The Debrecen Hajdú Folk Ensemble was established in 1953 and
belongs to Kölcsey Cultural Center. There are seven amateur
groups in the Ensemble with 400 members ranging from six to
thirty years of age. The adult group has over thirty members
and gives up to sixty performances a year.
Traditional and original folk dances of the Hungarian speaking
areas of Central Europe can be found in the group's repertoire.
Hungarian dances vary according to geographical regions and
different styles of dance. Traditional folk dances are rich
and colourful and include the czardas, recuiting dances, the
jumper dance, sheperd and swaggers' circle dances, as well
as dramatic dances. Many original national costumes, folk
songs and folk music accompanying the dances
represent the Hungarian nation's art, mentality, taste and
character.
So far the Hajdú Folk Ensemble has won twenty-five prizes at
different Hungarian and foreign festivals, including First Prize
in East-Germany, Second Prize in Belgium, the Grand Prize of the
World Festival in Tunisia, and also many prizes in Hungary.
The Folklore Europe Prize called the Herder prize, one of the top
international awards, was given to the Hajdú Folk Ensemble in
1979 for decades of authentic interpretation of folklore. The
group consistently meets the top-level Gold I degree in the
Hungarian qualifying system.
The group has toured England,
Belgium, Czech and Slovak Republics, Bulgaria, Finland,
France, Yugoslavia, Poland, Germany, Italy, Portugal, Spain,
Sweden, Latvia, Tunisia, Vietnam, Egypt, South Korea,
Turkey and Rumania, and has had repeat visits to Italy, France,
Germany, Belgium, and Rumania.
The enthusiastic members of the
group rehearse ten hours or more per week at three rehearsals
after work or school. The folk band which accompanies them
consists of some of the best musicians in Debrecen.
Music director: Mr. Ottó Rômer
Art leaders: Ms. Zsuzsa Tiszai and Mr. Bálint Lovas
Artistic director: Dr. László Kardos
The Ensemble's address:
Ferenc Kölcsey County and Town Culture Centre
1-3 Hunyadi str.
4026 Debrecen, Hungary
Tel: (36-52) 413-977
Fax:(36-52) 416-040 email:kerekgyarto@mail.datanet.hu
