The boys’ team of the Folk Dance Department at the Hungarian Dance University (HDU) took part in a professional trip on the first weekend of March with the purpose of learning how to make a dance stick.
In addition to hats, vests and similar accessories, the stick is an essential part of the life of folk dance students. All folk dancers want a stick they made themselves.
Making the dance stick used to be the science of shepherds, and thanks to many young folk dance teachers, the tradition of making sticks is still alive.
Csaba Szabó, artistic director of the Tördemic Folk Dance Group, a folk dance teacher who graduated at HDU, also introduced the students to the science of how to make a dance stick. Csaba is the best expert of the local shepherd culture. The evening ended with a performance presenting the folk traditions of the Balaton Highlands.
Having collected a lot of experience and the knowledge of the science of making a dancing stick, the group headed back to Budapest on Sunday morning. On the way back, the students visited the Kinizsi castle in Nagyvázsony and a local animal fair.
