NEWS from HUNGARY



Ballet


The youngest soloists of the Hungarian State Opera will be dancing in the three leading parts of the ballet Sylvia by László Seregi (music by Delibes) at the January 31, 1997 performance. For some years, we have had 21-year-old Aleszja Popova dance in the title role with 22-year-old Tamás as Amintas, both providing authentic interpretation. Now the débuting artists dancing in the part of Diana, Orion and Amor are: Krisztina Végh, Roland Csonka and Balázs Delbo.
On February 12 Jenô Lôcsei, soloist of the Hungarian State Opera will be dancing as Oberon in the ballet The Midsummer Night's Dream by László Seregi (music by Mendelssohn). He has returned to the Hungarian State Opera for the 1996/97 season after his committments with the Vienna Staatsoper, where he started working in 1991, the Berlin Deutsche Oper, where he was a soloist and the Schleswig-Holstein Landestheater, where he was the ballet director and dancer-choreographer.

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The award-presentation of the Foundation for Ballet Masters, called Mrs. Téri, Margit Horváth Foundation took place on December 15, 1996 in the Bertalan Székely room at the Hungarian Opera House. Ms Evelyn Téri, president of the Board of Trustees, distributed the awards to Ferenc Havas, ballet artist, József Forgács, ballet master and Alexandra Kozmér, ballet student
of the 9th grade at the Hungarian Dance Academy.


Premiére


The Dance-Workshop of the Madách Theatre is preparing for its first-hight show, called Life Will Call for You. Gyula Sárközi, artistic director of the theatre has invited choreographers, whose works are going to be a serious challenge to the dancers; they are expected to perform works becomingly by Ferenc Molnár from the Dance-Workshop, the American Robert North and György Szakály, Kossuth-Prize winning artist. Premiére: on January 14.


Folkdance


Sándor Serfôzô's assignment as the director of the Hungarian State Folkdance Ensemble terminated on November 30. Since Bálint Magyar, Minister of Culture and Education has prolonged his commission on a temporary basis, Mr Serfôzô proposed the retirement of Sándor Tímár - artistic director and choreographer - at the company meeting on December 17. At the same time, he invited Ferenc Sebô, composer and editor with the Folkmusic Department of the Hungarian Radio to perform the duties of the artistic leader.

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On December 3, there was a large-scale folkdance-evening, called The Honvéd Ensemble and their Friends. Following the first part of the programme, the dance drama in one part, called Bells by Foltin-Kiss, the State Folk Ensemble, the Bihari Dance Ensemble, the Budapest Dance Ensemble, the Duna Art Ensemble and the Vasas Dance Ensemble presented their programmes at the National Theatre.
The Honvéd Dance Theatre is preparing a new programme to premiére at the Opening Gala of the Hungarian Dance Festival on March 14, 1997 under the auspicies of the Budapest Spring Festival. László Diószegi, choreographer has drawn from the idea of Ferenc Novák, the choreographer when creating his piece Moscow Square (to a musical montage). In this work, the Hungarian culture of Transsylvania is confronted to the way of life of the city.
Further participants at the Gala will be the Duna Art Ensemble and the Budapest Dance Ensemble, both performing of their earlier productions.
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Erzsébet Nagy - a former soloist with the Hungarian State Folk Ensemble - gave a jubilee programme on November 18 on the occasion of her 25 year as a dancers teacher. She is wife to Sándor Tímár choreographer and also mother of five children. In the "Corvin Dance Ensemble" the forever-young "Tímár Böske" is teaching sixty young dancers with the so-called Tímár-method in their dance group and two-hundred schoolchildren in the group "Starry-Eyed". On this evening, when each of their children, (the little "family-ensemble") was performing, Tamás Katona, Mayor of the 1st disctrict of Budapest and former folkdancer himself, say some welcoming and appreciative words prior to the programme.


(Photo: Katalin Böhm)


Ballroom Dances - Competition Dances


This year's Hungarian Championship of Ten Dances was organized at the Budapest Congress Hall on November 23, viewed by an audience of six-hundred. The separation of the Parragh-Keleti and the Cserven-Lovas pairs from among the competitors might have resulted in the poorer standard of competition. However, the jury of seven found an excellent new pair among the competiors of Pro Art Club who were to become the champions. In our photo: the gold-medal winners of the Championship of Ten Dances: Simon Szûcs and Melinda Törökgyörgy.


(Photo: Károly Rollinger)


Christmas-New Year's Eve Gala


In the Nutcracker-series (to music by Tchaikovsky) at the Hungarian State Opera, on December 24-25 Tamás Solymosi, soloist of the Vienna Staatsoper took the part of the Prince. His partner - Princess Maria - was Katalin Volf.


Tamás Solymosi-Katalin Volf
(Photo: Dezsô Papp).

A large-scale old year celebration was organized at the Hungarian State Opera House for the sixth time by the V.I.P. Arts Management on December 31.
As an "overture" to the programme, József Cserta, Krisztina Keveházi, Zoltán Nagy Jr. and Erika Soós, artists of the Corps de Ballet of the Opera were performing a symphonic ballet, choreographed by Gábor Keveházi (to music by Schumann), accompanied by the students of the Hungarian Dance Academy. The latter also presented Palotás by Seregi (to music by Poldini). Tibor Makovinyi's choreography to the Recruting Dance from János Háry, the Kodály-opera was danced by the male dancers of the Honvéd, the Budapest and the State Folk Ensamble.


Stop-press news


Our Stop-press announcement informs us about the distribution of awards in the Parlament by Árpád Göncz, President of the Hungarian Republic. On January 21. 1997, which is the Day of Hungarian Culture, the Middle Cross Honour of the Hungarian Republic was presented to Imre Dózsa, Kossuth-Prize winning ballet artist and Dóra Uhrik, Liszt-Prize winning ballet artist. Tamás Koren, assistant professor of the Hungarian Dance Academy, Ernô Molnár, leader of the dance group of the Honvéd Dance Theatre were awarded the Golden Cross of the Order of Merit of the Hungarian Republic. From among the retired ballet artists of the Hungarian State Opera, Andrea Lászay received the Silver Cross of the Order of Merit of the Hungarian Republic and Alinka Pogány the Bronze Cross of the Order of Merit of the Hungarian Republic.



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