{"id":1095668,"date":"2024-06-17T15:13:11","date_gmt":"2024-06-17T19:13:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.bocskairadio.org\/?p=1095668"},"modified":"2024-06-17T15:26:17","modified_gmt":"2024-06-17T19:26:17","slug":"folk-dance-training-doesnt-end-in-the-rehearsal-room","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.bocskairadio.org\/en\/folk-dance-training-doesnt-end-in-the-rehearsal-room\/","title":{"rendered":"\u2018Folk dance training doesn\u2019t end in the rehearsal room\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Hungarian community in New Brunswick has been hosting K\u0151r\u00f6si Csoma Program (KCSP) scholars specialized in folk dance for quite a while now, and over the last two years directly from the Angyalf\u00f6ld Vadr\u00f3zsa Dance Ensemble. Lili Balogh and Istv\u00e1n D\u00e1niel Moln\u00e1r have not only been involved in training five folk dance groups in New Brunswick, but have also helped a number of local Hungarian organizations in multiple ways and in relation to several Hungarian events.<\/em><\/p>\n

***<\/p>\n

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Lili Balogh and Istv\u00e1n D\u00e1niel Moln\u00e1r dance in the middle at the year-end gala PHOTO: Hungarian American Athletic Club (HAAC)\/Facebook<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/figure>\n

Where are you from and what do you do at home?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Lili:\u00a0<\/strong>I was born in Duna\u00fajv\u00e1ros, Hungary. At the age of 18, I applied to the Faculty of Teacher Training College of the K\u00e1roli G\u00e1sp\u00e1r Reformed University in Budapest, and then I immediately started working as an English teacher and elementary school teacher in Budapest.<\/p>\n

Isti:<\/strong>\u00a0I was also born in Duna\u00fajv\u00e1ros. We both grew up in the long-established Vasas Dance Ensemble of Duna\u00fajv\u00e1ros. I joined its teaching staff in 2012, and in 2015 I took over the artistic direction of an ensemble in a nearby village. I joined Vadr\u00f3zsa in October 2018, having previously danced with the Szentendre Dance Company. Lili and I found each other in 2018, and a year later we lured her to Vadr\u00f3zsa. There, I first helped with the talent program, preparing soloists for competitions, and in 2022 the lead trainer role of the most senior group was assigned to me. Before we came to the U.S., I also worked for five years as a music and folk dance teacher in an elementary school in Ercsi. This is a municipality with a lot of disadvantaged families living in deep poverty, so this was a big mission for me. I was also working part-time at the Urb\u00e1n Verbunk art school in G\u00f6d\u00f6ll\u0151 dealing with 10\u2060\u2013<\/a>\u206012-year-old children. This is the only dance theatre company in the country for juniors, with a lot of acting involved. They are accepting me back full time as soon as we get home.<\/p>\n

How did the connection between Vadr\u00f3zsa and New Brunswick come about?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Lili:\u00a0<\/strong>The Vadr\u00f3zsa Dance Ensemble was founded in 1992. The current artistic directors, Krist\u00f3f Fund\u00e1k and Lili Fund\u00e1k-Kaszai, took over the artistic direction in 2009. They have entered the group to the national folk dance movement, where they have been achieving good results in professional forums and competitions for several years. It is among the top non-professional folk dance companies at this point. In addition, Lili and Krist\u00f3f have been active in the Hungarian American diaspora for many years. They have been regular guests at the Csipke T\u00e1bor (Lace Camp) organized by J\u00f3zsef Salamon and his wife, Andrea annually for 15 years. They also often travel to Canada, visiting Calgary, Winnipeg, Montreal, and Detroit to organize Hungarian folk dance workshops there. In the Csipke T\u00e1bor they have developed a close relationship with the Hungarian folk dance community from New Brunswick. The M\u00e1kvir\u00e1g children group in New Brunswick and the Vadvir\u00e1g children group in Budapest became sister groups.<\/p>\n

Prior to the Covid pandemic, D\u00e9nes Kov\u00e1cs and Vivien Nagy were KCSP scholars in Los Angeles at the K\u00e1rp\u00e1tok Dance Ensemble, then led by L\u00edvia Schachinger, who has since moved to New Brunswick and is now one of the leaders of the Szilvafa Dance Group and one of the KCSP-mentors, along with Melinda T\u00f6r\u00f6k, who leads M\u00e1kvir\u00e1g.<\/p>\n

Why did you apply for the KCSP scholarship?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Lili:<\/strong>\u00a0Last June, we were approached by the 2022\u2060\u2013\u2060<\/a>23 New Brunswick KCSP scholars G\u00e1bor Szany\u00f3 and Viola Kov\u00e1cs. They suggested that we should step in their shoes and apply for the 2023\u2060\u2013\u2060<\/a>24 cycle. We thought about it for a day or two and decided to take it on. Our employers were also very flexible about it, we could both take unpaid leave and agreed to come back in a year. Back in June we already had an online meeting where we met our mentors, Melinda and L\u00edvia.<\/p>\n

Isti:<\/strong>\u00a0Even though everybody tried to provide us with all the information, we realized quite quickly that there is no way to prepare for this scholarship. As we arrived late, we were in the fortunate position of being immediately involved in the community\u2019s life: we arrived on Thursday, and the next day we had a rehearsal for the Cs\u0171rd\u00f6ng\u00f6l\u0151, where we were welcomed as if we had known each other for months. L\u00edvia and her family picked us up at the airport and brought us here, where we were greeted with a small gift basket with enough food and drink for a few days, which was very nice, because we hadn\u2019t thought about that before. These are the very first, very positive impressions that I think will last a lifetime.<\/p>\n

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Lili Balogh PHOTO: courtesy of Lili Balogh and Istv\u00e1n D\u00e1niel Moln\u00e1r<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/figure>\n

Is this your first time in America?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Lili:\u00a0<\/strong>Actually, it was the first time we had ever flown, the first time we had been overseas, so we were very excited about this trip. And well, America is a very different culture, so at the beginning we were just scratching our heads… Without a car, it\u2019s practically impossible to go shopping, so we had to rely on others, which was a bit difficult at first, at least for me, because I don\u2019t like asking for favors; but then we developed good relationships with a lot of people who we could always rely on. One of the dancing mothers, Enik\u0151 Kov\u00e1cs, said: \u2018In three days you picked up the rhythm and blended into the Hungarian community as if you had been here for years.\u2019 Obviously, it depends on your personality how quickly you can integrate, but this community has also done its best.<\/p>\n

I wouldn\u2019t dare to embark on such a journey alone, but together everything went easier, including integration.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Let\u2019s talk about your KCSP tasks in more detail.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Lili:\u00a0<\/strong>New Brunswick has a lot of folk dancers, so the main thrust for us was folk dance education and strengthening the dance communities. We taught in the two older children\u2019s groups at M\u00e1kvir\u00e1g, the young adult Cs\u0171rd\u00f6ng\u00f6l\u0151, the older Szilvafa and the Reg\u00f6s scout folk dancers. We both taught at the\u00a0Sz\u00e9chenyi Hungarian school<\/a>\u00a0on Saturdays. Every Wednesday we helped at the Reformed Church, from office work to cooking and from packing to organizing the archives. On Thursdays, we helped at the\u00a0Hungarian Museum<\/a>. They\u2019ve recently started an archiving project, so there were times when they had to type it up, but otherwise it was mainly physical work: preparing for the monthly market, setting up tables, displaying handicrafts, packing, moving books, preparing exhibitions, etc.<\/p>\n

Isti:<\/strong>\u00a0On Fridays we were at the\u00a0Club<\/a>\u00a0(the Hungarian American Athletic Club, HAAC) when we were needed. There we usually had to help with the cooking if there was a Friday night dinner, or digitize pictures, set the table and wipe glasses for balls. Back in October, all the organizations sat down with us and clarified when and what they were expecting us to do. We didn\u2019t receive such a request from the HAAC at that time, only later and rather strangely: we were often called unexpectedly to drop in immediately and they didn\u2019t understand why we weren\u2019t available. There was no proper communication, which was also due to the fact that at that time there was a big mess at the Club\u2019 leadership which made our stay difficult at the beginning, but when the\u00a0HAAC management<\/a>\u00a0was sorted out by the spring, communication became much better. We recommend to the next KCSP scholars to sit down with each Hungarian organization at the outset and clarify what the expectations are. Obviously unexpected things can always happen and it\u2019s good to be flexible, but it is always worth knowing the duties and keeping the limits.<\/p>\n

What was your specific task in terms of folk dancing?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Lili<\/strong>. We tried to show each folk dance group something new, while strengthening their community. This year there was no Pontoz\u00f3, the biggest Hungarian folk dance competition in the U.S., but Melinda wanted a bigger folk dance show. She first thought about the Toborz\u00f3, which is a bit like a folk dance festival in Hungary. We started organizing this three-day event in the autumn, but in the end we decided that it would be too much, so instead we had the end-of-season gala on 11 May, and they also performed their shows partly at the Hungarian Festival on 1 June.<\/p>\n

Isti:\u00a0<\/strong>We were expected to put together a gala show of at least an hour, preferably with as much dancing and as little music or prose as possible. We therefore tried to keep the choreographies long enough, but still enjoyable. In addition, we tried to show everything that is relevant to the various regions and to convey it in a way that does not detract from the experience. To us, from the moment the dancers take to the stage, it is no longer a folk dance but a show. It is authentic folk dance that was danced in barns in the 1940s, 1950s and 1960s, and then in folk dance halls from the 1980s onwards. But as soon as we put it on stage, it becomes a show. People here have had to understand and accept that if they want to be on stage, they have to put a lot more work into it as opposed to just dancing for themselves. If they are dancing for the audience, they have to capture their interest from the first second to the last. That\u2019s why we pay attention to the view, not just the dance and the music. Obviously, Hungarian folk dance is very spectacular, but we still have to make it exciting.\u00a0Gabi Vajtay<\/a>\u00a0had a very good saying in relation to the Hungarian Festival: she would like to see something exciting, and not a 50th folk dance from Sz\u00e9k… The stage production has to be appropriate for today\u2019s audience, both in terms of visual and audio experience. Authentic folk dance, however, no longer serves this purpose; you have to add a lot of extras, but from then on you can no longer call it folk dance. I think they got what I was trying to convey. I always tell my groups in Hungary: you can learn folk dance, but you won\u2019t go on stage at year-end.<\/p>\n

Lili:\u00a0<\/strong>Different practices and rules apply everywhere. Here, the dance teachers do a mind-boggling and endless job, constantly adapting and looking for solutions to things that they shouldn\u2019t even be dealing with… If you want to belong to a community, you should submit to its rules. Here we have seen the opposite, especially in the children\u2019s groups: teachers subordinate themselves to children. In the case of the two older M\u00e1kvir\u00e1g groups, we have managed to make them understand our point and we are very confident that the group will act accordingly next year. It is in their interest.<\/p>\n

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M\u00e1kvir\u00e1g PHOTO: Hungarian American Athletic Club (HAAC)\/Facebook<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/figure>\n

We haven\u2019t even mentioned whether they\u2019d come to the rehearsals or not…<\/strong><\/p>\n

Isti:<\/strong>\u00a0True, but we want everything. We strive for our students to learn how to dance, so they can master all the steps and motifs we teach them and can use them freely when they go to parties, dance clubs or at home. There is obviously a big difference between being able to apply what they have learned freely and being able only to dance the sequence they have learnt. In the latter case, if they are in a different venue or stage, they can easily get confused and lose track of where they are. Our main goal\u2014and not only in America, but also in Hungary\u2014is that they learn the dance material at a native level, at least the motifs and figures we teach them. Building on this, we can start to produce series of movements and choreographic elements.<\/p>\n

Lili:<\/strong>\u00a0Folk dance groups in the Hungarian diaspora are in a more difficult situation in this respect, because they only have one rehearsal per week. In that 2,5 hours they have to get the children to like and learn folk dance, master the motifs and stylistic elements of the regions, and even put together a choreography, so that they can perform at the May show and at the Hungarian Festival. In Hungary there are usually two rehearsals per week, and there are summer camps and regular weekend camps. Here, if a kid is sick, if it\u2019s snowing heavily and people can\u2019t get into town, if there\u2019s a longer scouting program, then there\u2019s no dancing for two weeks… However,<\/p>\n

we believe that folk dance training doesn\u2019t end in the rehearsal room,<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

so we\u2019ve made an effort to organize some kind of a team-building camp or day for every group. The impact was very impressive. For example, we held a two-day training camp for the Reg\u00f6s group back in October. These two days together started a close bonding between the young people that gave a very good impetus to the whole year. Previously the group went with six couples and about 12 children, this year there are now 25 children. The older and the middle group of M\u00e1kvir\u00e1g had a training camp in January, but we also organized a party night for the older ones. Almost everyone participated and they had a great time.<\/p>\n

Isti:<\/strong>\u00a0But the biggest camp experience was with the adult group Cs\u0171rd\u00f6ng\u00f6l\u0151 for whom we had a three-day training camp they had never had before. They\u2019ve had long Saturday or weekend rehearsals, but never before have the 25 dancers traveled somewhere for three days. We were aware that not everyone could get away for three days, so we didn\u2019t make it compulsory, but we did state that only those who would be attending the camp would be involved in the choreography, because we would put it together only there and not during the regular rehearsals. We promised that by the time the training camp started at\u00a0Magyar Tanya<\/a>, Pennsylvania, everyone would be able to dance so freely from the material they had heard all year that we would put the choreography together in three days. They were reluctant at the beginning, very tense and worried, but practically half of the choreography was done on the first night, and from then on the camp was very good fun. In terms of community building, it\u2019s very important to have long weekends, not just long days together. They need weekends like this, so that they can do what they love to do, stress-free, relaxed and unhurried\u2026and together. Hopefully they\u2019ll continue it from now on.<\/p>\n

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Year-end gala PHOTO: Hungarian American Athletic Club (HAAC)\/Facebook<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/figure>\n

How have you been involved in the preparations for the Hungarian Festival, the biggest event in the local Hungarian community life?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Lili:\u00a0<\/strong>We indicated to our mentors and to the local organizations that we would be completely free during the week of the festival, we only asked them to let us know in time when and where they needed us. Everything went smoothly; there was only one day of tension, the previous Friday, when we had to make chicken paprikash for 800 people at the Club. Everybody knows how good a cook \u0141\u00edvia is, but she has never made chicken paprikash in such quantity, so she said: whatever happens, it\u2019s everyone\u2019s responsibility, not just hers. As we heard back, it was delicious, but on the day we worked from 9am to 9pm, lifting big pots and pans to and from the stoves, and cleaning 1,600 chicken legs and continuously stirring the paprikash…<\/p>\n

Isti:<\/strong>\u00a0\u2026it made everyone sweat. We were racing against time, checking the clock every minute, which stressed us. But maybe next year it will be easier. Otherwise everything else went smoothly, and overall we had a good time at the Festival.<\/p>\n

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Lili Balogh (L) PHOTO: courtesy of Lili Balogh and Istv\u00e1n D\u00e1niel Moln\u00e1r<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/figure>\n

Tell us about what you\u2019ve seen of the U.S. beyond work and New Brunswick.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Lili:\u00a0<\/strong>We visited nearby New York several times. We also got to\u00a0Cleveland<\/a>\u00a0once but unfortunately haven\u2019t had time to go back since then, even though we promised.<\/p>\n

Isti:<\/strong>\u00a0We accompanied the New Brunswick Reg\u00f6s dance troop to the\u00a0Golden Wedding<\/a>\u00a0because they were invited by the Cleveland Reg\u00f6s dance group, whom they had met at various scouting events and developed a close relationship. The two groups tried several times to put together a troop-building weekend, but it didn\u2019t work out due to the busy schedules and long distance. The show was the first foreign Hungarian cultural event that was shockingly amazing to experience. We had no idea that Cleveland would have such a deep bench and ecosystem for Hungarian folk dance. Almost every Reg\u00f6s dancer from the past 50 years performed on stage with an attitude and quality that trumped even professional folk dance companies in Hungary. A good example to follow!<\/p>\n

Back to the question…<\/strong><\/p>\n

Lili.\u00a0<\/strong>During spring break we were in Arizona, where we visited the Grand Canyon. We stayed in Sedona, where we hiked almost all the hiking trails. We had a meaningful, life-changing experience. Also because Isti proposed to me there…<\/p>\n

Isti:<\/strong>\u00a0Indeed. Our next long holiday will be a trip to Florida with some friends. We have also been to Canada. We went to Montreal for a workshop given by our art directors Lili and Krist\u00f3f, and we had some time to look around and see the city. If all goes well, we will return with the Vadr\u00f3zsa Dance Company for a two-week East Coast tour from October 18\u2060\u2013\u2060<\/a>19 to November 3\u2060\u2013\u2060<\/a>4.<\/p>\n

Congratulations on the engagement! What is KCSP good for… Do you keep in touch with the other scholars?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Lili:<\/strong>\u00a0There was a so-called preparatory meeting in September, organized by the State Secretariat for Hungarian Communities Abroad. We participated in different presentations for three days, where we got to know all the other KCSP scholars coming to the U.S. for this year. The leaders of our team are Istv\u00e1n and \u00c1gnes V\u00e1mosi, who had already had a year of experience, having lived in Los Angeles. Istv\u00e1n suggested that after the formal meetings we should introduce ourselves more informally. Later, a Facebook group was set up and we held two\u2060\u2013\u2060<\/a>three video meetings, where everyone could tell us how things were going and help each other if needed. There will be a closing conference on 10 July, after which we would like to meet again informally, so that after nine months everyone can share their own experiences. We can learn a lot from each other and what we share can also help the program. I\u2019ve started to put together a list of useful information and advice for the newcomers.<\/p>\n

Isti:\u00a0<\/strong>Friendships have also developed between KCSP scholars, and we can call Bence Hajdu from Washington, DC and Daniel Indri from New York friends. We also have a good relationship with Marci Hajd\u00fa from\u00a0Passaic<\/a>\/Garfield<\/a>, who stayed with us once. Over Thanksgiving, several KCSP scholars came to visit us.<\/p>\n

You\u2019re going home soon, but I suspect the connections will remain. You\u2019re coming back in the fall, and we recently had a farewell party at the Hungarian House in New York for six young adults who will be studying in Hungary.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Isti:\u00a0<\/strong>We\u2019ve already indicated to them and their parents that we\u2019re going to create a chat group where we\u2019ll provide all the necessary information for them. If they need any help, they should let us know. We plan to have a Budapest\u2060\u2013\u2060<\/a>New Brunswick monthly meeting so that everyone can report on their studies and how they are feeling. We\u2019ll pick up those who are traveling alone at the airport. We don\u2019t let go of their hands; we want to give back the good things we\u2019ve received from them.<\/p>\n

What are the three most important things you take home from here?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Lili:\u00a0<\/strong>The positive American attitude that the Hungarians born here also have. For example, Csilla Varga\u2019s positive outlook and world view really struck us. She sees the world so differently and has such a different approach to problems than we are used to back home. She focuses on the solutions and doesn\u2019t despair if something doesn\u2019t work out as planned. She is aware that everyone is volunteering here and sets her expectations accordingly.<\/p>\n

The other is the power of teamwork. If they see something failing, they follow it up until it\u2019s resolved…or let it go.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Isti:\u00a0<\/strong>Thirdly, I would like to send a message to the Hungarians back home: there are Hungarians in the U.S., come and see what it\u2019s like to be a Hungarian here…<\/p>\n

Ildik\u00f3 Antal-Ferencz<\/strong><\/p>\n

Source: hungarianconservative.com<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Hungarian community in New Brunswick has been hosting K\u0151r\u00f6si Csoma Program (KCSP) scholars specialized in folk dance for quite a while now, and over the last two years directly from the Angyalf\u00f6ld Vadr\u00f3zsa Dance Ensemble. Lili Balogh and Istv\u00e1n D\u00e1niel Moln\u00e1r have not only been involved in training five folk dance groups in New Brunswick, but have also helped a number of local Hungarian organizations in multiple ways and in relation to several Hungarian events.<\/em><\/p>\n

***<\/p>\n

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[caption id=\"attachment_27832\" align=\"alignnone\" width=\"1024\"]\"\" Lili Balogh and Istv\u00e1n D\u00e1niel Moln\u00e1r dance in the middle at the year-end gala PHOTO: Hungarian American Athletic Club (HAAC)\/Facebook[\/caption]<\/figure>\n

Where are you from and what do you do at home?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Lili:\u00a0<\/strong>I was born in Duna\u00fajv\u00e1ros, Hungary. At the age of 18, I applied to the Faculty of Teacher Training College of the K\u00e1roli G\u00e1sp\u00e1r Reformed University in Budapest, and then I immediately started working as an English teacher and elementary school teacher in Budapest.<\/p>\n

Isti:<\/strong>\u00a0I was also born in Duna\u00fajv\u00e1ros. We both grew up in the long-established Vasas Dance Ensemble of Duna\u00fajv\u00e1ros. I joined its teaching staff in 2012, and in 2015 I took over the artistic direction of an ensemble in a nearby village. I joined Vadr\u00f3zsa in October 2018, having previously danced with the Szentendre Dance Company. Lili and I found each other in 2018, and a year later we lured her to Vadr\u00f3zsa. There, I first helped with the talent program, preparing soloists for competitions, and in 2022 the lead trainer role of the most senior group was assigned to me. Before we came to the U.S., I also worked for five years as a music and folk dance teacher in an elementary school in Ercsi. This is a municipality with a lot of disadvantaged families living in deep poverty, so this was a big mission for me. I was also working part-time at the Urb\u00e1n Verbunk art school in G\u00f6d\u00f6ll\u0151 dealing with 10\u2060\u2013<\/a>\u206012-year-old children. This is the only dance theatre company in the country for juniors, with a lot of acting involved. They are accepting me back full time as soon as we get home.<\/p>\n

How did the connection between Vadr\u00f3zsa and New Brunswick come about?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Lili:\u00a0<\/strong>The Vadr\u00f3zsa Dance Ensemble was founded in 1992. The current artistic directors, Krist\u00f3f Fund\u00e1k and Lili Fund\u00e1k-Kaszai, took over the artistic direction in 2009. They have entered the group to the national folk dance movement, where they have been achieving good results in professional forums and competitions for several years. It is among the top non-professional folk dance companies at this point. In addition, Lili and Krist\u00f3f have been active in the Hungarian American diaspora for many years. They have been regular guests at the Csipke T\u00e1bor (Lace Camp) organized by J\u00f3zsef Salamon and his wife, Andrea annually for 15 years. They also often travel to Canada, visiting Calgary, Winnipeg, Montreal, and Detroit to organize Hungarian folk dance workshops there. In the Csipke T\u00e1bor they have developed a close relationship with the Hungarian folk dance community from New Brunswick. The M\u00e1kvir\u00e1g children group in New Brunswick and the Vadvir\u00e1g children group in Budapest became sister groups.<\/p>\n

Prior to the Covid pandemic, D\u00e9nes Kov\u00e1cs and Vivien Nagy were KCSP scholars in Los Angeles at the K\u00e1rp\u00e1tok Dance Ensemble, then led by L\u00edvia Schachinger, who has since moved to New Brunswick and is now one of the leaders of the Szilvafa Dance Group and one of the KCSP-mentors, along with Melinda T\u00f6r\u00f6k, who leads M\u00e1kvir\u00e1g.<\/p>\n

Why did you apply for the KCSP scholarship?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Lili:<\/strong>\u00a0Last June, we were approached by the 2022\u2060\u2013\u2060<\/a>23 New Brunswick KCSP scholars G\u00e1bor Szany\u00f3 and Viola Kov\u00e1cs. They suggested that we should step in their shoes and apply for the 2023\u2060\u2013\u2060<\/a>24 cycle. We thought about it for a day or two and decided to take it on. Our employers were also very flexible about it, we could both take unpaid leave and agreed to come back in a year. Back in June we already had an online meeting where we met our mentors, Melinda and L\u00edvia.<\/p>\n

Isti:<\/strong>\u00a0Even though everybody tried to provide us with all the information, we realized quite quickly that there is no way to prepare for this scholarship. As we arrived late, we were in the fortunate position of being immediately involved in the community\u2019s life: we arrived on Thursday, and the next day we had a rehearsal for the Cs\u0171rd\u00f6ng\u00f6l\u0151, where we were welcomed as if we had known each other for months. L\u00edvia and her family picked us up at the airport and brought us here, where we were greeted with a small gift basket with enough food and drink for a few days, which was very nice, because we hadn\u2019t thought about that before. These are the very first, very positive impressions that I think will last a lifetime.<\/p>\n

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[caption id=\"attachment_27834\" align=\"alignnone\" width=\"1024\"]\"\" Lili Balogh PHOTO: courtesy of Lili Balogh and Istv\u00e1n D\u00e1niel Moln\u00e1r[\/caption]<\/figure>\n

Is this your first time in America?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Lili:\u00a0<\/strong>Actually, it was the first time we had ever flown, the first time we had been overseas, so we were very excited about this trip. And well, America is a very different culture, so at the beginning we were just scratching our heads… Without a car, it\u2019s practically impossible to go shopping, so we had to rely on others, which was a bit difficult at first, at least for me, because I don\u2019t like asking for favors; but then we developed good relationships with a lot of people who we could always rely on. One of the dancing mothers, Enik\u0151 Kov\u00e1cs, said: \u2018In three days you picked up the rhythm and blended into the Hungarian community as if you had been here for years.\u2019 Obviously, it depends on your personality how quickly you can integrate, but this community has also done its best.<\/p>\n

I wouldn\u2019t dare to embark on such a journey alone, but together everything went easier, including integration.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Let\u2019s talk about your KCSP tasks in more detail.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Lili:\u00a0<\/strong>New Brunswick has a lot of folk dancers, so the main thrust for us was folk dance education and strengthening the dance communities. We taught in the two older children\u2019s groups at M\u00e1kvir\u00e1g, the young adult Cs\u0171rd\u00f6ng\u00f6l\u0151, the older Szilvafa and the Reg\u00f6s scout folk dancers. We both taught at the\u00a0Sz\u00e9chenyi Hungarian school<\/a>\u00a0on Saturdays. Every Wednesday we helped at the Reformed Church, from office work to cooking and from packing to organizing the archives. On Thursdays, we helped at the\u00a0Hungarian Museum<\/a>. They\u2019ve recently started an archiving project, so there were times when they had to type it up, but otherwise it was mainly physical work: preparing for the monthly market, setting up tables, displaying handicrafts, packing, moving books, preparing exhibitions, etc.<\/p>\n

Isti:<\/strong>\u00a0On Fridays we were at the\u00a0Club<\/a>\u00a0(the Hungarian American Athletic Club, HAAC) when we were needed. There we usually had to help with the cooking if there was a Friday night dinner, or digitize pictures, set the table and wipe glasses for balls. Back in October, all the organizations sat down with us and clarified when and what they were expecting us to do. We didn\u2019t receive such a request from the HAAC at that time, only later and rather strangely: we were often called unexpectedly to drop in immediately and they didn\u2019t understand why we weren\u2019t available. There was no proper communication, which was also due to the fact that at that time there was a big mess at the Club\u2019 leadership which made our stay difficult at the beginning, but when the\u00a0HAAC management<\/a>\u00a0was sorted out by the spring, communication became much better. We recommend to the next KCSP scholars to sit down with each Hungarian organization at the outset and clarify what the expectations are. Obviously unexpected things can always happen and it\u2019s good to be flexible, but it is always worth knowing the duties and keeping the limits.<\/p>\n

What was your specific task in terms of folk dancing?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Lili<\/strong>. We tried to show each folk dance group something new, while strengthening their community. This year there was no Pontoz\u00f3, the biggest Hungarian folk dance competition in the U.S., but Melinda wanted a bigger folk dance show. She first thought about the Toborz\u00f3, which is a bit like a folk dance festival in Hungary. We started organizing this three-day event in the autumn, but in the end we decided that it would be too much, so instead we had the end-of-season gala on 11 May, and they also performed their shows partly at the Hungarian Festival on 1 June.<\/p>\n

Isti:\u00a0<\/strong>We were expected to put together a gala show of at least an hour, preferably with as much dancing and as little music or prose as possible. We therefore tried to keep the choreographies long enough, but still enjoyable. In addition, we tried to show everything that is relevant to the various regions and to convey it in a way that does not detract from the experience. To us, from the moment the dancers take to the stage, it is no longer a folk dance but a show. It is authentic folk dance that was danced in barns in the 1940s, 1950s and 1960s, and then in folk dance halls from the 1980s onwards. But as soon as we put it on stage, it becomes a show. People here have had to understand and accept that if they want to be on stage, they have to put a lot more work into it as opposed to just dancing for themselves. If they are dancing for the audience, they have to capture their interest from the first second to the last. That\u2019s why we pay attention to the view, not just the dance and the music. Obviously, Hungarian folk dance is very spectacular, but we still have to make it exciting.\u00a0Gabi Vajtay<\/a>\u00a0had a very good saying in relation to the Hungarian Festival: she would like to see something exciting, and not a 50th folk dance from Sz\u00e9k… The stage production has to be appropriate for today\u2019s audience, both in terms of visual and audio experience. Authentic folk dance, however, no longer serves this purpose; you have to add a lot of extras, but from then on you can no longer call it folk dance. I think they got what I was trying to convey. I always tell my groups in Hungary: you can learn folk dance, but you won\u2019t go on stage at year-end.<\/p>\n

Lili:\u00a0<\/strong>Different practices and rules apply everywhere. Here, the dance teachers do a mind-boggling and endless job, constantly adapting and looking for solutions to things that they shouldn\u2019t even be dealing with… If you want to belong to a community, you should submit to its rules. Here we have seen the opposite, especially in the children\u2019s groups: teachers subordinate themselves to children. In the case of the two older M\u00e1kvir\u00e1g groups, we have managed to make them understand our point and we are very confident that the group will act accordingly next year. It is in their interest.<\/p>\n

\n

[caption id=\"attachment_27835\" align=\"alignnone\" width=\"960\"]\"\" M\u00e1kvir\u00e1g PHOTO: Hungarian American Athletic Club (HAAC)\/Facebook[\/caption]<\/figure>\n

We haven\u2019t even mentioned whether they\u2019d come to the rehearsals or not…<\/strong><\/p>\n

Isti:<\/strong>\u00a0True, but we want everything. We strive for our students to learn how to dance, so they can master all the steps and motifs we teach them and can use them freely when they go to parties, dance clubs or at home. There is obviously a big difference between being able to apply what they have learned freely and being able only to dance the sequence they have learnt. In the latter case, if they are in a different venue or stage, they can easily get confused and lose track of where they are. Our main goal\u2014and not only in America, but also in Hungary\u2014is that they learn the dance material at a native level, at least the motifs and figures we teach them. Building on this, we can start to produce series of movements and choreographic elements.<\/p>\n

Lili:<\/strong>\u00a0Folk dance groups in the Hungarian diaspora are in a more difficult situation in this respect, because they only have one rehearsal per week. In that 2,5 hours they have to get the children to like and learn folk dance, master the motifs and stylistic elements of the regions, and even put together a choreography, so that they can perform at the May show and at the Hungarian Festival. In Hungary there are usually two rehearsals per week, and there are summer camps and regular weekend camps. Here, if a kid is sick, if it\u2019s snowing heavily and people can\u2019t get into town, if there\u2019s a longer scouting program, then there\u2019s no dancing for two weeks… However,<\/p>\n

we believe that folk dance training doesn\u2019t end in the rehearsal room,<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

so we\u2019ve made an effort to organize some kind of a team-building camp or day for every group. The impact was very impressive. For example, we held a two-day training camp for the Reg\u00f6s group back in October. These two days together started a close bonding between the young people that gave a very good impetus to the whole year. Previously the group went with six couples and about 12 children, this year there are now 25 children. The older and the middle group of M\u00e1kvir\u00e1g had a training camp in January, but we also organized a party night for the older ones. Almost everyone participated and they had a great time.<\/p>\n

Isti:<\/strong>\u00a0But the biggest camp experience was with the adult group Cs\u0171rd\u00f6ng\u00f6l\u0151 for whom we had a three-day training camp they had never had before. They\u2019ve had long Saturday or weekend rehearsals, but never before have the 25 dancers traveled somewhere for three days. We were aware that not everyone could get away for three days, so we didn\u2019t make it compulsory, but we did state that only those who would be attending the camp would be involved in the choreography, because we would put it together only there and not during the regular rehearsals. We promised that by the time the training camp started at\u00a0Magyar Tanya<\/a>, Pennsylvania, everyone would be able to dance so freely from the material they had heard all year that we would put the choreography together in three days. They were reluctant at the beginning, very tense and worried, but practically half of the choreography was done on the first night, and from then on the camp was very good fun. In terms of community building, it\u2019s very important to have long weekends, not just long days together. They need weekends like this, so that they can do what they love to do, stress-free, relaxed and unhurried\u2026and together. Hopefully they\u2019ll continue it from now on.<\/p>\n

\n

[caption id=\"attachment_27836\" align=\"alignnone\" width=\"1024\"]\"\" Year-end gala PHOTO: Hungarian American Athletic Club (HAAC)\/Facebook[\/caption]<\/figure>\n

How have you been involved in the preparations for the Hungarian Festival, the biggest event in the local Hungarian community life?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Lili:\u00a0<\/strong>We indicated to our mentors and to the local organizations that we would be completely free during the week of the festival, we only asked them to let us know in time when and where they needed us. Everything went smoothly; there was only one day of tension, the previous Friday, when we had to make chicken paprikash for 800 people at the Club. Everybody knows how good a cook \u0141\u00edvia is, but she has never made chicken paprikash in such quantity, so she said: whatever happens, it\u2019s everyone\u2019s responsibility, not just hers. As we heard back, it was delicious, but on the day we worked from 9am to 9pm, lifting big pots and pans to and from the stoves, and cleaning 1,600 chicken legs and continuously stirring the paprikash…<\/p>\n

Isti:<\/strong>\u00a0\u2026it made everyone sweat. We were racing against time, checking the clock every minute, which stressed us. But maybe next year it will be easier. Otherwise everything else went smoothly, and overall we had a good time at the Festival.<\/p>\n

\n

[caption id=\"attachment_27837\" align=\"alignnone\" width=\"1024\"]\"\" Lili Balogh (L) PHOTO: courtesy of Lili Balogh and Istv\u00e1n D\u00e1niel Moln\u00e1r[\/caption]<\/figure>\n

Tell us about what you\u2019ve seen of the U.S. beyond work and New Brunswick.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Lili:\u00a0<\/strong>We visited nearby New York several times. We also got to\u00a0Cleveland<\/a>\u00a0once but unfortunately haven\u2019t had time to go back since then, even though we promised.<\/p>\n

Isti:<\/strong>\u00a0We accompanied the New Brunswick Reg\u00f6s dance troop to the\u00a0Golden Wedding<\/a>\u00a0because they were invited by the Cleveland Reg\u00f6s dance group, whom they had met at various scouting events and developed a close relationship. The two groups tried several times to put together a troop-building weekend, but it didn\u2019t work out due to the busy schedules and long distance. The show was the first foreign Hungarian cultural event that was shockingly amazing to experience. We had no idea that Cleveland would have such a deep bench and ecosystem for Hungarian folk dance. Almost every Reg\u00f6s dancer from the past 50 years performed on stage with an attitude and quality that trumped even professional folk dance companies in Hungary. A good example to follow!<\/p>\n

Back to the question…<\/strong><\/p>\n

Lili.\u00a0<\/strong>During spring break we were in Arizona, where we visited the Grand Canyon. We stayed in Sedona, where we hiked almost all the hiking trails. We had a meaningful, life-changing experience. Also because Isti proposed to me there…<\/p>\n

Isti:<\/strong>\u00a0Indeed. Our next long holiday will be a trip to Florida with some friends. We have also been to Canada. We went to Montreal for a workshop given by our art directors Lili and Krist\u00f3f, and we had some time to look around and see the city. If all goes well, we will return with the Vadr\u00f3zsa Dance Company for a two-week East Coast tour from October 18\u2060\u2013\u2060<\/a>19 to November 3\u2060\u2013\u2060<\/a>4.<\/p>\n

Congratulations on the engagement! What is KCSP good for… Do you keep in touch with the other scholars?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Lili:<\/strong>\u00a0There was a so-called preparatory meeting in September, organized by the State Secretariat for Hungarian Communities Abroad. We participated in different presentations for three days, where we got to know all the other KCSP scholars coming to the U.S. for this year. The leaders of our team are Istv\u00e1n and \u00c1gnes V\u00e1mosi, who had already had a year of experience, having lived in Los Angeles. Istv\u00e1n suggested that after the formal meetings we should introduce ourselves more informally. Later, a Facebook group was set up and we held two\u2060\u2013\u2060<\/a>three video meetings, where everyone could tell us how things were going and help each other if needed. There will be a closing conference on 10 July, after which we would like to meet again informally, so that after nine months everyone can share their own experiences. We can learn a lot from each other and what we share can also help the program. I\u2019ve started to put together a list of useful information and advice for the newcomers.<\/p>\n

Isti:\u00a0<\/strong>Friendships have also developed between KCSP scholars, and we can call Bence Hajdu from Washington, DC and Daniel Indri from New York friends. We also have a good relationship with Marci Hajd\u00fa from\u00a0Passaic<\/a>\/Garfield<\/a>, who stayed with us once. Over Thanksgiving, several KCSP scholars came to visit us.<\/p>\n

You\u2019re going home soon, but I suspect the connections will remain. You\u2019re coming back in the fall, and we recently had a farewell party at the Hungarian House in New York for six young adults who will be studying in Hungary.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Isti:\u00a0<\/strong>We\u2019ve already indicated to them and their parents that we\u2019re going to create a chat group where we\u2019ll provide all the necessary information for them. If they need any help, they should let us know. We plan to have a Budapest\u2060\u2013\u2060<\/a>New Brunswick monthly meeting so that everyone can report on their studies and how they are feeling. We\u2019ll pick up those who are traveling alone at the airport. We don\u2019t let go of their hands; we want to give back the good things we\u2019ve received from them.<\/p>\n

What are the three most important things you take home from here?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Lili:\u00a0<\/strong>The positive American attitude that the Hungarians born here also have. For example, Csilla Varga\u2019s positive outlook and world view really struck us. She sees the world so differently and has such a different approach to problems than we are used to back home. She focuses on the solutions and doesn\u2019t despair if something doesn\u2019t work out as planned. She is aware that everyone is volunteering here and sets her expectations accordingly.<\/p>\n

The other is the power of teamwork. If they see something failing, they follow it up until it\u2019s resolved…or let it go.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Isti:\u00a0<\/strong>Thirdly, I would like to send a message to the Hungarians back home: there are Hungarians in the U.S., come and see what it\u2019s like to be a Hungarian here…<\/p>\n

Ildik\u00f3 Antal-Ferencz<\/strong><\/p>\n

Source: hungarianconservative.com<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":43,"featured_media":1095659,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[196],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1095668","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-local-events-and-news"],"yoast_head":"\n\u2018Folk dance training doesn\u2019t end in the rehearsal room\u2019 – Bocskai R\u00e1di\u00f3<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.bocskairadio.org\/en\/folk-dance-training-doesnt-end-in-the-rehearsal-room\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"\u2018Folk dance training doesn\u2019t end in the rehearsal room\u2019 – Bocskai R\u00e1di\u00f3\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The Hungarian community in New Brunswick has been hosting K\u0151r\u00f6si Csoma Program (KCSP) scholars specialized in folk dance for quite a while now, and over the last two years directly from the Angyalf\u00f6ld Vadr\u00f3zsa Dance Ensemble. Lili Balogh and Istv\u00e1n D\u00e1niel Moln\u00e1r have not only been involved in training five folk dance groups in New Brunswick, but have also helped a number of local Hungarian organizations in multiple ways and in relation to several Hungarian events. *** Where are you from and what do you do at home? Lili:\u00a0I was born in Duna\u00fajv\u00e1ros, Hungary. At the age of 18, I applied to the Faculty of Teacher Training College of the K\u00e1roli G\u00e1sp\u00e1r Reformed University in Budapest, and then I immediately started working as an English teacher and elementary school teacher in Budapest. Isti:\u00a0I was also born in Duna\u00fajv\u00e1ros. We both grew up in the long-established Vasas Dance Ensemble of Duna\u00fajv\u00e1ros. I joined its teaching staff in 2012, and in 2015 I took over the artistic direction of an ensemble in a nearby village. I joined Vadr\u00f3zsa in October 2018, having previously danced with the Szentendre Dance Company. Lili and I found each other in 2018, and a year later we lured her to Vadr\u00f3zsa. There, I first helped with the talent program, preparing soloists for competitions, and in 2022 the lead trainer role of the most senior group was assigned to me. Before we came to the U.S., I also worked for five years as a music and folk dance teacher in an elementary school in Ercsi. This is a municipality with a lot of disadvantaged families living in deep poverty, so this was a big mission for me. I was also working part-time at the Urb\u00e1n Verbunk art school in G\u00f6d\u00f6ll\u0151 dealing with 10\u2060\u2013\u206012-year-old children. This is the only dance theatre company in the country for juniors, with a lot of acting involved. They are accepting me back full time as soon as we get home. How did the connection between Vadr\u00f3zsa and New Brunswick come about? Lili:\u00a0The Vadr\u00f3zsa Dance Ensemble was founded in 1992. The current artistic directors, Krist\u00f3f Fund\u00e1k and Lili Fund\u00e1k-Kaszai, took over the artistic direction in 2009. They have entered the group to the national folk dance movement, where they have been achieving good results in professional forums and competitions for several years. It is among the top non-professional folk dance companies at this point. In addition, Lili and Krist\u00f3f have been active in the Hungarian American diaspora for many years. They have been regular guests at the Csipke T\u00e1bor (Lace Camp) organized by J\u00f3zsef Salamon and his wife, Andrea annually for 15 years. They also often travel to Canada, visiting Calgary, Winnipeg, Montreal, and Detroit to organize Hungarian folk dance workshops there. In the Csipke T\u00e1bor they have developed a close relationship with the Hungarian folk dance community from New Brunswick. The M\u00e1kvir\u00e1g children group in New Brunswick and the Vadvir\u00e1g children group in Budapest became sister groups. Prior to the Covid pandemic, D\u00e9nes Kov\u00e1cs and Vivien Nagy were KCSP scholars in Los Angeles at the K\u00e1rp\u00e1tok Dance Ensemble, then led by L\u00edvia Schachinger, who has since moved to New Brunswick and is now one of the leaders of the Szilvafa Dance Group and one of the KCSP-mentors, along with Melinda T\u00f6r\u00f6k, who leads M\u00e1kvir\u00e1g. Why did you apply for the KCSP scholarship? Lili:\u00a0Last June, we were approached by the 2022\u2060\u2013\u206023 New Brunswick KCSP scholars G\u00e1bor Szany\u00f3 and Viola Kov\u00e1cs. They suggested that we should step in their shoes and apply for the 2023\u2060\u2013\u206024 cycle. We thought about it for a day or two and decided to take it on. Our employers were also very flexible about it, we could both take unpaid leave and agreed to come back in a year. Back in June we already had an online meeting where we met our mentors, Melinda and L\u00edvia. Isti:\u00a0Even though everybody tried to provide us with all the information, we realized quite quickly that there is no way to prepare for this scholarship. As we arrived late, we were in the fortunate position of being immediately involved in the community\u2019s life: we arrived on Thursday, and the next day we had a rehearsal for the Cs\u0171rd\u00f6ng\u00f6l\u0151, where we were welcomed as if we had known each other for months. L\u00edvia and her family picked us up at the airport and brought us here, where we were greeted with a small gift basket with enough food and drink for a few days, which was very nice, because we hadn\u2019t thought about that before. These are the very first, very positive impressions that I think will last a lifetime. Is this your first time in America? Lili:\u00a0Actually, it was the first time we had ever flown, the first time we had been overseas, so we were very excited about this trip. And well, America is a very different culture, so at the beginning we were just scratching our heads... Without a car, it\u2019s practically impossible to go shopping, so we had to rely on others, which was a bit difficult at first, at least for me, because I don\u2019t like asking for favors; but then we developed good relationships with a lot of people who we could always rely on. One of the dancing mothers, Enik\u0151 Kov\u00e1cs, said: \u2018In three days you picked up the rhythm and blended into the Hungarian community as if you had been here for years.\u2019 Obviously, it depends on your personality how quickly you can integrate, but this community has also done its best. I wouldn\u2019t dare to embark on such a journey alone, but together everything went easier, including integration. Let\u2019s talk about your KCSP tasks in more detail. Lili:\u00a0New Brunswick has a lot of folk dancers, so the main thrust for us was folk dance education and strengthening the dance communities. We taught in the two older children\u2019s groups at M\u00e1kvir\u00e1g, the young adult Cs\u0171rd\u00f6ng\u00f6l\u0151, the older Szilvafa and the Reg\u00f6s scout folk dancers. We both taught at the\u00a0Sz\u00e9chenyi Hungarian school\u00a0on Saturdays. Every Wednesday we helped at the Reformed Church, from office work to cooking and from packing to organizing the archives. On Thursdays, we helped at the\u00a0Hungarian Museum. They\u2019ve recently started an archiving project, so there were times when they had to type it up, but otherwise it was mainly physical work: preparing for the monthly market, setting up tables, displaying handicrafts, packing, moving books, preparing exhibitions, etc. Isti:\u00a0On Fridays we were at the\u00a0Club\u00a0(the Hungarian American Athletic Club, HAAC) when we were needed. There we usually had to help with the cooking if there was a Friday night dinner, or digitize pictures, set the table and wipe glasses for balls. Back in October, all the organizations sat down with us and clarified when and what they were expecting us to do. We didn\u2019t receive such a request from the HAAC at that time, only later and rather strangely: we were often called unexpectedly to drop in immediately and they didn\u2019t understand why we weren\u2019t available. There was no proper communication, which was also due to the fact that at that time there was a big mess at the Club\u2019 leadership which made our stay difficult at the beginning, but when the\u00a0HAAC management\u00a0was sorted out by the spring, communication became much better. We recommend to the next KCSP scholars to sit down with each Hungarian organization at the outset and clarify what the expectations are. Obviously unexpected things can always happen and it\u2019s good to be flexible, but it is always worth knowing the duties and keeping the limits. What was your specific task in terms of folk dancing? Lili. We tried to show each folk dance group something new, while strengthening their community. This year there was no Pontoz\u00f3, the biggest Hungarian folk dance competition in the U.S., but Melinda wanted a bigger folk dance show. She first thought about the Toborz\u00f3, which is a bit like a folk dance festival in Hungary. We started organizing this three-day event in the autumn, but in the end we decided that it would be too much, so instead we had the end-of-season gala on 11 May, and they also performed their shows partly at the Hungarian Festival on 1 June. Isti:\u00a0We were expected to put together a gala show of at least an hour, preferably with as much dancing and as little music or prose as possible. We therefore tried to keep the choreographies long enough, but still enjoyable. In addition, we tried to show everything that is relevant to the various regions and to convey it in a way that does not detract from the experience. To us, from the moment the dancers take to the stage, it is no longer a folk dance but a show. It is authentic folk dance that was danced in barns in the 1940s, 1950s and 1960s, and then in folk dance halls from the 1980s onwards. But as soon as we put it on stage, it becomes a show. People here have had to understand and accept that if they want to be on stage, they have to put a lot more work into it as opposed to just dancing for themselves. If they are dancing for the audience, they have to capture their interest from the first second to the last. That\u2019s why we pay attention to the view, not just the dance and the music. Obviously, Hungarian folk dance is very spectacular, but we still have to make it exciting.\u00a0Gabi Vajtay\u00a0had a very good saying in relation to the Hungarian Festival: she would like to see something exciting, and not a 50th folk dance from Sz\u00e9k... The stage production has to be appropriate for today\u2019s audience, both in terms of visual and audio experience. Authentic folk dance, however, no longer serves this purpose; you have to add a lot of extras, but from then on you can no longer call it folk dance. I think they got what I was trying to convey. I always tell my groups in Hungary: you can learn folk dance, but you won\u2019t go on stage at year-end. Lili:\u00a0Different practices and rules apply everywhere. Here, the dance teachers do a mind-boggling and endless job, constantly adapting and looking for solutions to things that they shouldn\u2019t even be dealing with... If you want to belong to a community, you should submit to its rules. Here we have seen the opposite, especially in the children\u2019s groups: teachers subordinate themselves to children. In the case of the two older M\u00e1kvir\u00e1g groups, we have managed to make them understand our point and we are very confident that the group will act accordingly next year. It is in their interest. We haven\u2019t even mentioned whether they\u2019d come to the rehearsals or not... Isti:\u00a0True, but we want everything. We strive for our students to learn how to dance, so they can master all the steps and motifs we teach them and can use them freely when they go to parties, dance clubs or at home. There is obviously a big difference between being able to apply what they have learned freely and being able only to dance the sequence they have learnt. In the latter case, if they are in a different venue or stage, they can easily get confused and lose track of where they are. Our main goal\u2014and not only in America, but also in Hungary\u2014is that they learn the dance material at a native level, at least the motifs and figures we teach them. Building on this, we can start to produce series of movements and choreographic elements. Lili:\u00a0Folk dance groups in the Hungarian diaspora are in a more difficult situation in this respect, because they only have one rehearsal per week. In that 2,5 hours they have to get the children to like and learn folk dance, master the motifs and stylistic elements of the regions, and even put together a choreography, so that they can perform at the May show and at the Hungarian Festival. In Hungary there are usually two rehearsals per week, and there are summer camps and regular weekend camps. Here, if a kid is sick, if it\u2019s snowing heavily and people can\u2019t get into town, if there\u2019s a longer scouting program, then there\u2019s no dancing for two weeks... However, we believe that folk dance training doesn\u2019t end in the rehearsal room, so we\u2019ve made an effort to organize some kind of a team-building camp or day for every group. The impact was very impressive. For example, we held a two-day training camp for the Reg\u00f6s group back in October. These two days together started a close bonding between the young people that gave a very good impetus to the whole year. Previously the group went with six couples and about 12 children, this year there are now 25 children. The older and the middle group of M\u00e1kvir\u00e1g had a training camp in January, but we also organized a party night for the older ones. Almost everyone participated and they had a great time. Isti:\u00a0But the biggest camp experience was with the adult group Cs\u0171rd\u00f6ng\u00f6l\u0151 for whom we had a three-day training camp they had never had before. They\u2019ve had long Saturday or weekend rehearsals, but never before have the 25 dancers traveled somewhere for three days. We were aware that not everyone could get away for three days, so we didn\u2019t make it compulsory, but we did state that only those who would be attending the camp would be involved in the choreography, because we would put it together only there and not during the regular rehearsals. We promised that by the time the training camp started at\u00a0Magyar Tanya, Pennsylvania, everyone would be able to dance so freely from the material they had heard all year that we would put the choreography together in three days. They were reluctant at the beginning, very tense and worried, but practically half of the choreography was done on the first night, and from then on the camp was very good fun. In terms of community building, it\u2019s very important to have long weekends, not just long days together. They need weekends like this, so that they can do what they love to do, stress-free, relaxed and unhurried\u2026and together. Hopefully they\u2019ll continue it from now on. How have you been involved in the preparations for the Hungarian Festival, the biggest event in the local Hungarian community life? Lili:\u00a0We indicated to our mentors and to the local organizations that we would be completely free during the week of the festival, we only asked them to let us know in time when and where they needed us. Everything went smoothly; there was only one day of tension, the previous Friday, when we had to make chicken paprikash for 800 people at the Club. Everybody knows how good a cook \u0141\u00edvia is, but she has never made chicken paprikash in such quantity, so she said: whatever happens, it\u2019s everyone\u2019s responsibility, not just hers. As we heard back, it was delicious, but on the day we worked from 9am to 9pm, lifting big pots and pans to and from the stoves, and cleaning 1,600 chicken legs and continuously stirring the paprikash... Isti:\u00a0\u2026it made everyone sweat. We were racing against time, checking the clock every minute, which stressed us. But maybe next year it will be easier. Otherwise everything else went smoothly, and overall we had a good time at the Festival. Tell us about what you\u2019ve seen of the U.S. beyond work and New Brunswick. Lili:\u00a0We visited nearby New York several times. We also got to\u00a0Cleveland\u00a0once but unfortunately haven\u2019t had time to go back since then, even though we promised. Isti:\u00a0We accompanied the New Brunswick Reg\u00f6s dance troop to the\u00a0Golden Wedding\u00a0because they were invited by the Cleveland Reg\u00f6s dance group, whom they had met at various scouting events and developed a close relationship. The two groups tried several times to put together a troop-building weekend, but it didn\u2019t work out due to the busy schedules and long distance. The show was the first foreign Hungarian cultural event that was shockingly amazing to experience. We had no idea that Cleveland would have such a deep bench and ecosystem for Hungarian folk dance. Almost every Reg\u00f6s dancer from the past 50 years performed on stage with an attitude and quality that trumped even professional folk dance companies in Hungary. A good example to follow! Back to the question... Lili.\u00a0During spring break we were in Arizona, where we visited the Grand Canyon. We stayed in Sedona, where we hiked almost all the hiking trails. We had a meaningful, life-changing experience. Also because Isti proposed to me there... Isti:\u00a0Indeed. Our next long holiday will be a trip to Florida with some friends. We have also been to Canada. We went to Montreal for a workshop given by our art directors Lili and Krist\u00f3f, and we had some time to look around and see the city. If all goes well, we will return with the Vadr\u00f3zsa Dance Company for a two-week East Coast tour from October 18\u2060\u2013\u206019 to November 3\u2060\u2013\u20604. Congratulations on the engagement! What is KCSP good for... Do you keep in touch with the other scholars? Lili:\u00a0There was a so-called preparatory meeting in September, organized by the State Secretariat for Hungarian Communities Abroad. We participated in different presentations for three days, where we got to know all the other KCSP scholars coming to the U.S. for this year. The leaders of our team are Istv\u00e1n and \u00c1gnes V\u00e1mosi, who had already had a year of experience, having lived in Los Angeles. Istv\u00e1n suggested that after the formal meetings we should introduce ourselves more informally. Later, a Facebook group was set up and we held two\u2060\u2013\u2060three video meetings, where everyone could tell us how things were going and help each other if needed. There will be a closing conference on 10 July, after which we would like to meet again informally, so that after nine months everyone can share their own experiences. We can learn a lot from each other and what we share can also help the program. I\u2019ve started to put together a list of useful information and advice for the newcomers. Isti:\u00a0Friendships have also developed between KCSP scholars, and we can call Bence Hajdu from Washington, DC and Daniel Indri from New York friends. We also have a good relationship with Marci Hajd\u00fa from\u00a0Passaic\/Garfield, who stayed with us once. Over Thanksgiving, several KCSP scholars came to visit us. You\u2019re going home soon, but I suspect the connections will remain. You\u2019re coming back in the fall, and we recently had a farewell party at the Hungarian House in New York for six young adults who will be studying in Hungary. Isti:\u00a0We\u2019ve already indicated to them and their parents that we\u2019re going to create a chat group where we\u2019ll provide all the necessary information for them. If they need any help, they should let us know. We plan to have a Budapest\u2060\u2013\u2060New Brunswick monthly meeting so that everyone can report on their studies and how they are feeling. We\u2019ll pick up those who are traveling alone at the airport. We don\u2019t let go of their hands; we want to give back the good things we\u2019ve received from them. What are the three most important things you take home from here? Lili:\u00a0The positive American attitude that the Hungarians born here also have. For example, Csilla Varga\u2019s positive outlook and world view really struck us. She sees the world so differently and has such a different approach to problems than we are used to back home. She focuses on the solutions and doesn\u2019t despair if something doesn\u2019t work out as planned. She is aware that everyone is volunteering here and sets her expectations accordingly. The other is the power of teamwork. If they see something failing, they follow it up until it\u2019s resolved...or let it go. Isti:\u00a0Thirdly, I would like to send a message to the Hungarians back home: there are Hungarians in the U.S., come and see what it\u2019s like to be a Hungarian here... 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Lili Balogh and Istv\u00e1n D\u00e1niel Moln\u00e1r have not only been involved in training five folk dance groups in New Brunswick, but have also helped a number of local Hungarian organizations in multiple ways and in relation to several Hungarian events. *** Where are you from and what do you do at home? Lili:\u00a0I was born in Duna\u00fajv\u00e1ros, Hungary. At the age of 18, I applied to the Faculty of Teacher Training College of the K\u00e1roli G\u00e1sp\u00e1r Reformed University in Budapest, and then I immediately started working as an English teacher and elementary school teacher in Budapest. Isti:\u00a0I was also born in Duna\u00fajv\u00e1ros. We both grew up in the long-established Vasas Dance Ensemble of Duna\u00fajv\u00e1ros. I joined its teaching staff in 2012, and in 2015 I took over the artistic direction of an ensemble in a nearby village. I joined Vadr\u00f3zsa in October 2018, having previously danced with the Szentendre Dance Company. Lili and I found each other in 2018, and a year later we lured her to Vadr\u00f3zsa. There, I first helped with the talent program, preparing soloists for competitions, and in 2022 the lead trainer role of the most senior group was assigned to me. Before we came to the U.S., I also worked for five years as a music and folk dance teacher in an elementary school in Ercsi. This is a municipality with a lot of disadvantaged families living in deep poverty, so this was a big mission for me. I was also working part-time at the Urb\u00e1n Verbunk art school in G\u00f6d\u00f6ll\u0151 dealing with 10\u2060\u2013\u206012-year-old children. This is the only dance theatre company in the country for juniors, with a lot of acting involved. They are accepting me back full time as soon as we get home. How did the connection between Vadr\u00f3zsa and New Brunswick come about? Lili:\u00a0The Vadr\u00f3zsa Dance Ensemble was founded in 1992. The current artistic directors, Krist\u00f3f Fund\u00e1k and Lili Fund\u00e1k-Kaszai, took over the artistic direction in 2009. They have entered the group to the national folk dance movement, where they have been achieving good results in professional forums and competitions for several years. It is among the top non-professional folk dance companies at this point. In addition, Lili and Krist\u00f3f have been active in the Hungarian American diaspora for many years. They have been regular guests at the Csipke T\u00e1bor (Lace Camp) organized by J\u00f3zsef Salamon and his wife, Andrea annually for 15 years. They also often travel to Canada, visiting Calgary, Winnipeg, Montreal, and Detroit to organize Hungarian folk dance workshops there. In the Csipke T\u00e1bor they have developed a close relationship with the Hungarian folk dance community from New Brunswick. The M\u00e1kvir\u00e1g children group in New Brunswick and the Vadvir\u00e1g children group in Budapest became sister groups. Prior to the Covid pandemic, D\u00e9nes Kov\u00e1cs and Vivien Nagy were KCSP scholars in Los Angeles at the K\u00e1rp\u00e1tok Dance Ensemble, then led by L\u00edvia Schachinger, who has since moved to New Brunswick and is now one of the leaders of the Szilvafa Dance Group and one of the KCSP-mentors, along with Melinda T\u00f6r\u00f6k, who leads M\u00e1kvir\u00e1g. Why did you apply for the KCSP scholarship? Lili:\u00a0Last June, we were approached by the 2022\u2060\u2013\u206023 New Brunswick KCSP scholars G\u00e1bor Szany\u00f3 and Viola Kov\u00e1cs. They suggested that we should step in their shoes and apply for the 2023\u2060\u2013\u206024 cycle. We thought about it for a day or two and decided to take it on. Our employers were also very flexible about it, we could both take unpaid leave and agreed to come back in a year. Back in June we already had an online meeting where we met our mentors, Melinda and L\u00edvia. Isti:\u00a0Even though everybody tried to provide us with all the information, we realized quite quickly that there is no way to prepare for this scholarship. As we arrived late, we were in the fortunate position of being immediately involved in the community\u2019s life: we arrived on Thursday, and the next day we had a rehearsal for the Cs\u0171rd\u00f6ng\u00f6l\u0151, where we were welcomed as if we had known each other for months. L\u00edvia and her family picked us up at the airport and brought us here, where we were greeted with a small gift basket with enough food and drink for a few days, which was very nice, because we hadn\u2019t thought about that before. These are the very first, very positive impressions that I think will last a lifetime. Is this your first time in America? Lili:\u00a0Actually, it was the first time we had ever flown, the first time we had been overseas, so we were very excited about this trip. And well, America is a very different culture, so at the beginning we were just scratching our heads... Without a car, it\u2019s practically impossible to go shopping, so we had to rely on others, which was a bit difficult at first, at least for me, because I don\u2019t like asking for favors; but then we developed good relationships with a lot of people who we could always rely on. One of the dancing mothers, Enik\u0151 Kov\u00e1cs, said: \u2018In three days you picked up the rhythm and blended into the Hungarian community as if you had been here for years.\u2019 Obviously, it depends on your personality how quickly you can integrate, but this community has also done its best. I wouldn\u2019t dare to embark on such a journey alone, but together everything went easier, including integration. Let\u2019s talk about your KCSP tasks in more detail. Lili:\u00a0New Brunswick has a lot of folk dancers, so the main thrust for us was folk dance education and strengthening the dance communities. We taught in the two older children\u2019s groups at M\u00e1kvir\u00e1g, the young adult Cs\u0171rd\u00f6ng\u00f6l\u0151, the older Szilvafa and the Reg\u00f6s scout folk dancers. We both taught at the\u00a0Sz\u00e9chenyi Hungarian school\u00a0on Saturdays. Every Wednesday we helped at the Reformed Church, from office work to cooking and from packing to organizing the archives. On Thursdays, we helped at the\u00a0Hungarian Museum. They\u2019ve recently started an archiving project, so there were times when they had to type it up, but otherwise it was mainly physical work: preparing for the monthly market, setting up tables, displaying handicrafts, packing, moving books, preparing exhibitions, etc. Isti:\u00a0On Fridays we were at the\u00a0Club\u00a0(the Hungarian American Athletic Club, HAAC) when we were needed. There we usually had to help with the cooking if there was a Friday night dinner, or digitize pictures, set the table and wipe glasses for balls. Back in October, all the organizations sat down with us and clarified when and what they were expecting us to do. We didn\u2019t receive such a request from the HAAC at that time, only later and rather strangely: we were often called unexpectedly to drop in immediately and they didn\u2019t understand why we weren\u2019t available. There was no proper communication, which was also due to the fact that at that time there was a big mess at the Club\u2019 leadership which made our stay difficult at the beginning, but when the\u00a0HAAC management\u00a0was sorted out by the spring, communication became much better. We recommend to the next KCSP scholars to sit down with each Hungarian organization at the outset and clarify what the expectations are. Obviously unexpected things can always happen and it\u2019s good to be flexible, but it is always worth knowing the duties and keeping the limits. What was your specific task in terms of folk dancing? Lili. We tried to show each folk dance group something new, while strengthening their community. This year there was no Pontoz\u00f3, the biggest Hungarian folk dance competition in the U.S., but Melinda wanted a bigger folk dance show. She first thought about the Toborz\u00f3, which is a bit like a folk dance festival in Hungary. We started organizing this three-day event in the autumn, but in the end we decided that it would be too much, so instead we had the end-of-season gala on 11 May, and they also performed their shows partly at the Hungarian Festival on 1 June. Isti:\u00a0We were expected to put together a gala show of at least an hour, preferably with as much dancing and as little music or prose as possible. We therefore tried to keep the choreographies long enough, but still enjoyable. In addition, we tried to show everything that is relevant to the various regions and to convey it in a way that does not detract from the experience. To us, from the moment the dancers take to the stage, it is no longer a folk dance but a show. It is authentic folk dance that was danced in barns in the 1940s, 1950s and 1960s, and then in folk dance halls from the 1980s onwards. But as soon as we put it on stage, it becomes a show. People here have had to understand and accept that if they want to be on stage, they have to put a lot more work into it as opposed to just dancing for themselves. If they are dancing for the audience, they have to capture their interest from the first second to the last. That\u2019s why we pay attention to the view, not just the dance and the music. Obviously, Hungarian folk dance is very spectacular, but we still have to make it exciting.\u00a0Gabi Vajtay\u00a0had a very good saying in relation to the Hungarian Festival: she would like to see something exciting, and not a 50th folk dance from Sz\u00e9k... The stage production has to be appropriate for today\u2019s audience, both in terms of visual and audio experience. Authentic folk dance, however, no longer serves this purpose; you have to add a lot of extras, but from then on you can no longer call it folk dance. I think they got what I was trying to convey. I always tell my groups in Hungary: you can learn folk dance, but you won\u2019t go on stage at year-end. Lili:\u00a0Different practices and rules apply everywhere. Here, the dance teachers do a mind-boggling and endless job, constantly adapting and looking for solutions to things that they shouldn\u2019t even be dealing with... If you want to belong to a community, you should submit to its rules. Here we have seen the opposite, especially in the children\u2019s groups: teachers subordinate themselves to children. In the case of the two older M\u00e1kvir\u00e1g groups, we have managed to make them understand our point and we are very confident that the group will act accordingly next year. It is in their interest. We haven\u2019t even mentioned whether they\u2019d come to the rehearsals or not... Isti:\u00a0True, but we want everything. We strive for our students to learn how to dance, so they can master all the steps and motifs we teach them and can use them freely when they go to parties, dance clubs or at home. There is obviously a big difference between being able to apply what they have learned freely and being able only to dance the sequence they have learnt. In the latter case, if they are in a different venue or stage, they can easily get confused and lose track of where they are. Our main goal\u2014and not only in America, but also in Hungary\u2014is that they learn the dance material at a native level, at least the motifs and figures we teach them. Building on this, we can start to produce series of movements and choreographic elements. Lili:\u00a0Folk dance groups in the Hungarian diaspora are in a more difficult situation in this respect, because they only have one rehearsal per week. In that 2,5 hours they have to get the children to like and learn folk dance, master the motifs and stylistic elements of the regions, and even put together a choreography, so that they can perform at the May show and at the Hungarian Festival. In Hungary there are usually two rehearsals per week, and there are summer camps and regular weekend camps. Here, if a kid is sick, if it\u2019s snowing heavily and people can\u2019t get into town, if there\u2019s a longer scouting program, then there\u2019s no dancing for two weeks... However, we believe that folk dance training doesn\u2019t end in the rehearsal room, so we\u2019ve made an effort to organize some kind of a team-building camp or day for every group. The impact was very impressive. For example, we held a two-day training camp for the Reg\u00f6s group back in October. These two days together started a close bonding between the young people that gave a very good impetus to the whole year. Previously the group went with six couples and about 12 children, this year there are now 25 children. The older and the middle group of M\u00e1kvir\u00e1g had a training camp in January, but we also organized a party night for the older ones. Almost everyone participated and they had a great time. Isti:\u00a0But the biggest camp experience was with the adult group Cs\u0171rd\u00f6ng\u00f6l\u0151 for whom we had a three-day training camp they had never had before. They\u2019ve had long Saturday or weekend rehearsals, but never before have the 25 dancers traveled somewhere for three days. We were aware that not everyone could get away for three days, so we didn\u2019t make it compulsory, but we did state that only those who would be attending the camp would be involved in the choreography, because we would put it together only there and not during the regular rehearsals. We promised that by the time the training camp started at\u00a0Magyar Tanya, Pennsylvania, everyone would be able to dance so freely from the material they had heard all year that we would put the choreography together in three days. They were reluctant at the beginning, very tense and worried, but practically half of the choreography was done on the first night, and from then on the camp was very good fun. In terms of community building, it\u2019s very important to have long weekends, not just long days together. They need weekends like this, so that they can do what they love to do, stress-free, relaxed and unhurried\u2026and together. Hopefully they\u2019ll continue it from now on. How have you been involved in the preparations for the Hungarian Festival, the biggest event in the local Hungarian community life? Lili:\u00a0We indicated to our mentors and to the local organizations that we would be completely free during the week of the festival, we only asked them to let us know in time when and where they needed us. Everything went smoothly; there was only one day of tension, the previous Friday, when we had to make chicken paprikash for 800 people at the Club. Everybody knows how good a cook \u0141\u00edvia is, but she has never made chicken paprikash in such quantity, so she said: whatever happens, it\u2019s everyone\u2019s responsibility, not just hers. As we heard back, it was delicious, but on the day we worked from 9am to 9pm, lifting big pots and pans to and from the stoves, and cleaning 1,600 chicken legs and continuously stirring the paprikash... Isti:\u00a0\u2026it made everyone sweat. We were racing against time, checking the clock every minute, which stressed us. But maybe next year it will be easier. Otherwise everything else went smoothly, and overall we had a good time at the Festival. Tell us about what you\u2019ve seen of the U.S. beyond work and New Brunswick. Lili:\u00a0We visited nearby New York several times. We also got to\u00a0Cleveland\u00a0once but unfortunately haven\u2019t had time to go back since then, even though we promised. Isti:\u00a0We accompanied the New Brunswick Reg\u00f6s dance troop to the\u00a0Golden Wedding\u00a0because they were invited by the Cleveland Reg\u00f6s dance group, whom they had met at various scouting events and developed a close relationship. The two groups tried several times to put together a troop-building weekend, but it didn\u2019t work out due to the busy schedules and long distance. The show was the first foreign Hungarian cultural event that was shockingly amazing to experience. We had no idea that Cleveland would have such a deep bench and ecosystem for Hungarian folk dance. Almost every Reg\u00f6s dancer from the past 50 years performed on stage with an attitude and quality that trumped even professional folk dance companies in Hungary. A good example to follow! Back to the question... Lili.\u00a0During spring break we were in Arizona, where we visited the Grand Canyon. We stayed in Sedona, where we hiked almost all the hiking trails. We had a meaningful, life-changing experience. Also because Isti proposed to me there... Isti:\u00a0Indeed. Our next long holiday will be a trip to Florida with some friends. We have also been to Canada. We went to Montreal for a workshop given by our art directors Lili and Krist\u00f3f, and we had some time to look around and see the city. If all goes well, we will return with the Vadr\u00f3zsa Dance Company for a two-week East Coast tour from October 18\u2060\u2013\u206019 to November 3\u2060\u2013\u20604. Congratulations on the engagement! What is KCSP good for... Do you keep in touch with the other scholars? Lili:\u00a0There was a so-called preparatory meeting in September, organized by the State Secretariat for Hungarian Communities Abroad. We participated in different presentations for three days, where we got to know all the other KCSP scholars coming to the U.S. for this year. The leaders of our team are Istv\u00e1n and \u00c1gnes V\u00e1mosi, who had already had a year of experience, having lived in Los Angeles. Istv\u00e1n suggested that after the formal meetings we should introduce ourselves more informally. Later, a Facebook group was set up and we held two\u2060\u2013\u2060three video meetings, where everyone could tell us how things were going and help each other if needed. There will be a closing conference on 10 July, after which we would like to meet again informally, so that after nine months everyone can share their own experiences. We can learn a lot from each other and what we share can also help the program. I\u2019ve started to put together a list of useful information and advice for the newcomers. Isti:\u00a0Friendships have also developed between KCSP scholars, and we can call Bence Hajdu from Washington, DC and Daniel Indri from New York friends. We also have a good relationship with Marci Hajd\u00fa from\u00a0Passaic\/Garfield, who stayed with us once. Over Thanksgiving, several KCSP scholars came to visit us. You\u2019re going home soon, but I suspect the connections will remain. You\u2019re coming back in the fall, and we recently had a farewell party at the Hungarian House in New York for six young adults who will be studying in Hungary. Isti:\u00a0We\u2019ve already indicated to them and their parents that we\u2019re going to create a chat group where we\u2019ll provide all the necessary information for them. If they need any help, they should let us know. We plan to have a Budapest\u2060\u2013\u2060New Brunswick monthly meeting so that everyone can report on their studies and how they are feeling. We\u2019ll pick up those who are traveling alone at the airport. We don\u2019t let go of their hands; we want to give back the good things we\u2019ve received from them. What are the three most important things you take home from here? Lili:\u00a0The positive American attitude that the Hungarians born here also have. For example, Csilla Varga\u2019s positive outlook and world view really struck us. She sees the world so differently and has such a different approach to problems than we are used to back home. She focuses on the solutions and doesn\u2019t despair if something doesn\u2019t work out as planned. She is aware that everyone is volunteering here and sets her expectations accordingly. The other is the power of teamwork. If they see something failing, they follow it up until it\u2019s resolved...or let it go. Isti:\u00a0Thirdly, I would like to send a message to the Hungarians back home: there are Hungarians in the U.S., come and see what it\u2019s like to be a Hungarian here... 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