Cultural Movement Local Troupe Of Folk Dancers Preserve Hungarian Tradition
Erdely anyone?
No, it’s not a cheese spread. And it’s not a board game. It’s a local Hungarian dance troupe that performed Sunday afternoon at the Metropolitan Performing Arts Center.
“I thought it was a bunch of hand-clapping, knee-slapping, and toe-tapping,” 10-year-old Emily Powell of Spokane said enthusiastically.
Powell and about 50 other people watched the Erdely Hungarian Dance Ensemble perform traditional Hungarian, Transylvanian, and Romanian folk dances.
Spokane residents Ildiko Kalapacs (a native Hungarian), and her husband, Wayne Kraft, started the group about eight years ago because they loved the art and wanted to share Eastern European culture with the public.
“I think Transylvanian culture deserves more attention,” Kalapacs said, stretching behind stage in an intricately designed red and white dress. “We’re trying to contribute to the understanding of this region. There’s still a society there trying to preserve its culture through dancing.”
The Erdely Ensemble performed about a dozen dances Sunday with two other groups, Bokreta (a Seattle-based Hungarian dance group), and Jomoka (a Salt Lake City Hungarian music ensemble).
Many of the dances involved hypnotic swaying, heavy stomping, and dizzy swinging. Several people said they liked the performance because it gave them a glimpse of Hungarian village life and culture.
In one performance, the women danced in a circle, wearing brightly colored sashes and ribbons. The circular movement symbolizes the sun, Kalapacs said.
“What we saw here is completely authentic,” said Bill Frick, 49, of Spokane. “It was pulled, roots and all, from Hungary and brought here.”
Frick said he enjoyed the men’s dances the most, but also was impressed by the women’s routines.
“I liked watching the dresses form bottle shapes in the twirling,” Frick said. “It took some thought and craftsmanship to make that happen.”
The Erdely Ensemble takes its name from the Hungarian name for Transylvania, an area where ancient Hungarian peasant culture has survived the most in the 20th century, Kalapacs said.
Kalapacs, who studied dance in Hungary before moving to America eight years ago, said she has remained interested in the art because of its antiquity.
“They are very old songs and dances of Eastern Europe,” Kalapacs said. “They are just aesthetically very rich.”
The nine-member group performs at various Northwest events, including Seattle’s Northwest Folklife Festival and Coeur d’Alene’s Art on the Green festival.
The concert included a slide show on present-day life in parts of Hungary. Kalapacs and Kraft visited the country last summer.
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