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Hungarian folk dance

For Johannes Brahms' Hungarian Dances, see Hungarian Dances (Brahms).
Hungarian folk dance from the city of Kecskemét.

Hungarian dance refers to the folk dances practised and performed by the Hungarians, both amongst the populations native to Hungary and its neighbours, and also amongst the Hungarian diaspora.

According to György Martin, a prominent folklore expert, Hungarian dances can be divided into two categories. The first refers to dances performed in the Middle Ages while the second relates to the 18th and 19th century.[1] Hungarians have been noted for their "exceptionally well developed sense of rhythm".[2] In the mid-19th century, Musicologist Theodor Billroth performed tests with troops of various nationalities stationed in Vienna and found that the Hungarian troops outperformed others in keeping time with music.[2]

Improvisation and energetic movements are often mentioned as being characteristic of Hungarian dance.[3][4] Daniel Berzsenyi wrote, "Its secret laws are not ordered by craft. The laws are its own and enthusiasm sets the limit."[3] Elizabeth Charlotte Rearick wrote, "The peasant dance is not one which is set absolutely according to rule; the dancer constructs his steps according to his mood and ingenuity."[5] Collections of the Folk Music Research Group of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences, and the national Ethnographic Museum of the State Folk Ensemble cover almost 10,000 dance variations from 700 Hungarian villages.[6]

The Reformed Church in Hungary was opposed to dancing, but the Catholic Church was less restrictive. Some Catholic authors wrote of their approval of dancing, particularly in heaven. One early 16th-century nun who described that "dancing will be essential there for the strong, well-built bodies of the saints," while in the 18th century, Catholic priest Zsigmond Csuzy wrote "There would have to be dancing (in heaven) for the itching soles of the Hungarian whose whole life on earth is a dancing school."[7]

  1. ^ Czompo, Andor (2006-09-27). "Introduction to Hungarian Dances". Hungarian online resources.
  2. ^ a b Karoly Viski (1937) Hungarian Dances; p. 8
  3. ^ a b György Martin (1974) Hungarian Folk Dances. Gyoma: Kner Printing House, p. 15.
  4. ^ Karoly Viski (1937) Hungarian Dances; pp. 7, 18, 34, 44
  5. ^ Elizabeth C. Rearick (1939) Dances of the Hungarians.New York: Teachers College, Columbia University; pp. 45, 46
  6. ^ György Martin (1974) Hungarian Folk Dances. Gyoma: Kner Printing House; p. 11.
  7. ^ Elizabeth C. Rearick (1939) Dances of the Hungarians. New York: Teachers College, Columbia University; p. 41

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