Camp Material Archive

The 2024 dance and music material will be from the areas of Búza, Szilágyság, and Bonchida (Romanian cyle).  

Dance:

• Intermediate/advanced: Bonchida taught by István and Erika
• Beginner: Búza taught by Cimbi and Bea
• All levels: Szilágyság taught by Cimbi and Bea
• Children’s Dance: taught by István and Erika

Music: Szilágyság

Búza

Búza is a village located near the center of the Mezöség region of Transylvania, Romania, about 20 km northeast of Magyarpalatka. Búza is an administrative township center, one of the largest in the region known as Tóvidék. Characteristic physical features of the landscape are valleys, barren hills and deciduous woods. From the beginning, Búza was settled by Saxons and Hungarians. As with many another villages in inner Transylvania, Búza was affected by the ravages of war in the course of its history. (In 1603, for example, only five houses remained standing!) The stone church that dominates the village was built in 1884. The village’s peak population, attained in the middle of the 20th century (in 1941: 2382), subsided to nearly half after the Second World War because of the industrial policies imposed by Communism. According to census figures of 2002, the ethnic distribution of 1213 inhabitants was 616 Romanian, 587 Hungarian, and 10 Roma. Today some of the Búza natives and their descendants live in nearby Szamosújvár.

The music and dance of Búza are characteristic of central Mezöség, though with some interesting variations. Their dance cycle consists of parts that are typical for the Transylvanian Heath. The couples’ dances are the csárdás, the szökős, and the sűrű csárdás. They dance similar figures to all three parts, differentiated principally by tempo. The men’s dances are the ritka magyar and the sűrű magyar. Of these men’s dances, sad to say, very little has been preserved in film, but from those few figures it is clear that they were very lovely, measured, uniquely elegant dances. In the couples’ dances, the cross-over and throwing-behind figures alternate constantly with slapping figures. In the dancing of Búza, the turning under the arm that is so characteristic of other areas of the Transylvanian Heath is not typical and is documented only a couple of times. Unique are the woman’s dancing of steps on the upbeat when she crosses back over and the six-count sequence that concludes the throwing-behind from the left.

Video [one]

Archive video [one] [two]

Bonchida

Bonchida lies on the western edge of the Transylvanian Heath (Mezőség), north of Kolozsvár along the Kis-Szamos River.  It once served as a market town.  At the end of the 20th century, the inhabitants were 57% Romanian, 26% Hungarian, and 17% Gypsy.

Historical sources document this settlement from the 13th century onward.  It once belonged to Doboka County, later to Kolozs.  Bonchida belonged to crown land along with the salt mines at Szék, and the road for salt transport led to Bonchida.  They held county council meetings there too.

In the course of years, Bonchida’s location along the highway proved to have disadvantages, for it was often prey to military forces (Tatar campaigns, Transylvanian peasant uprisings, the Kuruc wars, and the 1848 Revolution).  From the 14th century onward, the name of Bonchida is linked to that of the famed Bánffy dynasty.  The Bánffy Castle in Bonchida was referred to as “the Transylvanian Versailles”.

Two dance cycles existed in Bonchida into the middle of the 20th century, namely, a Hungarian and a Romanian.  The focus of teaching this year will be on the Romanian dance cycles. In total, these dance cycles consist of six dance types, three men’s dances and three couples’ dances.  Ethnically characteristic is the lassú magyar (slow Hungarian) for the Hungarian; the bărbunc (recruiting dance) and the învîrtita (slow turning dance) for the Romanian.

The Hungarian cycle:  1. Lassú magyar (slow Hungarian) 2. Sűrű magyar (quick Hungarian) 3. Lassú csárdás (slow csárdás) 4. Gyors csárdás (quick csárdás).

The Romanian cycle:  1. Bărbunc (recruiting dance) 2. Fecioreşte des (quick lads’ dance) 3. Ţiganeşte (slow csárdás) 4. Învîrtita (turning dance) 5. Ţiganeşte iute (quick csárdás).

Video [one] [two] [three]

Archive video [one]

Szilágyság

The folk music of Szilágyság is treated in a monograph by István Almási (Szilágysági népzene, Bucharest:  Kriterion Könyvkiadó, 1979).  The collection contains more than 255 melodies as well as comprehensive information on the region and its people in their singing and performance of music.

Szilágyság is an area contiguous with the Nyírség and the Hajdúság (and thereby with the Great Hungarian Plain).  Strictly speaking, it is neither geographically nor historically part of Transylvania.

Some linguists rank the dialect spoken there with the Szamoshát dialect, some with the Bihar.

Its folk dances resemble those of the Upper Tisza region, but its dance music is connected to Transylvania.

The unique musical character of this region was determined by an earlier tradition that has receded or partly died out, yielding to newer layers, the so-called new-style folksongs, popular songs, and recent csárdás-like music of virtuosic character.  Almási gives a background explanation to the reference of Károly Kós [celebrated architect and folklorist] to “singing Szilágyság”.  He writes that the people of Szilágyság are particularly proud of Árpád Balázs, their composer of popular songs from the beginning of this century who was a clerk at the orphans’ court of Zilah until the end of World War I.  He adds that “popular art songs play a strikingly predominant role in the musical life of this region”.

Worthy of mention are the singers Mrs. János Hoffner and Mrs. András Lukács from Kárásztelek in the Szilágyság —and Miklós Varga „Csillag”, violinist, and Szilágyi Géza, violist, senior village musicians from Szilágysámson.

Video [one]

The 2023 dance material will be from the areas of Gyimes, Mezőkölpény, and Zemplén. Music students will focus on material from Mezőkölpény.

Mezőkölpény

Mezőkölpény (Culpiu in Romanian) is a small village in Romania, Transylvania, in the Sekler land, in the Marosszék region, near Marosvásárhely (Târgu-Mures in Romanian ) with Hungarian and Romanian population.

Dance

The recruitment dance (verbunk) which in former times began the dance cycle has been relegated for some decades to the dance breaks and was danced by special request.  Today, only the elder dancers know it.  It consists of heel steps and toe steps as well as cutting behind, stamping, clapping, and slapping figures.

The couples’ dances begin with a sort of progressing sequence (jártatós or lassú csárdás), consisting of a two-step walking figure and a down-accent couples’ turning figure which, however, can be augmented with stamping figures.  There follows a somewhat more lively half-breed tempo (korcsos), characterized by the leading across and turning out of the woman, but also featuring the down-accent couples’ turning and the release of the woman.  The dance cycle closes with a quick tempo Gypsy csárdás (cigánycsárdás) with the same inventory of figures as the previous, but in which the one-step motif and stamping figures dominate.

They often asked the musicians for table songs (asztali nóta) during the breaks in dancing and sang the words to the music.  The melodies were the same as those played for the jártatós, but they were played more slowly in a slightly limping, asymmetrical rhythm.  Often they blended one of the songs they were playing into the jártatós, and the couples’ dancing began again.

Music

There is great variety as to the origin of the tunes from the older folksong layers across the early and late verbunk music to the folk-style new music.  There are many song texts linked to the jártatós tunes.  Song words are more rare for the other two couples’ dance tempos, and there are none for verbunk tunes.  Shouting can occur in any of the dances.  We may also note that in this music there are certain breaks or interludes with harmonic patterns that enable a transition to any other tune.

Watch dances and music from Mezőkölpény [one] [two]

Gyimes

Watch dances and music from Gyimes [one] [two]

Zemplén

Watch dances and music from Zemplén [one] [two]

Dance and Music Material 2022

Dance and Music Material 

The 2022 dance and music material will be from the areas of Magyarszentbenedek, Szászcsávás, Magyarlapád, and Vajdaszentivány. During the morning workshop the intermediate/advanced class will learn Magyarszentbenedek while the beginner class will learn Vajdaszentivány. In the afternoon all levels will learn Szászcsávás. A women’s dance from Magyarlapád will also be taught as time allows.

Magyarszentbenedek

The Maros-Küküllő Region

The Maros-Küküllő dialect is bordered on the north and west by the Maros valley.  To the east, it blends into Székelyföld along the line described by the Marosvásárhely-Segesvár highway.  The scattered villages of the Nagy-Küküllő and Maros valleys constitute its southern extension.

This dialect represents the dance culture of Hungarians living in about 70 settlements, most with mixed populations, including the northeastern part of the old Alsó-Fehér County and the western part of Kis-Küküllő.  The area can be divided into three smaller, inner zones.

This most southerly, rather remote, Transylvanian Hungarian dance dialect has preserved archaic features, not only in men’s dances (pontozó and lassú pontozó) but also in couples’ dances (the öreges forduló or ‘old turning’).  It even has a women’s song dance circle which is rare in Transylvania and can be found almost solely here.

Magyarszentbenedek

Magyarszentbenedek is a settlement in the northern part of the Maros-Küküllő region known for its dance, music, and great dancers.  The region is also called Kutasföld or Hegymegett.

The characteristic male dance of the region is the pontozó (also called magyar, verbunk, csűrdöngölő, figurázó).  It’s an improvised individual dance form, sometimes, however, danced in a set arrangement by a group of friends.  The tempo is fast, the inventory of melodies is limited (four or five tunes).  The dance features tight, somewhat jerky, small, forceful movements.  Its rich and highly evolved inventory of motifs includes fast turning, quick leg-circles, tapping, jumping, heel clicking, and slapping.  The men’s dance is often accompanied by women, spinning quickly in a tight circle.

The slow pontozó (also known as ritka pontozó, régies, vénes, or szegényes) is the dance of the older generation, danced individually or in pairs after the sűrű pontozó.

The couples’ dancing is of the type known generally as the lassú and friss csárdás (‘slow and quick csárdás).  The movements and motifs of the two forms are very similar, distinguished, of course, by tempo.

The most famous dancer and dance informant of the village is Vincze Árpád who was designated a Master of Folk Dance (Népművészet táncmestere) in 2001.

Dance: [One] [Two] [Three]

Szászcsávás

Szászcsávás is a small village in Transylvania’s Kis-Küküllő valley with both Hungarian and Gypsy inhabitants.  The Hungarians of the village preserve a very interesting polyphonic singing of ecclesiastical origin which has been borrowed into secular singing for pleasure.  The community, seeking quality entertainment in the early 20th century, invited Gypsy musicians to settle in the village and cater to their entertainment needs with music for the dancing and other events.

The descendants of those musicians are renowned today as the deservedly celebrated Szászcsávás Band.  The members of the band each play several instruments and are also excellent dancers.

Gypsy dancing is characterized by the lack of a couples’ hold, but the surrounding communities (in this case, Hungarian) have considerable influence on the formation of Gypsy culture, evident in their music and dance.  Thus, in addition to dancing separately, figures with a couples’ hold like that of the Hungarians also appear in their dancing.

Dance: Bem Táncegyüttes,  Szászcsávási táncok – Horti, Cimbi és a Szászcsávási zenekar, Szászcsávási koncert

Music: Szászcsávási Zenekar [One][Two]

Documentary about the Szászcsávási musicians (in Hungarian)

Magyarlapád

Magyarlapád lies at the confluence of the Maros and Küküllő rivers in the central part of Transylvania.  The prefix ‘magyar’ indicates the ethnicity of the population.  It is a ‘scattered’ Hungarian village.  Magyarlapád is famous for its dances and folk songs.

The dance cycle consists of lassú and gyors pontozó (solo men’s dances); leánykörtánc (girls’ circle dance, also known as kapcsos); and the couples’ dances csárdás and szapora.  The dancers develop their csárdás dance with the same structural elements.  After stamping and cifra figures, they turn as a couple in both directions, opening before they change direction.

Magyarlapád’s characteristic circle dance is called ‘kapcsos’ by the locals.  There are two types of girls’ singing dance circles in the Maros-Küküllő region:  (1) Song dance circles and (2) women’s circling in small groups during the pontozó.  Both types are called leányos or kapcsos or karikás.

Dance: [One] [Two]

Vajdaszentivány

Located in the Székélyföld region of Transylvania, Vajdaszentivány (Voivodeni in Romanian) was first mentioned in 1332 as Sancto Johanne. Its diverse population is made up of primarily Hungarians and Romanians, but also gypsies and Germans. Its castle was built in the 18th century in classicist- baroque style. The dance cycle includes the following dances: verbunk, sebes forduló, lassú csárdás, korcsos, cigánycsárdás, and sometimes the Romanian bâtuta. The couple dances of the cycle are turning dances with a closed couple hold during the turning steps and under the arm turning of the woman with a handkerchief.

Music:  Dűvő playing the dance cycle

Dance: [One] [Two]

Dance and Music Material 

The 2019 dance and music material will be from the areas of Magyarpalatka and Magyarbőd

Magyarpalatka

The settlement of Magyarpalatka lies in the central area of the Transylvanian Plain (Mezőség) about 30 kilometres from Cluj (Kolozsvár).  It is close to the highway that connects Kolozsvár and Szászrégen, passing through Vajdakamarás.  It’s one of the music centers of the Inner-Mezőség and the band from Magyarpalatka is nowadays world-famous, passing the mastery of the music from father to son and conserving the authentic sound characteristic of the village.  The village’s inhabitants are mixed, consisting of Hungarians, Romanians, and Roma.

This ethnic mixing or melting together is characteristic of the dances as well.  Within the Hungarian dance movement, the couples’ dancing from within Magyarpalatka is the best known and best loved dance with couples’ turning and with turning of the woman, although, notwithstanding its popularity, many master only superficially its lovely motifs.  The former and present members of the band of Magyarpalatka dance the most familiar motifs, but many beautiful figures can be seen danced by other local dancers in old films.

Characteristic of men’s dancing are the ritka and sűrű magyar (’thin’ and ’thick Hungarian’ dances).  The korcsos (’half-breed’) is a favorite in the dance house.  We often see the Romanian-like bota as well.

The lassú cigánytánc or akasztós (’slow Gypsy dance’ or ’limping’), the csárdás, the szökős (’leaping’), sűrű csárdás (’thick csárdás’) are the most characteristic couples’ dances, but they dance to the korcsos tunes as well.  The dance forms for neighboring settlements are quite similary, say, those of Vajdakamarás and Mezőkeszü, so they become blended together in the world of the dance house.

See the music and dance here

Magyarbőd

Magyarbőd is a settlement in the ethnically Hungarian highlands around Kassa in what is today Slovakia.  The settlement has a rich, living culture that is popular among folk musicians, singers, and dancers.  The Hungarian folk dance movement has been drawn to the wonderful sound characteristic of its songs and to its evocative music and dance.  The folk costumes are as beautiful as the intellectual culture with their aristocratic brocakes, silks, their elegance of form, all radiating richness.

Among the dances that are known, the karikázó (’women’s circle dance’) has a special place and was danced for long duration.  The women combined csárdás steps with lovely songs and let the tempo build up gradually so that the karikázó might last, say, an hour.  In the songs, there occurs frequently the polyphonic ornamentation that is characteristic for this region.

Of course, the couples’ dancing is built of csárdás and friss csárdás (’quick csárdás’) motifs with up accent, elegant figures, varied and dynamic dance forms.

Dance and Music Material 

The 2018 dance and music material will be from the areas of Mezőföld and Kalotaszeg. 

The Kalotaszeg Region

The Kalotaszeg region extends west from Kolozsvár through the Meszes mountains to Királyhágó.  In the deeper past, it was connected administratively with the Alföld, that is, with the Hungarian Plain.  Today it’s customary to include the area from Körösfő to the east.  The geographic boundaries are, then, Kolozsvár in the east; the northern line of the Gyalu mountains in the south; in the west, the Meszes and Bihar mountains.

About 40 settlements belong to Kalotaszeg.  Some of them have a Hungarian majority, but all of them have mixed population of Hungarians and Romanians.  The Hungarians of Kalotaszeg are Calvinist, except for two towns, Bács and Jegeny, which are Roman Catholic.  The principal town and main market of the region is Bánffyhunyad.

Kalotaszeg is traditionally divided into three parts.  The upper part, that is, Felszeg, lies at the foot of the mountains.  The more well known villages are Kalotaszentkirály, Magyargyerőmonostor, and Magyarvalkó.  The lower part next to the Almás stream is called the Alszeg.  Kispetri, Nagyalmás, and Sztána are in this area.  Nearer to Kolozsvár, along the Nádas River, there are noteworthy villages like Bogártelke, Magyarvista, and Méra.  Over the course of time, the folk culture of Kalotaszeg was influenced by Kolozsvár, serving as the intellectual and economic center of the region.  Because of the path of commerce established by highways as well as systematic economic integration, the Hungarian Plain also had a strong, detectable influence.

The folk dance of Kalotaszeg is a living tradition.  Notable among the dance types is the legényes ‘lad’s dance’ which is the most refined, virtuoso men’s dance in the Carpathian Basin, indeed perhaps in all of Europe.  The musical tradition that accompanies it is no less rich.  The csárdás is a couple’s dance characterized by turning as a couple and by the turning of the woman.  The szapora, as is already evident from the name, is a quick-tempo couple’s dance by which, on a relatively new dance foundation, many tunes of foreign origin (Romanian, Roma, Ruthenian) play a part.  The verbunk ‘recruitment dance’ also bears mention, because its repertory of tunes has survived and has found its way chiefly into the csárdás, although, apart from a few exceptions, it hasn’t been danced in recent years.
 

Examples of music from Kalotaszeg: One, Two, Three, Four

Examples of dance from Kalotaszeg: One, Two, Three

The Mezőföld Region

The Mezőföld region bounded on the north by the Bakony, the Vértes, and the Buda mountains, in the west by the Sió, in the east by the Danube.  Much of it is in Fejér County, but in the south it stretches into Tolna County.  Its topography is characterized by deep valleys and by plains with loess soil.  The name “Mezőföld” is a historical, geographical, ethnographic classification.  The populace doesn’t use it.

In the villages, celebrations took place in the courtyard of a tavern or in a hall; out on the puszta (that is, ‘open country’), in front of the servants’ homes or in a big common kitchen.  Among the dance types of the Mezőföld, the ugrós ‘jumping dance’ is the richest.  They danced it solo, in couples, or in foursomes.  They also danced it as a group in a circle with implements, with brooms, or with sticks crossed beneath them.

The name of the dance varied with the form it took, say, botos ‘stick dance’, üveges ‘bottle dance’, and so forth.  With particular virtuosity, the üvegcsárdás ‘bottle csárdás’ was performed with a bottle on the head.  If they dance figures that involve passing a cap or a kerchief under their knees, they call it the sudridrom after a nonsense line in the song that accompanies the dance.

A significant difference from neighboring regions lies in the circumstance that the verbunk ‘recruiting dance’ that begins the cycle is found only sporadically.  The verbunk dances found in Decs, Sárpilis, and Foktő are among the loveliest variations of the western dialect of the improvised solo verbunk.

The uniquely rich variants of the csárdás and, above all, the friss ‘quick’ bear withness to circumstance that the csárdás has deep roots in this region and was a flourishing dance type up to the recent past.

Dance and music examples: One, Two, Three, Four, Five

Intermediate/Advanced Dance

Dances of Örkői

Örkő is located in Transylvania. A teasing and playful interaction between the man and the woman is very characteristic of örkői gypsy dances. A large vocabulary of steps are decorated with small, fine movements. The man and woman don’t spend much time dancing in a couple hold, but it is very evident in their facial expressions and body language that they are dancing together. The dance is embellished with the men’s slapping and women’s playfulness. The music is very rhythmic.

See a video of the dances of  Örkői here.

Dances of Ördöngősfüzesi Mezöség

Ördöngösfüzes is one of the oldest Hungarian settlements in the northern Mezőség area, nestled between the neighboring villages of Szamosújvár and Szék. The figures that are characteristic of ördöngösfüzesi couple dances include: couples turning with an up accent, frequent crossovers, under arm turns, and throwing of the women. Multiple heel turns are a unique element of the women’s turning. These same figures that are characteristic of the slow csárdás are also typical of the fast csárdás. The men’s dances, the „rare” and „dense” magyar, are virtuosic and rich in motifs. The dance order consists of the following dances: rare magyar, dense magyar, csárdás, and fast csárdás.

See a video of the dances of Ördöngősfüzesi Mezöség here.

Beginning Level Dance

Dances of Marossárpatak

Marossárpatak can be found to the northeast of Marosvásárhely. The typical figures, movements, and turns of szekely dances are very prominent in this dance. The staccato music, couples turning, and opening figures are characteristic of the slow csárdás. In the forgatós (or turning dance), frequent turning dominates the dance. The men decorate the dance with heel clicks and stamping steps. The fastest dance is the csingerálás, which consists of smaller figures. The mens dance is the verbunk, in which leg circles, heel clicks, and a small amount of slapping are distinctive.

See videos of the Marossárpataki dances: Couples Dance and Verbunk.

Intermediate/Advanced Dance

Dances from Harangláb (Küküllőmente)

Harangláb (Hărănglab in Romanian) is a Transylvanian village in Romania in the Kis Küküllő region with populations of Hungarians, Romanians, and Gypsys. Dances from this area are one of the specialties of Pisti and Erika’s. The Romanian dances have a very exciting asymmetric rhythm. The Hungarian dances are similar to the other Küküllőmenti dances.

Erika and Pisti provided a link to a performance of Harangláb dances here on Google drive.

Dances from Madocsa

Madocsa is a village south of Budapest, in Tolna county, Hungary. The dance cycle with its slow and fast csardas and verbunk belongs to the middle Danubian dance cycle, and will be taught in the second half of camp. The local, peasant dance group helped preserve the dance traditions since the 1940s.

This year Sziszi and Ildikó will reprise this material from last year at a more advanced teaching level.

Source: http://www.studiolum.com/nm/hu/seregiistvan.htm

Watch a demonstration here: Madocsai csárdás

Beginning Level Dance

Dances of Tövishát (Szilágyság)

Szilágyság (Sălaj in Romanian) is a region in the northwestern part of Romania alongside the river Szamos. Since the Latinized version of Szilágyság is Sylva or Sylvania (i.e. forest) this may be the origin of the name Transylvania (”past the forest”). Tövishát, the middle part of Szilágyság with mixed Hungarian and Romanian population, has rich cultural traditions. The dresses there favor the blue color.

Szilágyság is more connected to the Szatmár region geographically, while the cultural connections have traditionally been stronger with Kalotaszeg. Influence in both regions can be seen in the dances of Szilágyság. Tövishát is known for its “outside-foot” dances.

Typical dances of the Szilágyság area include legényes, verbunk (men’s dances), karikázó (women’s circle dance), and csárdás és ugrálós (jumping) couple dances.

See performances of dances from Tövishát here and here.

Intermediate/Advanced Dance and Music

Vajdaszentivány

Located in the Mezőség region of Transylvania, Vajdaszentivány (Voivodeni in Romanian) was first mentioned in 1332 as Sancto Johanne. Its diverse population is made up of primarily Hungarians and Romanians, but also gypsies and Germans. Its castle was built in the 18th century in classicist- baroque style. The dance cycle includes the following dances: verbunk, sebes forduló, lassú csárdás, korcsos, cigánycsárdás, and sometimes the Romanian bâtuta. The couple dances of the cycle are turning dances with a closed couple hold during the turning steps and under the arm turning of the woman with a handkerchief.Source: http://www.hhrf.org/folkc/tanchaz/tancrendek/vajdaszentivanyi.htm 

Videos:  Dűvő playing the dance cycle,  batuka and cigánycsárdás,

Szászcsávás

Located in Transylvania, Szászcsávás is a small village with Hungarian and gypsy population. Although it only has two streets, it became world famous in Hungarian folk dancing circles because of its amazing band. The dances of Szászcsávás will be taught at the end of camp by  Pisti Kis and Erika Kis Demeter who have been regularly teaching at the  Szászcsávás camp.Dance: Bem Táncegyüttes,  Szászcsávási táncok – Horti, Cimbi és a Szászcsávási zenekar, Music: Szászcsávási Zenekar [One][Two]Documentary about the Szászcsávási musicians (in Hungarian)

Beginning Dance

Mezőkeszü

Mezőkeszü is one of the 300 villages of the Mezőség region in Transylvania, which still preserves some renaissance and baroque elements in its folk music and dance heritage. The fusion of Hungarian, Romanian, Gypsy, and Saxon culture brought the music and dance culture to its highest level here, making Mezőségi dances among the most popular at tancházes. Camp teachers, Szilárd Szabó and Ildikó Németh personally researched the dances of Mezőkeszü. They will teach the dances of Mezőkeszü in the first half of camp.

 Source: hu.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mezőség

Sziszi és Ildikó

Madocsa

Madocsa is a village south of Budapest, in Tolna county, Hungary. The dance cycle with its slow and fast csardas and verbunk belongs to the middle Danubian dance cycle, and will be taught in the second half of camp. The local, peasant dance group helped preserve the dance traditions since the 1940s.

Source: http://www.studiolum.com/nm/hu/seregiistvan.htm

Madocsai csárdás

Bonchida

A brief description of Bonchida (based on the text of the Méta Band’s CD for dance instruction):

Bonchida lies on the western edge of the Transylvanian Heath (Mezőség), north of Kolozsvár along the Kis-Szamos River.  It once served as a market town.  At the end of the 20th century, the inhabitants were 57% Romanian, 26% Hungarian, and 17% Gypsy.

Historical sources document this settlement from the 13th century onward.  It once belonged to Doboka County, later to Kolozs.  Bonchida belonged to crown land along with the salt mines at Szék, and the road for salt transport led to Bonchida.  They held county council meetings there too.

In the course of years, Bonchida’s location along the highway proved to have disadvantages, for it was often prey to military forces (Tatar campaigns, Transylvanian peasant uprisings, the Kuruc wars, and the 1848 Revolution).  From the 14th century onward, the name of Bonchida is linked to that of the famed Bánffy dynasty.  The Bánffy Castle in Bonchida was referred to as “the Transylvanian Versailles”.

Two dance cycles existed in Bonchida into the middle of the 20th century, namely, a Hungarian and a Romanian.  In total, these dance cycles consist of six dance types, three men’s dances and three couples’ dances.  Ethnically characteristic is the lassú magyar (slow Hungarian) for the Hungarian; the bărbunc (recruiting dance) and the învîrtita (slow turning dance) for the Romanian.

The Hungarian cycle:  1. Lassú magyar (slow Hungarian) 2. Sűrű magyar (quick Hungarian) 3. Lassú csárdás (slow csárdás) 4. Gyors csárdás (quick csárdás).

The Romanian cycle:  1. Bărbunc (recruiting dance) 2. Fecioreşte des (quick lads’ dance) 3. Ţiganeşte (slow csárdás) 4. Învîrtita (turning dance) 5. Ţiganeşte iute (quick csárdás).

Watch videos of Bonchida Háromszor, performed the Honvéd Táncszínház: Hungarian dance cycle, Romanian dance cycle

Archive video from 1968 of Bonchida dances

Rábaköz

Based on György Martin’s Magyar tánctípusok és táncdialektusok

The dance culture of the southern part of the Kisalföld (Northwestern Plain) is differentiated from that of Szigetköz-Csallóköz as well as from the northern regions of the Dunántúl (Transdanubia) with so little to distinguish their dance.  Its characteristic dance types and the unique features of its dance culture make it the most important region of the western dance dialect.

Among the dances of Rábaköz, the verbunk (recruiting dance) is primarily the dance type that distinguishes Rábaköz from other parts of the Hungarian language territory.  In the community of the peasants of Rábaköz, this dance had an exceptionally significant role.  Rábaköz is the only region in the Hungarian language territory where traces of the historical körverbunk (circle recruiting dance) were preserved in living tradition almost up to present times.

This region’s csárdás dances fit organically among the quick csárdás family of Western Hungary.  The primary difference between the slow and quick csárdás—namely, the marked poverty of the slow csárdás, the richer development of the quick csárdás—and the down accent place this form of the csárdás with those characteristic of the Dunántúl region (Transdanubia).  But it deviates from the other csárdás dances of the Dunántúl dialect in some respects:  the unique features are loose couples’ hold, the disproportionate frequency of turning the woman out, and the lack of lippentős motif (“dunking”, that is, the closing of couples’ turning with a straddled dunking motion).  We must also mention the old custom of the man beginning the dance by turning the woman once under his arm (familiar as well in the dancing of the Austrians, the Romanians of Bihar, the Hungarians and Romanians of the Transylvanian Heath, and even the Goráls of the western Carpathians).  The older dancers never begin the slow or quick csárdás without this introductory figure.

Next to the verbunk, the most notable dance form of Rábaköz is the so-called dus or mars (march).  It is comparatively developed as the local version of the family of ugrós (jumping) dances, but also preserved old features.  This part of the dance cycle is known as dus in most places, with the exception of the western Rábaköz where they call it mars and utilize it primarily as a couples’ promenade.

Videos: Rábaközi verbunk, csárdás and DusEdit

Mezőkölpény

Mezőkölpény (Culpiu in Romanian) is a small village in Romania, Transylvania, in the Sekler land, in the Marosszék region, near Marosvásárhely (Târgu-Mures in Romanian ) with Hungarian and Romanian population.

Dance

The recruitment dance (verbunk) which in former times began the dance cycle has been relegated for some decades to the dance breaks and was danced by special request.  Today, only the elder dancers know it.  It consists of heel steps and toe steps as well as cutting behind, stamping, clapping, and slapping figures.

The couples’ dances begin with a sort of progressing sequence (jártatós or lassú csárdás), consisting of a two-step walking figure and a down-accent couples’ turning figure which, however, can be augmented with stamping figures.  There follows a somewhat more lively half-breed tempo (korcsos), characterized by the leading across and turning out of the woman, but also featuring the down-accent couples’ turning and the release of the woman.  The dance cycle closes with a quick tempo Gypsy csárdás (cigánycsárdás) with the same inventory of figures as the previous, but in which the one-step motif and stamping figures dominate.

They often asked the musicians for table songs (asztali nóta) during the breaks in dancing and sang the words to the music.  The melodies were the same as those played for the jártatós, but they were played more slowly in a slightly limping, asymmetrical rhythm.  Often they blended one of the songs they were playing into the jártatós, and the couples’ dancing began again.

Music

There is great variety as to the origin of the tunes from the older folksong layers across the early and late verbunk music to the folk-style new music.  There are many song texts linked to the jártatós tunes.  Song words are more rare for the other two couples’ dance tempos, and there are none for verbunk tunes.  Shouting can occur in any of the dances.  We may also note that in this music there are certain breaks or interludes with harmonic patterns that enable a transition to any other tune.

Watch dances and music from Mezőkölpény here (not performed by the camp instructors).

Galga-mente (Bag)

The Galga river’s region is located in Northern Hungary, near Budapest and the Palóc region with Hungarian, Slovakian, and German population.

Dance

The dancing of this part of Pest Country has survived in one of the most beautiful among the dance forms in Hungary.  In addition to the men’s verbunk of the dance cycle, there is also a woman’s circle dance (karikázó).  The couples’ dances are slow and quick csárdás (lassú és gyors/friss csárdás).  Often they also danced a march (mars), similar to dances of the jumping dance (ugrós).

The verbunk bore up-accent.  The slow csárdás was typically down-accented, followed by the quick csárdás with strong knee action in the frequently employed dipping motif (bukós).  The csárdás has a strong dynamic impulse, always taut.  It evokes high spirits, and this is especially true of the dipping motif.

Music

The spirit of the dance is grounded principally in music categorized as “new style”.  The string band is supplemented by cimbalom and wind instruments whose sound, so to speak, fills out the music.  An appropriate underlying rhythm supports the dynamic impulse of each element of the dance cycle.

Watch dances and music from Galga-mente here and here (not performed by the camp instructors).

The Music, Songs, and Dances of Tyukod, Szásznagyvesszős, Pálpataka, and Gömör

The dance teaching concentrated on two villages, the first was Szásznagyvesszős, a settlement in the Kis-Kűkűllő region where excellent dancers still live. Cimbi said that the Romanians, Roma, and Hungarians who live there acquired the village’s dances in similar form, building into their dances the stylistic features which tend to dominate in Hungarian dancing. The couples’ dances are the csárdás and the szökő (‘shaking’, or quick csárdás). The men dance the szegényes (‘poor man’s’) or vénes (‘old man’s’) and a virtuoso pontozó. All four dance types were taught.

Later in the week, the dances from Tyukod, a village of Szabolcs-Szatmár-Bereg County, Eastern Hungary, were introduced. This village had a particularly striking dance culture. Cimbi says we have Martin György to thank for the survival of the dances in the form in which we know them today: verbunk, csárdás, and friss csárdás, danced very dynamically with an up-accent. The men’s stick dance is characteristic of the region, and was also taught.

The instrument teachers concentrated on the music of Pálpataka (Valea lui Pavel) in the Transylvanian region of Sovidék in Romania. The dance cycle in this area consists of a verbunk, lássu csárdás, szöktetös, and marosszéki (forgatós). This cycle was taught to the dancers at TTT09, so it wass a natural to be brought into the repertoire of the music students, with many tunes characteristic of the Sovidék region around Korund.

In addition, later in the week the instrument teachers worked on music from Gömör, in modern day Slovakia. This region’s music is much more modern, with more complicated harmonies and more modern chromaticisms, and will require lots of practice throughout the year to master.

The Music, Songs and Dances of Kalotaszeg

The teaching materials this year were be drawn mostly from the Kalotaszeg region of Transylvania, north-west of Koloszvár (Cluj-Napoka), with the addition of a women’s dance from the Kükülló-mente.

The dance concentrated on the Hungarian dances of Bogártelke (Băgara), further north-west along the Nadás river from Méra (which was taught at TTT in 2000). These include a csárdás and szapora (slow and fast couple dances), and a legényes (lad’s dance). In addition, our dance teachers presented a Romanian invirtita from Szucság (Suceagu), near the outskirts of Koloszvár. While the men are learned the legényes, the women had a chance to learn a karikázó from Magyarlapád, in the Kükülló-mente, a region south-east of Koloszvár.

Our instrument teachers concentrated on the playing of Nónika Miklós, who lived mostly in Magyargyerővásárhely (Oşorheiu), and later Egeres (Aghireş), west of Bogártelke. He was born in 1942 and lived during the blossoming of the transformation of the peasant culture. He played both primás and accompaniment instruments, and so taught his sons so they could be in his band. He was known as being both confident and tough, and both attitudes are characteristic of his music and his teaching. He was called the king of legényes dances since he was the one who knew the most and played them the best. His csárdás and szapora music is similar to that of other Kalotaszeg musicians, but with his variations, imagination and interludes, and gestures he is more — he is a true individual. The accompaniment is also different from the usual Kalotaszeg style — it is tougher, more confident, at the same time it totally and completely serves the dance.

The Music, Songs and Dances of Búza and Rimóc

The teaching materials in 2010 were drawn from Búza, in the Mezöség region of Transylvania, and from Rimóc, in northern Hungary.

Búza (Buza) is a village with population of under 1400 located near the center of the Mezöség region of Transylvania, Romania, about 20 km northeast of Magyarpalatka. It has an almost evenly mixed population of Romanians and Hungarians. The music and dance of Búza are characteristic of central Mezöség, though with some interesting variations. The couple dances are the csárdás, szökős, and sűrű csárdás, each using similar motifs and distinguished mainly by tempo. The men’s dances are the ritka and sűrű magyar. Dénes said that the musical style of Búza is somewhat similar to what he taught from Ördöngösfüzes in 2009, but with completely different melodies.

Rimóc is a village with population of under 1800 in the Nógrád county of northern Hungary near the Slovakian border and west of Salgótarján. Stylistically, the dance is up-accented, showing definite new style (új stilus) form with couple dances of lassú and friss csárdás, including a playful csalogatás, and a men’s verbunk. Members of Dűvő have conducted original research in the music of Rimóc and the band released a recording of music and songs from the area in 2007.

Notes about the two villages and their dances

Horti provided some details about the two villages and their dances:Búza is in the center of the Transylvanian Heath (Mezöség) in the eastern part of Kolozs County, a hilly region between the Maros and Szamos Rivers, 35 kilometers from Szamosújvár. Búza is an administrative township center, one of the largest in the region known as Tóvidék. Its climate is typical for the Transylvanian Heath with a mean temperature of 8.2�C. Characteristic physical features of the landscape are valleys, barren hills and deciduous woods as determined by the soil, climate and surface conditions. From the beginning, Búza was settled by Saxons and Hungarians. As with many another village in inner Transylvania, Búza was affected by the ravages of war in the course of its history. (In 1603, for example, only five houses remained standing!) The stone church that dominates the village was built in 1884. The village’s peak population, attained in the middle of the 20th century (in 1941: 2382), subsided to nearly half after the Second World War because of the industrial policies imposed by Communism. According to census figures of 2002, the ethnic distribution of 1213 inhabitants was 616 Romanian, 587 Hungarian, and 10 Roma. Today some of the Búza natives and their descendants live in Szamosújvár. DANCE:
Their dance cycle consists of parts that are typical for the Transylvanian Heath. The couples’ dances are the csárdás, the szökős, and the sűrű csárdás. They dance similar figures to all three parts, differentiated principally by tempo. The men’s dances are the ritka magyar and the sűrű magyar. Of these men’s dances, sad to say, very little has been preserved in film, but from those few figures it is clear that they were very lovely, measured, uniquely elegant dances. In the couples’ dances, the cross-over and throwing-behind figures alternate constantly with slapping figures. In the dancing of Búza, the turning under the arm that is so characteristic of other areas of the Transylvanian Heath is not typical and is documented only a couple of times. Unique are the woman’s dancing of steps on the upbeat when she crosses back over and the six-count sequence that concludes the throwing-behind from the left. Rimóc is a township in Nógrád County, Hungary, about four kilometers south of Szécsény and the Ipoly River, one of the renowned centers of the Palóc people. Its name is derived from the Slavic ‘Rimovc’. According to records from before the time of the honfoglalás (that is, the original Magyar settlement of the Carpathian Basin), a trade route connected several of the antecedents of present Nógrád townships, among them Rimóc. It is probable that a settlement at Rimóc had a church as early as the 11th century and that the township has remained in the same place, for graves discovered nearby contained Szent István coins and other early artifacts from the time of the honfoglalás. In the Middle Ages, folk of the royal castle lived in Rimóc. The village suffered from the Turkish occupation, but afterward recovered population quickly. Slovaks from the area of Gyetva in Zólyom County moved in among the existing families of nobles and freemen. In 2001, the inhabitants of the settlement divided themselves into 87% Hungarian, 13% Roma. Every visitor is taken with the beauty of this landscape. From the settlement, one can see the Hollókó Castle, a world heritage site. DANCE:
The dancing of the region is characteristically up-accent. The influence of new style is quite evident. The couples’ dance is frequently preceded by a short verbunk-like solo of the men which they call the sarkantyúzó (‘spurring’). From the expression ‘spurring’, we may assume that the costume of the men generally included spurs. The slow and quick csárdás follow the ‘spurring’, consisting, as it does, of heel-clicks and rhythmic stamping. A strong up-accent characterizes the csárdás. Another characteristic feature of the couples’ dance is the playful csalogatás (‘enticing’) which is built into the pattern of frequent separation of the partners followed by assuming a couples’ hold again. The couples’ dance includes various turning figures and lifting the woman as part of the playful helyezgetés (‘placing’) of the woman as well as the verbunk figures that the man did in the sarkantyúzó (‘spurring’). Their costume is very decorative. Often even the men have embroidered aprons and decorated vests.

The Dances of Pálpataka and Magyarbőd

Norbert and Hortenzia taught dances from two separate Hungarian regions of Slovakia and Romania. They concentrated on the Hungarian dances from Pálpataka (Valea lui Pavel) in the Transylvanian region of Sovidék in Romania. The dance cycle in this area consists of a verbunk, lássu csárdás, szöktetős, and marosszéki (forgatós). The dances of Pálpataka are a specialty of Hortenzia’s — she grew up only a few kilometers from Pálpataka in the town of Székelykeresztúr — and she received her “Young Master of Folk Art” in 2000 for her research and dancing of the Pálpatakai dances.

They also taught dances of Magyarbőd (Bidovce), a village near Kassa (Košice) in present-day Slovakia (northeast of Miskolc). Several Magyarbődi songs and women’s dances (karikazó) were introduced at Ti Ti Tábor 1996, and the instrumental music was taught in 2008. The melodies are very beautiful, and this was the first time the couples dances have been taught at Ti Ti Tábor.

If you want a short view at some what we learned, Cimbi and Horti have graciously made available a video of themselves dancing two of the Pálpatakai couple dances during a performance in Budapest in November 2008.

The Music of Ördöngösfüzes

Dűvő concentrated on the music of Ördöngösfüzes (Fizeşu Gherlii) in the Mezöség valley of Transylvania, Romania. The tunes of Ördöngösfüzes are very popular and found on many Hungarian folk music recordings, but have not yet been taught at Ti Ti Tábor.

The Dances of Kalotaszeg, Dél-Alföld, and Fogaras

Zoltán and Tímea taught dances from three separate regions of Hungary and Romania. They concentrated on the Hungarian dances from the Transylvanian region of Kalotaszeg, specifically the csárdás, szapora, and legenyes. They had recently been researching this region including studying old films from the 1940s and 1950s, and brought new insight and a gread videotape of some of the old films.

They also taught dances of Dél-Alföld, including csárdás, friss, feloláhos, and a women’s bottle dance. These dances had not been taught at TTT before, and Zoli is from this region and had a great-uncle who was a famous Dél-Alföldi hurdy-gurdy player.

In addition, Zoltán and Tímea taught Romanian dances from Fogaras (Făgăraş) county, in southern Transylvania. These are dances for a man and one or two women with complicated turns and interesting rhythms accompanied by E-flat clarinet and drum, and are a favorite of Zoli and Timi, who have taught them for many years.

The Music of Kalotaszeg and Magyarbőd

Teaching two contrasting musical regions worked especially well in 2007, so this year Dűvő continued the practice and concentrated on the music of the Transylvanian region of Kalotaszeg, specifically tunes for the legéyes and szapora. They also spent time on the tunes of Magyarbőd (Bidovce), a village near Kassa (Košice) in present-day Slovakia (northeast of Miskolc). Some songs of Magyarbőd were introduced at TTT 1996 and the music and songs of this area are currently very popular in Hungary, but the music had not been taught at TTT.

The Dances of Kutasfold, with an excursion to Somogy

The valley of the Maros River determines the boundary of the Maros-Küküllő dialect to the north and the west. Toward the east, it blends into Székelyföld at the line formed by the highway connecting Marosvásárhély and Segesvár. Its southern area can be said to extend into the valleys of the Big Küküllő River and the Maros River. Though the Hungarians of this area are scattered in approximately 70 largely mixed settlements, the region of the characteristic dance dialect coincides with the northeast part of the old Lower Fehér County and the west part of Kisküküllő. Zoltán and Tímea taught both the Hungarian and Romainian dances from this region.

The Hungarian dances of the region that were taught included three men´s dances: the pontozó from Magyarlapád, öreges pontozó from Magyarózd, and vénes; from Magyarszentbenedek; and three couple dances: the csárdás and friss csárdás, from Magyarszentbenedek, and féloláhós from Magyarkiralyfalva. The Romanian dances taught included the învîrtita, legényes, and haţegana, all from Fărău (Magyarforró).

Because the dances of Somogy are a particular favorite of Zoltán and Tímea, we asked them to spend some on dances from this region. They taught the ugros, lassu csárdás, and friss csárdás, with distinct stylings from three villages: Szenna, Berzence, and Korád.

The Music of Szászcsávás and Szatmár

Dűvő concentrated their teaching on the Romanian music of Szászcsávás, because they know it very well and it is the most researched music of the Kisküküllő area. It is also beautiful and very technically challenging, with rich ornamentation.

Dűvő also spent time working on the music of Szatmár. They had never presented it at Ti Ti Tábor, believe all táncház musicians should know it, and feel it has technical challenges that would help their student’s playing, and, of course, it has many very pretty melodies.

The Dances of Nyárádmagyáros and Nyárádselye

One of the oldest blocks of ethnic Hungarians in Transylvania is in the Székelyföld region of Marosszék. Some familiar villages from the western side of this region are Marossárpatak, Vajdaszentivány and Mezőkölpény. Marosszék also contains the smaller south-eastern region of Nyárád-mente, whose more northern part is Bekecsalja. The dance classes in 2006 concentrated on the dances from two towns located in Bekecsalja: Nyárádmagyáros and Nyárádselye. Dances in the cycle include a men’s verbunk, and a number of couple dances including a moderate tempo jártatós (walking dance), a forgatós (turning dance), a quick söktetős and a faster vármegyei sebes forgatós (quick turning dance of the county/shire).

The Music of Mezőkölpény

The music classes in 2006 concentrated on the music of where the northwest edge of Marosszék meets the eastern edge of Mezöség in the village of Mezőkölpény in Szélelyföld.

Here’s what Dénes had to say about the music: The settlement, Mezőkölpény, lies on the imagined border between the Transylvanian Heath (Mezőség) and Secklerland (Székelyföld). It is no surprise that the two styles commingle. Masterly virtuoso violin playing is paired with the characteristically robust accompaniment of traditional music from the Transylvanian Heath and filled out with the cimbalom so typical of Secklerland. Viktor Szabó, the left-handed prímás, is still living today at the age of sixty-six. In the 1950s, he and his father and two older brothers were the most famous musicians in Mezőkölpény and its environs. Viktor Szabó is presently living in Hungary. The dance cycle consists of verbunk (“recruitment”), csárdás, korcsos or forgatós (“half-breed” or “turning”) and cigánycsárdás (“Gyspy csárdás”). There must also have been a dance with an asymmetric pulse (now lost), for it can be found in the music. In the repertory of tunes, there are both old- and new-style melodies. The music of Mezőkölpény is very lovely, very enjoyable for musicians, carefully crafted, and one of the favorites of the dance-house.

The Music, Songs, and Dances of Magyarszovát

The village of Magyarszovát, also called Szovát or Mezőszovát (Suatu in Romanian) is located in the southern Mezöség region, in the heart of Transylvania, only 36 km east of Kolozsvár (Cluj-Napoca), but is surrounded by hills and remained fairly isolated until relatively recently. Until the early 20th century, it was two villages Alsószovát (Upper Szovát) and Felsőszovát (Lower Szovát), and Hungarians, Romanians and Roma still live in both parts.

The music, dance, and song cultures are rich, and they, as well as the costumes, retain archaic forms that died out in nearby regions. The “new style”, more Western dances of the 19th century are present in forms like the sűrű csárdás (“dense or thick csárdás”), hétlépés (“seven step”), szásztánc (“Saxon dance”, danced in threes), and gólya (“stork”), but did not drive out the older dances like the akasztós (“hanging”, a slow couple dance), négyes (done in both pairs and foursomes), összerázás (“shaking together”, a couple dance), or sűrű magyar (“dense Hungarian”, a men’s dance).

The traditional Szováti band has one or two violins, a three-string brácsa or kóntra, and a three-string bass, of which only the lowest string is played. According to Dénes Hrúz of the Dűvő Együttes, the music is challenging, but very beautiful, especially the more archaic melodies.