Articles by Initial Letters

Interview with folk dancer, choreographer Farkas Zoltán ’Batyu’ – who graduated 50 years ago with the first class of professionally trained folk dancers from the Hungarian State Academy of Ballet. Batyu is from Nagykanizsa in southwestern Hungary. He auditioned in Budapest and won a place in the first class for professional folk dancers. "Our dance masters were Timár Sándor and Györgyfalvay Katalin. Timár taught the authentic dance material. [Timár] would travel on the weekends to do folk dance documentation in the countryside – in Szatmár County or Transylvania. The following week he’d teach us the material he’d just seen in the field. Then he’d take the students who caught on the best – on his next collection trip. It was a great experience… We were lucky NOT to learn from films (the technology wasn’t available then)…” Batyu tells about dancing in the State Folk Dance Ensemble, then starting the Kodály Chamber Dance Ensemble with Zsuráfszky. Batyu and his wife Tóth Ildikó ’Fecske’ have travelled Hungary and the world teaching, choreographing and also performing with Muzsikás Ensemble. Today Batyu teaches dance at least five institutions in Budapest including the Liszt Academy of Music and children’s táncház-es at the Palace of the Arts. He also plays hit cello with jazz folk music improvisation projects. Interview by Grozdits Károly.