Szarkaláb folk-dance group in Greece PDF Print E-mail

The members of the Szarkaláb folk-dance group from Cluj Napoca were also busy during the summer of 2006 since they made their performance on both national and international programmes, village days and festivals. Let us start with the beginning: we presented our sixty-minute performance successfully in Oradea on 20th May (on the University Students’ Days of Partium) and in Cluj Napoca  on 25th and 31st May (on the Apáczai Csere János High School Days and on the Cultural Groups Gala – supported by the students of the University of Babes-Bolyai).

June was again a hectic month for the team. We danced several times for our guests from Hungary in the auditorium of the Heltai Foundation and later, on 10th June we had a performance as guests in Jebucu. This performance represented an exciting experience for the dancers because, perhaps for the first time, our team was welcomed by the whole village, the local people cooking, baking and dancing together with us until dawn. We truly hope that this was just the beginning and we promised to pay several other visits to this hidden village of Călata.

From 25th June to 4th July we took part for the third time in the Budapest Festival – Hungarians Across the Borders Youth Reunion. On this reunion we participated in different cultural and tourist programmes together with more than 600 participants. Then, we presented our choreography consisting of dances from Călata and Sânbenedic regions and gypsy dances from Ceuaş in the course of the Égtájak Festival held on the stage that was set up at the Buda bridgehead of the Lánchíd. At the cultural and sports competitions organized by the Budapest Festival -Youth Reunion our team won again many valuable prizes and gifts.

After the youth reunion our team presented some magyarszentbenedeki dances which were broadcasted by Pro Tv Cluj Napoca  on 9th July. In July we presented our dances again to various foreign groups at the request of the Heltai Foundation and the Bridge Language Study House. Then, we performed our dances again on the village days of Liteni (22nd July).

From 27th to 31st July Szarkaláb took part in the third Eurofolk Festival at Balaton during which we made our appearance in Balatonfenyves, Balatonmária and Marcali. After this high-standard festival we had a short break, during which part of the team was busy organizing the eighth Szent István Folk-Dance Festival.
During 17th and 21st August 370 people, who also visited 8 places from Cluj and Sălaj counties,were present at the international minority reunion held in Cluj Napoca. Szarkalab, as co-organizer, together with the staff of the Heltai Gáspár Library Foundation worked hard on the successful organization of the festival.

The team did not have time to rest after the festival because on 22nd August we set off to Patra, Greece. Our folk-dance group was invited to participate in the first Patras International Folk-Dance Festival from 23rd to 28th August 2006, on which 25 members of our group were present. This tour was a true experience for us since we had never been in this region. Along the journey we were able to admire the beautiful landscapes of Greece (the Olympus Mountains, Afrodite’s fountain, the bridge of Patras – the longest suspension bridge in Europe). After the 32-hour journey (even though we missed the opening of the festival due to the fact that we were held up at the border) the team tried to take advantage of the many opportunities offered by the festival and we also tried to be in the best shape during the evening performances. Our team had a tight schedule besides the city tours, the Olimpia excursion and the free programme because every day from 9 pm the procession of traditional costumes began on the streets of Patra. After the procession the performances could be seen on four stages in the same time until late at night. The performances of Szarkaláb had great success everywhere; we presented our choreography consisting of dances from Călata and Sânbenedic regions and gypsy dances from Ceuaş to a numerous audience. We made many new friendly relations with other folk-dance groups. What’s more, we received many oral invitations for 2007 to Turkey, Cyprus and we made contact with a Greek impresario who would like to help our group in any possible way in the following period. We also considered the ninth Szent István Folk-Dance Festival – that is, we invited the folk-dance group of the DEPAP organizers to next year’s festival as well as we carried on talks with the other paricipating groups about the possibilities of our further cooperation.

September was not an easy month either for our group: on 3rd we performed our dances on the Buza village days; on 23rd we had a tour in Cozmeni folk-dance festival; on 30th we presented our dances on the Chidea village days.

The Szarkaláb folk-dance group was accompanied by Gombár Lóránd, Pusztai Aladár, Fazakas Csaba as well as by the Pirászló orchestra from Sfântu Gheorghe during the summer programmes. The transportation of the group was provided by Szabó Gyula from Huedin, Albert Adolf from Luna de Sus (Albert Tour) and Gas Tours from Odorheiu Secuiesc.

We would like to thank everyone from the Heltai Gáspár Library Foundation who helped us greatly in the organization and carrying out of our summer programmes in 2006.
 
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