We are excited to announce that the Hungarian National Dance Ensemble (Magyar Nemzeti Táncegyüttes) has been named HIF Cultural Ambassador of the Year 2018. Hungary’s largest professional folk dance company’s productions are characterized by their unusual dynamics, virtuosity of the dancers, and fantastic spectacles on the stage. Their HIF-sponsored US tour under the name of “Spirit of Hungary 1848” starting this fall will include the following cities:
October 18
Chicago – Copernicus Center
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October 20
Cleveland – John Carroll University, Kulas Auditorium, Main Administration Building
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October 21
Toronto – Toronto Center for Arts, Lyric Theatre
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October 22
Ottawa – Canadian Museum of History Theatre
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October 26
Vancouver – Massey Theatre
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October 27
Seattle – Neptun Theatre
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October 31
Vacaville – Vacaville Performing Arts Theatre
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November 1
Mountain View – Mountain View Center for the Performing Arts
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November 2
Los Angeles – Wilshire Ebell Theatre
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November 3
San Diego – Auditorium at Scripps Research
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November 4
Fullerton – Plummer Auditorium
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About the Hungarian National Dance Ensemble
The Hungarian National Dance Ensemble (Magyar Nemzeti Táncegyüttes), in its original form, was established in 1949 and has been touring the World with significant success. Under the recent artistic direction of the decorated choreographer, Zoltán Zsuráfszky, successful productions mesmerized North American audiences with the Kodály Folk Dance Ensemble, The CSÁRDÁS – The Tango of the East, Gypsy Spirit – Journey of the Roma and the “Spirit of Hungary-1956” shows. The Ensemble recently completed a triumphant tour in Japan and in Transylvania.
About the Spirit of Hungary Show
The 2018 North American Tour is a special engagement to commemorate the 170th Anniversary of the historic 1848 Hungarian Revolution against the Austrian Habsburg Empire and present authentic Hungarian folklore in a dazzling performance.
The first part of the show will feature contemporary and thematic dances commemorating the 1848 Hungarian Revolution. This event was a historic freedom fight, which eventually allowed significant social and economic changes in Europe, shaping the future for a turbulent 20th Century. Several of the leaders of this revolution also participated in the American Civil War and helped to formulate the modern American politics and society. The Ensemble’s choreography will pay homage to this historic event and will allow a glance into those historic times, when national identities began to be vital in the forming of nations in Europe, as we know them today. The second half of the program will feature authentic Hungarian folk music and dances from the Carpathian Basin. The roots of Hungarian dance culture dates back to Mediaeval times, and due to the Central European geographic location of Hungary, its folklore may be the most versatile among all cultures.
About HIF’s Cultural Ambassador of the Year Initiative
Each year, since 2017, HIF partners with world-class Hungarian artists to sponsor a series of performances in cities where large Hungarian American communities live across the United States. The initiative aims at promoting the best of Hungarian culture in some of the world’s major concert and performing halls reaching the widest possible audience in America.