Discourse with Organizers of Pontozó Folk Dance Contest - Insight into the Fervor Surrounding the Event

After a four-year run in Toronto, Canada, the Pontozó Folk Dance Competition is making a change and heading to New Brunswick, New Jersey, this year. The competition, which showcases Hungarian folk dancers and ensembles from various locations, has been a community-building event for decades.

The local Csűrdöngölő adult ensemble will be organising the competition, with the support of the current Kőrösi Csoma Sándor programme (KCSP) scholars, Gábor Szanyó and Viola Kovács. The competition is open to all, and spectators are welcome, with about 160 dancers expected to participate this year.

Gábor and Viola arrived in New Brunswick in the fall of 2022 through the KCSP scholarship. They will be teaching during the workshops and evening táncház sessions, as well as performing five or six pieces, including Balázstelki couple dances, Mezőföld dances, and Southern Great Plain (from Hungary) dances with the children.

Réka Gorondi Bányainé, a well-known children's folk dance instructor, will lead the youngest Mákvirág group. Children's folk dance workshops during the three-day event will also be led by Péter Szabó and Orsi Kapusi. Folk games and dance lessons for children will take place in the downstairs hall of the Hungarian Club, led by Orsi and Péter.

Craft workshops for children will feature felting with Piroska Tóth, basket weaving with Melinda Török, and gingerbread making with Ancsa Kocsis.

The Kaptza band, a five-member group, arrived in the U.S. on scholarships and will be performing at the competition. A traditional Transylvanian musician, László 'Lacika' Hajdú-Németh, accepted the role for the competition despite visa regulations.

Due to strict Canadian regulations, the competition cannot be held in Canada in 2023. However, the festival moves between different locations, and experienced a ten-year hiatus before being revived in 2016.

The primary focus of the competition is on folk dance, which has a powerful community-building power. The children's program will be divided into two groups: one for younger children (ages three to eight) and one for older children (ages eight to 13).

The Hungarian artists who came to New Brunswick to help organise the Pontozó Dance Competition 2023 include dancers, choreographers, and cultural ambassadors, though specific names are not publicly detailed.

The Pontozó folk dance competition and gathering was first held in 1975, and it continues to be a vibrant and cherished event in the Hungarian community. This year's competition promises to be an exciting event, filled with dance, music, and cultural exchange.

Discourse with Organizers of Pontozó Folk Dance Contest - Insight into the Fervor Surrounding the Event