Hungary, Levente Varadi, worked with Ezsterlánc as educator and mentor.
2008 PERFORMANCE
TITLE:Az Utolsó Tánc Hajnalban (The Last Dance at Dawn) CHOREOGRAPHER: Gábor Simon DANCERS: Adriana Andres, Dan Cassell, Anastasia Herold, Andrea Horváth, Tibor Horváth, Atilla Lázár, László Lengyel, Monty Low, Dia Némethy, Anna Ordasi, Viktória Szabó, and Csilla Tóth EZTERLÁNC YOUTH ENSEMBLE: Daniel and Márton Demeter MUSICIANS: Kövirág Ensemble (vocals) - Szilvia Gilbert, Magdolna Ordasi and the Forrás Hungarian Folk Band - László Orbán (lead violin), Lajos Miklós (brácsa), and Mike Pratt (double bass) INTERNATIONAL GUEST ARTISTS: Gergő Csiszár and László Diószegi
The Last Dance at Dawn is set at a village celebration in Méra, in the mountain region of Kalotaszeg, where Hungarian folk traditions continue to thrive. The party—a wedding or christening or coming-of-age—has been a long and memorable one, and the final night of revelry is coming to a close. The dancers enter to the hajnali, or song at dawn, a lament sung by those who are still awake:
It’s about time to go home What are they all going to say about us? The edge of the sky is dark, my dear, escort me home . . . . . . Even the tree branches bend down to the ground in sorrow.
Then the dancers present the verbunk, or recruiting dance; the csárdás, a traditional Hungarian partner dance; and the szapora, or swift couple's dance. Finally, the young men improvise the legenyes, or lad’s dances, vying to impress the girls. The young women spin and shout encouragement to the dancers.As dawn approaches, the celebration ends, as relatives and close friends wander off to their beds.
Some of Eszterlánc's costumes (generously lent by Katalin Persik Lázár) are antiques from the village of Méra, where girls continue to bead and embroider elaborate clothing for their dowries. Hungarian folk music is similarly embellished, and is usually performed by a three-piece band, with violin, three-string viola (brácsa), and bass. The musicians are the Forrás Band from Vancouver and Seattle, featuring lead violinist László Orbán, formerly of the Hungarian State Folk Ensemble; Lajos Miklós, who has researched Hungarian folk arts extensively in Transylvania; and Mike Pratt, an accomplished bassist and saxophonist. The singers are the Bay Area musical duet, Kövirág.
Eszterlánc was also honored to present two guest dancers. Internationally acclaimed dancer and scholar from Hungary, László Diószegi serves as Historian & Senior Research Fellow at the Hungarian Academy of Sciences and choreographer of the Hungarian Dance Academy. He has choreographed dances for the Hungarian State Folk Ensemble, the Honvéd, and the Béla Bartók Dance Ensembles. The second guest dancer is Gergő Csiszár from Vancouver, BC. Gergő studied Hungarian dance in the Forrás Folk Ensemble of Vancouver, in Hungary, and in Transylvania. He is an accomplished author, dancer, and advocate of Hungarian folk arts.
DANCE ORIGIN:
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