Established in 1975, we are celebrating our 29th anniversary of presenting performances of Hungarian folkdance to Edmonton and Alberta audiences. The group performs an average of 30 times each year, throughout Edmonton and Alberta, and in the major cities of western Canada. Csárdás appears annually at Canada Day and Heritage Festivals in Edmonton, and has performed for Universiade ’83, Vancouver’s EXPO ’86, the Calgary Winter Olympics cultural festival in ’88, and Victoria’s Folkfest in ’81 and ’94. Internationally, the group has performed at the Anyanyelvi Konferencia (’79, ’81, ’85) and Minden Magyarok festivals (’89, ’93, ‘99) in Hungary.
“Csárdás” is a Hungarian word that describes a type of dance performed in couples. Countless styles of csárdás exist throughout Hungary and the Carpathian mountain basin in east-central Europe. Our name represents the exceptional variety of regional Hungarian folk dances and the group’s twin goals: preservation and presentation of the traditional folk culture of Hungarians.
Csárdás performances feature the distinctive folk culture of Hungarians, including the folk dances, songs, poetry/chanting, decorative arts such as embroidery and weaving, and customs connected to seasons, holidays, superstitions, and legend. In addition to the rich layers of folk art found within the present-day borders of Hungary, Csárdás also studies the folk cultures of Hungarian minority groups living in Romania, Slovakia, and Croatia; in particular, Hungarian enclaves in Transylvania are repositories of some of the oldest surviving layers of Hungarian folk culture. These dances, songs, and costumes have retained ancient characteristics which fascinate scholars and artists alike.
Hungarian folk dances are tremendously diverse, with myriad styles and forms encompassed within three major dance dialects: the Transdanubian, the Tisza, and the Transylvanian. Here, you can find women’s and men’s dances, competitive dances with props such as wine bottles and shepherd’s sticks, and mixed couple dances of every variety imaginable. Combining these striking dances with the infectious melodies of the Cifra music ensemble, our resident Hungarian folk music group, creates performances which are evocative, paprika-flavored, and truly unforgettable.
Hungarian folk dance and Hungarian folk music are intrinsically linked. Since 1994, Csárdás has been fortunate to work alongside Cifra Hungarian Folk Music Ensemble to achieve performances which harmoniously unite these dance and music traditions. Csárdás is delighted that three members of our group were invited to provide vocals on Cifra’s first CD, Falurossza which was released in July 2002.
In addition to choreographed presentations of Hungarian folk culture, Csárdás develops a second, equally-important aspect of folk dance: improvisation. Distinct from set choreographies, improvisational folk dance is a critical skill for Hungarian dance enthusiasts. An ability to improvise one’s dance, making accurate yet creative use of a movement vocabulary and style distinct to a given village or geographical zone, is the realm of virtuoso dancers in Hungarian circles. Csárdás emphasizes these skills in its rehearsals, resulting in dancers who are continually improving their quality of movement and performance. The group demonstrates improvisational dance with live musical accompaniment and welcomes the public to social dance events where improvisational folk dance is taught.
