Dance panorama in Jászberény

Dance panorama in Jászberény

We went to take part in the first dance panorama at the weekend in Jászberény (June 5-6).

On Friday we watched the first part of Dancing Images series: Dancing Icons by Lakatos János choreographer, teacher of the Hungarian Dance Academy. We could learn about the most famous dance legends of the 40s and 50s. We learned how Fred Aster changed dance movies with his elegance, the charm of Gene Kelly or the uncopiable dance technique of the Nicolas brothers. We watched Esther Williams underwater mermaid dance as well. There were many backstage secrets revealed to us, some of them were shocking or funny.
On Saturday we went to the Jászberény Open Air theatre to watch Black Lake folk dance performance by Duna Art Group. In the middle of the summer we go to Transylvania and we found it important to get prepared for the trip learning about the culture of the target area.
At the historical border of Transylvania lies Lake Black where the biggest market of Central Europe is organised. In the 19th century the market mostly concentrated on the needs of the people from the countryside but by today it has grown into a touristic sight where past and future nick-necks are sold for the tourists. As the Romanian, Hungarian ad Gypsy goods were present at the market, the dance elements of these nationalities were there in the performance.
All of us were surprised about the professional dancers who cannot just dance but sing as well. The choreographers put funny and symbolic elements into the performance, which made it even more unique. During these two days we had many questions for which we hope to get answer in the historic trip to Transylvania. We are really looking forward to it.

Group 3 of Jászság