Articles by Initial Letters

Sebő Ferenc’s column: Special guests at the Kassák Club. Thoughts about Vitányi Iván– without whom there wouldn’t have been a táncház movement. Vitányi Iván 1925–2021 was a Hungarian sociologist, essayist, dance historian, philosopher of art and politician. He was a member of the National Assembly of Hungary from 1990 to 2014.The Kassák Community Center in Budapest’s 14th district was the venue for one of the famous dance houses in the early days of the táncház movement. The Sebő Ensemble played there for dancing – but they also invited a steady stream of special guests. Here Sebő pays tribute to Vitányi Iván and the support he gave the dance house movement – particularly in the early days. At the beginning, the dance house movement was often obliged to defend itself as a viable, worthy initiative. Vitányi was an ally – he "advocated for the movement on both professional and political grounds….Without Vitányi’s support there couldn’t have been a dance house.” Vitányi said, "Folk music is not locked into the framework of peasant life, it doesn’t have to die out with peasant culture. Language, music, and dance (the holy trinity of communication) live on throughout the periods of time…” By Sebő Ferenc.