20 Years of the Hun­gari­an Her­it­age House and 70 Years of the Hun­gari­an State Folk En­semble

The jubilee year of the Hungarian Heritage House commenced on 22 January, the Day of Hungarian Culture.
Based in the Budai Vigadó, this institute of national significance celebrates its 20th anniversary this year; while the Hungarian State Folk Ensemble, the first professional folk dance ensemble in Hungary, celebrates its 70th anniversary.

Contrary to original plans, this year of double jubilee commences on the Day of Hungarian Culture at the Budai Vigadó on Corvin Square (seat of the Hungarian Heritage House and the Hungarian State Folk Ensemble, celebrating 20 and 70 years of existence respectively) with less fanfare, and, for the time being, without guests.
 

Dedicated to preserving folk traditions of the Carpathian Basin, this institute of national significance was established in 2001. The objective of the Hungarian Heritage House is to reintroduce elements of small cultures into the cultural sphere of today and tomorrow, which have faded or are fading fast; to make and keep them alive. Home to live folk arts, the many activites at the institute - including stage folk dance arts, handicraft classes, folk craft arts, archiving of folklore footage, promotion of live storytelling and disseminating folk arts among the youth of today - are aimed at incorporating the heritage of our ancestors into the everyday life of the 21st century. This year, we have planned several special events dedicated to our jubilee programmes to be held at our headquarters in Corvin Square, other significant cultural venues across Budapest, and in locations across Hungary and its borders. It is our belief that we shall be able to organize our festival dedicated to transnational professional folk dance ensembles at Corvin Square this summer. Within the framework of the jubilees, we also organize a series of thematic days around significant days of folk tradition; with different generations of folk art united at the same table, the audience shall have the opportunity to learn about the history of specific fields over different periods and from different points of view. Apart from our scheduled programs, we are also planning to organize a professional conference and a harvest festival focusing on all three major fields of folk art (stage folk dance, preserving of traditions and archiving of folklore footage). When celebrating the round anniversaries, we shall focus not only on reminiscence, but also on introducing new projects based on experiences from times past, including collaborations, tenders, domestic and international initiatives exceeding the framework of strictly professional affairs.

Miklós Rábai, who would celebrate his 100th birthday this April, has been selected for the task of establishing the Hungarian State Folk Ensemble’s dance chorus in 1950. The ensemble’s inaugural performance (together with the Moiseyev Ensemble) occurred on 4 April 1951 at the Opera House. The first solo event of the Hungarian State Folk Ensemble’s Chorus of Singers, Musicians and Dancers was held at the City Theatre (later known as Erkel Theatre) on 14 May 1951, with the Ecseri lakodalmas being performed. Due to the pandemic situation, the venue and date of the gala programme celebrating 70 years of existence is yet unknown; it is our hope that the audience shall be able to enjoy the grandiose shows of the Hungarian State Folk Ensemble in the summer. The ensemble has been invited to perform at the Margaret Island’s Outdoor Stage, the Outdoor Games of Szeged, as well as various events in Strasbourg and London. The jubilee programmes at the Hungarian State Folk Ensemble’s headquarters shall feature outstanding guest artists of the dance and music scene; furthermore, a photo album documenting the everyday life of the ensemble, an outdoor exhibition of documents and photographies depicting seven decades of existence, and a movie about the ensemble today shall also be published.