Szekler Folk Dance Ensemble Tours Hungary and Slovakia

Hungary Today 2023.10.13.

The Harghita National Szekler Folk Ensemble from Transylvania (formerly part of Hungary, now Romania) will embark on a major tour of Hungary and Slovakia between October 13-20. Their program includes the play On the Palms of the Blessed Virgin Mary (Boldogasszony tenyerén), Lady Bug (Katica), the Ever-Crying Princess (Örökké síró királykisasszony), and Folklore Composition.

The Harghita National Szekler Folk Ensemble is a regular guest at the House of Traditions, the last time the audience enjoyed their art was in 2021, writes Magyar Nemzet. This time they will perform again in the program of the Without Borders Capital of Dance with the production On the Palm of the Blessed Virgin Mary.

The performance follows the eternal order of the universe, which is also the basis of Hungarian folklore.

Fact

The home of the program, the House of Traditions, is a national institution whose aim is to transmit the traditional (peasant and folk) culture of the Carpathian Basin to the public culture of the time, to present folk tradition as a viable literacy factor, as valid knowledge in public culture, entertainment, and education.

In Hungarian folklore, the Blessed Virgin Mary brings the world to life. She has survived for centuries in the form of symbols and is still present today in dances, customs, archaic prayers, children’s games, songs, and stories.

The performance will illustrate the inherited forms of the worship of the Blessed Virgin Mary through the forms of circle dances of cultic origin, archaic folk prayers, folk songs, the customs of childbirth, and the wedding ceremony of the bride.

Lady Bug, and the Ever-Crying Princess can be enjoyed by all ages in Budapest and in Bodrogszerdahely in Slovakia. The latter story features a beloved king suffering from tracheitis, his court jester who is also stricken with the disease, and a horde of witches.

In this exciting and twisting fairy tale, the audience is surprised by the high quality of the folk dance and by the theatrical twists and turns.

The ensemble will end its tour in Budapest, at the invitation of the Association of Agricultural Organizations in Szeklerland, and the two half-hour folk performances will include male dances from several regions.

The stops on the tour:

House of Traditions (October 13 at 8:30 pm)
Hajdúnánás (October 15 at 6:00 pm)
Balmazújváros (October 17 at 7:00 pm)
Tiszaújváros (October 18 at 7:00 pm)
House of Hungarian Music (October 14 at 10:30 am)
Bodrogszerdahely (October 19 at 11:00 am).

Fact

The Harghita National Szekler Folk Ensemble was formed in the Eastern region of Transylvania in Miercurea Ciuc (Csíkszereda). The company has been functioning as a professional institution since 1990, continuing the work of the amateur ensemble founded in 1970 under a similar name. The primary goal has always been the exploration, promotion, and authentic transmission of folk culture. Transylvania and Szeklerland (Székelyföld) are prominent parts of the shows, but the whole Carpathian Basin is also presented.

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Via Magyar Nemzet, Featured image via Facebook/Hargita Nemzeti Székely Népi Együttes