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The Hungarian State Folk Ensemble will tour Transylvania (formerly in Hungary, now Romania) between November 10-16, visiting six venues in five cities, writes Magyar Nemzet.
The management of the Hungarian State Folk Ensemble, the Hungarian Heritage House, and the Transylvanian Heritage House Foundation decided to organize a series of performances in Transylvania this year.
The decision was motivated on the one hand by the fact that we had not participated in a long tour of Transylvania for quite some time.
On the other hand, we were invited again to the Folk Dance and Folk Music Meeting ed.33 in Sfântu Gheorghe (Sepsiszentgyörgy), which we had already participated in before. Most recently, the performance ‘Transcarpathia Invoked’ was well received by the audience there,” Milán Hetényi, the singer-soloist of the ensemble, reports on the details.
This time, he says, they will perform a performance of “Dawn Moon” (Hajnali Hold) on November 10, and the following evening they will prepare for the festival with a Transylvanian-themed production of Cluj-Napoca (Kolozsvár) Market Square.
This production has already been a success in the region.
The interactive educational program “Tracing our folk dances” will be presented in the early afternoon of November 11th. The aim of this show is to give the younger generation the chance to learn about folk traditions from the pure source. I am convinced that this production will be well received, as we also perform it for schoolchildren in our country, added Hetényi.
The singer-songwriter of the ensemble also pointed out that the idea was conceived during the planning phase that if they were to visit the far ends of the country, the easternmost Hungarian city, they could perform the piece “Dawn Moon“ in several places on the way back. Hence, a larger-scale Transylvanian tour was outlined – in addition to Sfântu Gheorghe (Sepsiszentgyörgy), they will also perform in Odorheiu Secuiesc (Székelyudvarhely), Târgu Mures (Marosvásárhely), and Arad.
The members of the ensemble also reported that “Dawn Moon” is a complex piece of dance theater, including contemporary dance elements, communal singing, and prose-drama alongside folk dance.
“Dawn Moon” is also a lyrical representation of the female soul and the life cycles of women. The composition also praises the work of the renowned Transylvanian choreographer-director Orza Călin. The dancers have worked with the Transylvanian-born artist before, for example in the 2009 production “Sweet and sour” (Édeskeseserű), for which Orza Călin was the co-choreographer.
Via Magyar Nemzet, Featured image via Facebook/Magyar Állami Népi Együttes