Hungarian State Folk Ensemble
Hungarian Rhapsody
As a musical genre, the rhapsody is characterised by its tumultuous rhythms, strong emotion, impassioned surges of thought, and freedom of expression.
The Hungarian State Folk Ensemble’s dance performance Hungarian Rhapsody incorporates all the marks of the genre, while both relying on, and taking inspiration from folk music and folk dance tradition to create its own unique dance rhapsody.
The performance includes images of the peasant traditions of the Hungarians and other national groups of the region in dynamic succession, offering a compelling look into this singular, kaleidoscopic, yet oddly unified thousand-year-old culture as expressed in the acrobatics of the men’s dances, the lyricism of the girls’, and the virtuosity of couples’ dances.
Hungarian Rhapsody is a journey through time: from the present to the past and back again. Though the world whose music and dance have been collected here has long passed, the message it bears - that even today, in the midst of homogenised, superficial “global culture,” we still have a culture that is uniquely our own - is eternal.
Hungarian Rhapsody demonstrates that this culture is both ongoing, and of great significance; that it is still vital to our existence; that culture itself is one of the principal sources of identity, not merely for Hungarians, but for all nations.
Orchestra Leaders: István Pál, Ferenc Radics
Dance Troup Leader: Richárd Kökény
Assistants: Beatrix Borbély, Katalin Jávor, Péter Varga
Musical Director: László Kelemen
Director-Choreographer, Art Director: Gábor Mihályi
