Folk Dance to Fill Szeged’s Streets for Jubilee Festival

The 15th anniversary György Martin Folk Dance Festival in Szeged will begin on Friday with a parade of participating ensembles, revealed the organizers.

The first large-scale summer folk dance festival was held in Szeged in 1966. Since the 1970s, based on an idea by Ferenc Novák, the event has featured international groups one year and Hungarian and cross-border Hungarian groups the next. The latter festival is named after György Martin, a dance folklorist who died in 1983.

At the festival, the ensembles can present their new folk dance choreographies and dance compositions based on the folk dance heritage of the Carpathian Basin to a jury in a theatrical setting.

The performances will be evaluated and awarded by experts. During the preparations for the festival, the organizers decided to offer youth groups the opportunity to showcase their talents in a professional competition. This age group already possesses the dance skills to provide a complete aesthetic experience, while their enthusiasm, passion, and dedication are unmatched, they explained the decision.

Eight groups will take the stage at this year’s festival:

• Árendás Folk Dance Ensemble from Hódmezővásárhely (near Szeged),
• Debrecen Hajdú Dance Ensemble (Debrecen, eastern Hungary),
• Dobbantó Folk Dance Ensemble from Szegvár (southeast),
• Galagonya Dance Ensemble from Jászberény (east),
• Igrice Folk Dance Ensemble from Nyíregyháza (northeast),
• Visa Dance Ensemble from Transylvania (Romania), and,
• as hosts, the Szeged Dance Ensemble and the Tiszavirág Folk Dance Association from Deszk and Szeged.

The festival’s band will be the nationally renowned Juhász Band from Subotica (Szabadka, in Serbia, Vojvodina).

The event will begin on Friday afternoon with a musical parade of participants in traditional costumes from Széchenyi Square through Kárász Street to Dugonics Square, where the performers will give a few minutes of virtuoso foretaste from their programs at the festival opening.

Young dancers can take part in professional programs, such as a dance show organized for them, and dance houses are organized for them in the evenings. On Saturday evening, the audience can see the ensembles again at the Kisszínház (theater) in Szeged, where they will perform their programs in front of a jury. On Sunday, the performers will receive a detailed professional evaluation of their performances from the jury.

Via MTI, Featured image: MTI/Kocsis Zoltán