The folk dance group of Bethlen Gábor College
At Bethlen Gábor College, almost every generation has had its own folk dance group for decades. The college has always emphasised the importance of tradition and culture. Folk dance classes were held weekly as an extracurricular activity. Over the years, several regional dance traditions have been taught, such as the dances of the Mezőség, Kalotaszeg, Mures-Küköllő, Vajdaszentivány, Szék and Szilágyság.
The Fügevirág dance group was formed from the students of the Bethlen Gábor College in Aiud. The dance group was re-established on 1 September 2015 from the students and residents of Aiud, with the core of the group being the members of the local scout troop, which first functioned as the dance group of the town’s cultural centre and then, from the beginning of 2017 until today, as the dance group of the College.
Generations have changed and more people have been involved in the education of students over the years.
In the beginning, the folk dance teacher and choreographer was Kónya Tibor, the school pastor, who worked with both young and old, and also paid attention to the youngsters. The dance group’s performances were accompanied by the Ficfa Orchestra, made up of students from the college. Nowadays, they are all alumni, so they can no longer provide the background music during the performances.
In the meantime, Kónya Tibor’s work was assisted by the Petőfi Programme’s scholarship folk dance teachers Hajdara Tamás and Hajdara-Herczeg Hajnalka, who stayed here for several months and worked with the students.
In addition to passing on their professional knowledge and diligent work, they also took time to organise bonding programmes, were always present on major holidays and taught memorable lectures to the students.
Later, also within the framework of the Petőfi Programme, the college and especially the Fügevirág Folk Dance Ensemble were enriched with new scholarship holders. The scholarship holders Komáromi Kristóf and Kádár Kata have also improved the professional skills of the college’s folk dance ensemble. They have been involved in the organisation of many events and have worked with the students.
Many thanks to all of you for your selfless, value-adding work. We are convinced that every student holds a piece of what they have experienced in these community-building events in their hearts.
In the meantime, the Bethlen Gábor Foundation has been able to purchase folk costumes and necessary accessories for the ensemble from the winning applications submitted to the Ministry of Human Resources under the Csoóri Sándor Programme. Today, the dance group has a large number of folk costumes at its disposal, so the lack of folk costumes is no longer a problem. During the performances, the audience can also admire the traditional costumes of the dance region.
2020 elején mindannyiunk által ismert változás következett be a táncegyüttes életében. A koronavírus járvány több mint egy éves szünetre kényszerítette a csapat munkáját.
At the beginning of 2020, there was a change in the life of the dance company that we all know. The coronavirus epidemic forced the group to take a break of more than a year.
Gradually, we managed to get back on track, and in the summer of 2021 a folk dance camp was organised, also thanks to a grant from the Csoóri Sándor Programme. After a long absence, a so-called training camp was organised to make up for lost rehearsals and to bring the team back together. Also thanks to this grant, it was possible to pay for qualified folk dance instructors to work with the dance troupe on a weekly basis, teaching them choreography.
Pillich Balázs and Varga Orsolya, the instructors of the Szarkaláb Dance Ensemble from Cluj- Napoca, will be working with the students from spring 2021, and they were also the instructors of the camp, who, in addition to teaching, also tried to organise community-building activities for the students.
In the 2021/22 academic year, dance classes will continue to be held on a weekly basis. The new leader of the team is Szilágyi Róbert, the college’s IT teacher. Many new members have joined the team, many are interested in folk dance, which we are very happy about.
The choreography is still taught by Pillich Balázs and Varga Orsolya, and they are working on teaching the Kalotaszeg dance steps. Their hard work and diligence have paid off, as the Fügevirág Folk Dance Group performed at the 15 March 2022 celebrations, to great acclaim.
Many thanks to all those who have contributed in some way to the cultural life of the college over the years!
