In the 2025/2026 academic year, 45 students are enrolled in the Dance Artist preparatory BA programme in the Classical Ballet specialization, two students are in the Dance Artist BA programme in the Modern specialization twelve students are studying in the Dancer and Coach BA programme, Classical Ballet specialization; and three students are pursuing Dancer and Coach BA studies in the Modern specialization.

We are proud that talented young dance artists from 20 countries are studying at the Hungarian Dance University.

It is also important to note that several of the international students earned their place at the university thanks to their outstanding performances at the Budapest Ballet Grand Prix (BBGP). Most of them have since enrolled in one of the university’s programmes.

As registration for the 3rd edition of the BBGP is currently underway, the university’s leadership and the organizers are confident that this year, once again, many talented ballet dancers will be given the opportunity to continue their studies in Budapest at the prestigious Hungarian Dance University.

The newly admitted international students arrived in Budapest on August 17, and were required to participate in a mandatory two-week course. The aim of this course was to provide them with a foundation in ballroom dance and, for those who needed it, an opportunity to catch up in modern dance as well.

To help the new students integrate more easily, the University staff organized a campus tour and introduced them to the surrounding area. They received practical information on how to purchase public transport passes, how to use the university’s class scheduling system, and how to order meals from the canteen.

In addition, taking advantage of the August 20 public holiday, the university staff also organized a team-building sightseeing tour of Budapest for the students.

The International Welcome Event also took place in recent days, and a summary of the event will soon be available here on the website.

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The students visited the institute twice a week, studying for their exams in theory classes during the first semester of this year, and then began practical preparation for the final exam in January.

Photos by Csaba Mészáros

Szilvia Nemes, the lecturer of the Folk Dance Department, worked with the students every second Saturday. After the exam, she spoke about the concept behind the staging of the piece and shared some important thoughts about working with the class and the preparation.

Can we get a glimpse of how the preparations went?

We all know that a performance requires an awful lot of practice. For us, the timetable gave us the opportunity to do this, so we had to be very conscious of time and tasks in this respect. So what we talked about in theory in the choreography class, we put it all into practice. There was a very fine line between how it all shows on stage and how the students manage to incorporate and implement those instructions in a very short time. In addition, we need to reflect on why we are doing it. It is a difficult task to motivate a dancer in this situation and to carry out such a project. There was a lot of risks involved. They edited the etudes at the end of their training as a dancer and rehearsal director, that’s all they need to know.

What was it like working with the students?

For each group, the work starts with acceptance. The first question is whether they accept my artistic views. This group was very open and flexible in this respect. There were great classes and highs. Nevertheless, of course there were several difficulties and we also reached the bottom during the preparation where they had to overcome themselves. It is very difficult to overcome one’s own limitations. For example, in one of the seemingly simple tasks, we asked them to think in a different way and to approach choreography differently without clichés. It was difficult, as well as the fact that they had to do the choreography to text. In folk dance, everything is adapted to the music: to the musical sections, the articulation and the pulse of the music.

How was the concept for the performance created?

The concept was my own idea. Sándor Márai is my favourite writer, I am very inspired by his writings, I always discover new levels in him. One of his most famous book titled the Grass Book (Füveskönyv). It is an extract of the book that formed the basis of the play in which real-life truths are told by nationally renowned artists. These auditory stimuli are so intense that they are almost more important than the dance itself. This was also part of the curriculum, how the music is chosen, how the auditory stimuli are chosen, how a choreographer works.

Panni Andrejkovics, a student attending evening classes actually confirmed Szilvia Nemes’ words after the performance, based on her experiences and impressions.

How did the preparation go?

The work was special because it gave us an insight into the process of directing, the mysteries of choreography and the beauty and challenges of performing. We were students, creators, directors, choreographers and dancers at the same time. This collaboration created a sense of unity on stage that we all felt. Not only us, the performers but also the teachers who taught us, based on the feedback we received.

How did the exam stress affect the class?

The preparation itself and the exam day were time-pressed, so we needed each other’s support. I think this also influenced the sense of unity that was visible and tangible on stage.

What did you gain from this performance?

Márai’s words, spoken during the performance, have a profound message in themselves, but they evoke different thoughts and feelings in each person. General themes such as friendship, love, youth, relationships between men and women, but not in a general way, as we dancers tried to convey and show them through our bodies, differently from one individual to another, but still as a whole. For me, we clearly conveyed value to each other and to the audience. In my opinion, each participant put his heart, soul and lived experience into the production. I hope we will have the opportunity to pe

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Vice-Chairs: Anita Lanszki PhD Associate Professor, Prof. Katalin Lőrinc DLA
Secretary: Bea Ledniczky

Program Committee of the Conference: Prof. Gábor Bolvári-Takács PhD; Prof. Márta Fodorné Molnár PhD; Prof. Ilona Konkolyné Kovács PhD, Prof. Szilárd Macher DLA; Miklós Nagy Péter PhD Associate Professor; Prof. Béla Ónodi DLA; Ildikó Sándor PhD Associate Professor; Ildikó Sirató PhD Associate Professor.

Organizing Committee: Chair: Adrienn Papp-Danka PhD Associate Professor; members: Prof. Ilona Konkolyné Kovács PhD, Anita Lanszki PhD Associate Professor, Prof. Katalin Lőrinc DLA, Prof. Rita Major

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Béla Ónodi, head of the department stressed that the exam concert is always a real celebration, signalling the end of five years. On this occasion, dancers try to present the knowledge they have acquired during these five years.

The exam concert consisted of two parts. The first part presented the history of Hungarian dance to a high standard. The performance was very substantial lasting one and a half hours, and it was based on the programme “Dances of the Hungarian Centuries” by Ferenc Novák. It was enjoyable to see a performance recalling the historical periods, performed by a young and talented year group. In the first part of the show, the evocation of the past ranged from simple circle dances to czardas and verbunkos.

Photo by Pál Csillag

The second part was a series of songs from the repertoire of professional ensembles, taught to the students by their leaders, dancers and HDU masters. In the second part, the students did not only show their talent and knowledge in folk dance, as the training at the university was thorough and varied, and the graduate students were able to show this as well.

“The children were very good. It’s one of the best classes we’ve had in years. They’ve been very consistent and everything has been great with them”, said Ferenc Novák, Hungarian choreographer, director, ethnographer, Kossuth and Erkel Prize winner, Artist of the Nation.

“The first part was really devastating in a good way. We’ve already seen the children, we trust them, we also trust the teachers, but it was good to see that they showed a very broad range of knowledge”, added Zoltán Zsuráfszky, Artist of the Nation, Kossuth Prize winning dance artist and choreographer.

“I’ve known the children from the beginning and I think they have learned the potential of quality dance. You can’t expect an 18-20 year old to come out of university as a mature dancer, because life is going to be the real university. But here they have achieved the knowledge that, combined with experience, will bring out the potential they already have”, claimed Gábor Mihályi, leader of the Hungarian State Folk Ensemble, Kossuth and Gyula Harangozó Prize-winning dance artist and choreographer.

Congratulations to all.

2022/2023 academic year, BA Dance Artist, Folk Dance specialisation:

Szintia Bálint, Virág Fodor, Csilla Géczi, Dóra Hudák, Viktória Kis, Viktória Jázmin Králik, Kinga Ivett Monostori, Kamilla Nagy, Máris Csilla Peszlen, Sára Luca Rimóczi, Dóra Simon, Lili Emma Szappanos.

Tamás Árva, Nándor Besenyi, Adrián Bognár, Mátyás Egyed, Balázs Fülöp, Barnabás Bálint Kiss, András Kovács, András Málits, Benedek Molnár, Márton Csomor Nagy, Máté Székely, Bence Gábor Takács.

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She has been working at the Dance and Rehearsal Department teaching the fashion dancers since last October, and since February she has also been teaching students contemporary and theatrical dance at the Dance Artist Department. The career of this outstanding teacher is interesting, and it also illustrates that that sport is part of culture and that dance is not only a high level art but also a sporting achievement.

Erika Végh was a gymnast for 15 years, having competed as a member of the adult national team and as an Olympic team member. She then studied at the Hungarian University of Sports Science (HUSS), where she graduated as a teacher and a gymnastics coach. She has been teaching at the Baross Imre Academy of Artistic and Performing Arts, Technical Secondary School and Elementary Art School, and many years ago she taught special gymnastics to younger students at the Ballet Institute. In fact you can say she is back.

“There is a growing demand to incorporate acrobatics into theatre, ballet, modern dance or perhaps an opera performance. I feel and take it as an honour to teach at HDU.”

She uses a very special method during her classes, assisting her students as much as she can while explaining everything in detail.

“If is necessary, I hold them, I lift them. It’s important that I teach them step by step, thoroughly analysing the techniques and static situations as only few students have any previous experience in this area. The aim is to develop these technically correct acrobatic elements so that they can incorporate static and dynamic elements as well as their variations into the dance.”

Erika strives for precision and accuracy. During her classes, she puts a lot of emphasis on discipline, as even one wrong move can result in an accident or injury. As well as correcting students’ mistakes as a teacher, she also teaches them how to help each other in these complex exercises. The acrobatics instructor says there is also a lot to learn from correcting each other.

“I give them small tasks and they are very good at helping their partners. It is also important that they can help each other. Working together in pairs is almost like team building, which is exactly the aim of the exercises.

Regarding the strenuous work and the instructions given by Erika Végh, she said the following.

“It’s very interesting and fun to work with them because they show interest, and they put a lot of effort and diligence into the challenges of acrobatics. They have, for example, the flexibility, the posture or the pointe. However, even if they have strong legs, it is difficult for them to learn these static positions and the correct posture, because they have to hold their own body by force many times, as in acrobatics, ninety percent of the elements are performed with hand support. But we are making very good progress, the class has already passed a well-constructed and successful exam.”

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The talented folk dancer was driven by determination and love of dance during his years at the HDU. In his junior years, he attended folk dance lessons 1-2 times a week. He became impressed with the genre soon, but at that time he was not sure if he wanted to take folk dance more seriously in the future. With the help of his school dance teacher, Ilona Kovács, Mátyás started attending the Bihari János Dance Ensemble, where he spent three and a half years gaining a lot of experience and achieving good results.

Over the years, he has repeatedly expressed his wish to pursue folk dance at a higher level. He finally made up his mind in May 2018, when his mother’s friend called his attention to the possibility of a supplementary admission, and that’s how he found HDU. After he was admitted to HDU, he had to take the eight-year exam, which he passed in the summer of 2018, so in September he could start his studies in folk dance at the Dance Artist Department.

Photo: János Lakatos and Pál Csillag

We interviewed Mátyás Egyed about the award presented on the International Dance Day, his plans and experiences.

“What does this award mean to you?”
“When I received the email which said I got he award, I was very surprised. To be honest, I didn’t expect to be so awarded. For me, it is the fruit of my work and of course a great recognition. I am very happy that my work has been recognised.”

“What is the role of the university in this recognition?”
“It’s quite difficult to put all this into words so sudden, because I haven’t yet realised most of it. What I am aware of is obviously a very high level of knowledge that I have acquired here over the years. We have also been trained in many different situations, which has contributed greatly to our individual development. I would like to highlight the humbling work of my masters, who have guided us on our path so far. I have spent and am actually spending decisive years at the university. I believe that the courses offer a learning opportunity to those who are really serious and sincere in their heart of hearts about choosing folk, ballet, theatre or modern dance as their profession.”

“What are your plans for the future?”
“My aim is to pursue a professional dance career rich in experience and success.”

Congratulations to Mátyás Egyed for the Best Graduate Student of the Season Award.

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The event was hosted by Anna Mladenovic, Director of the Liszt Institute in the Croatian capital. There are a total of 27 Liszt Insitutes worldwide. The institute, which was named after the famous Hungarian composer, Ferenc Liszt, is responsible for spreading and popularizing Hungarian culture around the globe.

Our third-year modern dance students, Dorka Imely and Emőke Lászlóffy performed a choreographed dance, while our third-year folk dance students, Bori Busai and Zoltán Makula performed folk dance at the event. They made great success in front of the professional committee.

Thank you for the invitation.

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“The awards, among others, include the Best Male and Female Dancer of the Season Award, the Ágnes Roboz Award for the best graduating student of the season, the Best Creator of the Season Award, the Lifetime Achievement Award and the Dance Art Award,” said Gábor Mihályi, Kossuth Prize winner, meritorious and distinguished artist, director of the Hungarian State Folk Ensemble, President of the Hungarian Dance Artists’ Association, who announced the programme of the International Dance Day Awards Gala as well as the 2023 Dance Awards. Also on this evening, the prizes of the Imre Zoltán Foundation and the Jr. Zoltán Nagy Foundation will be presented.

In line with the tradition, this year’s and last year’s award winners will perform at the award ceremony, including members of the Győr Ballet, the Hungarian State Folk Ensemble, students from the Pécs Secondary School of Arts and Crafts and the Hungarian Dance University. In the second half of the evening, the Inversedance – Zoltán Fodor Company will perform “Love in the Time of Cholera” choreographed by Zoltán Fodor, Harangozó Prize-winning dance artist and choreographer, Best Choreographer of the Season Award winner.

At the press conference János Kiss, Kossuth and Liszt Ferenc Award-winning dance artist, co-president of the Hungarian Dance Artists’ Association, presented three programme calendars of the Hungarian dance scene, highlighting the 18^th Hungarian Dance Festival, the 6^th Horizon International Contemporary Dance Festival, the 4th Under500 Festival, the Café de la Dance International Contemporary Dance Festival to take place at Lake Velence, Transylvanian Dance House Meeting and the 12^th Eger Studio Theatre Dance Festival.

The programmes of the National Dance Theatre were presented by Péter Ertl, director of the National Dance Theatre. He emphasized that the summer programme of the National Dance Theatre will continue this July, offering again a light, summer cultural experience for the audience who want to relax.

Awards announced at the event and their recipients – HDU staff and students are indicated in bold.

Ágnes Roboz Award – best graduating student of the season:

Ballet: Nagy Gvendolin dance artist, classical ballet, Hungarian Dance University

Folk Dance: Mátyás Egyed dance artist, folk dance, Hungarian Dance University

Theatre Dancer: Tekla Hoffer graduating dancer, Pécs Secondary School of Arts and Crafts

Best emerging dancer of the season:

Ballet: Scrivener Louis ballet artist, Hungarian National Ballet

Modern-Contemporary: Fanni Czvikli freelance dancer, Noémi Kulcsár Tellabor, Feledi Project, Bozsik Yvette Company

Modern-contemporary: Gizella Noémi Nagy freelance dancer, Góbi Rita Company

Modern-contemporary: Noémi Kata Pataki dance artist, Éva Duda Company

Best male dancer of the season:

Ballet: Gergő Ármin Balázsi: ballet artist, principal, Hungarian National Ballet

Modern-contemporary: Clark David Bonus Ortega dance artist, Inversedance – Zoltán Fodor Company

Endre Melles: dance artist, dance soloist, Háromszék Dance Ensemble (Sfântu Gheorghe), Junior Prima and Golden Spurs Award winner

Best female dancer of the season:

Ballet: Eszter Adria Herkovics ballet artist, private dancer, Győr Ballet

Modern-Contemporary: Karin Iwata dancer, private dancer, Pécs Ballet

Modern-contemporary: Krisztina Szöllősi leading dancer, Badora Company

Alma Tóth: dancer, Hungarian State Folk Ensemble, Oskó Endréné Award winner, two-time Golden Pearl Dancer

Best creator of the season:

Zoltán Fodor dance artist, choreographer, artistic director of the Inversedance – Fodor Zoltán Company, Gyula Harangozó Award winner

The winners of the Prize for Dance Art:

Sándor Sallai impresario, artist manager

Tamás Vati dance artist, member of the Yvette Bozsik Company, winner of the Gyula Harangozó Award

The Dance Teaching Award:

Kálmán Késmárki Associate Professor, Hungarian Dance University

Kinga Szent-Ivány dance artist, dance teacher, choreographer, artistic director of the Nemes Nagy Ágnes Art Secondary School, assistant professor at the University of Theatre and Film Arts, Gyula Harangozó Prize winner

Prize for Dance Science:

Dr Anita Lanszki associate professor, Director of the Dance Research Centre of the Hungarian Dance University, Head of the Department of Pedagogy and Psychology of the Hungarian Dance University, Founding Editor-in-Chief of Dance and Education

Lifetime Achievement Award:

Eleonóra Szőnyi ballet artist, ballet master, professor at the Hungarian Dance University, Liszt Ferenc Prize winner, merited artist

Imre Zoltán Prize:

Réka Szabó choreographer, director, artistic director of the Tünet Ensemble

Jr. Zoltán Nagy Foundation Awards for Dance Arts:

Prize for great performance: Márton Szabó dance artist, private dancer, ballet master, member of the Pécs Ballet, head of the dance training of the Pécs Secondary School of Arts and Vocational High School

Student prize for great performance:

Dobra Janka Dobra major is dance artist, classical ballet specialisation, Hungarian Dance University

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We are proud to announce that the first-year fashion dance students of the Hungarian Dance University (HDU) did not go home empty-handed from the AmsterDans international dance competition. What is more, they achieved outstanding results.

A group choreography designed by Zsófia Safranka-Peti was created for six students attending Gabriella Kézér’s class including Eszter Kis, Kata Kiss, Krisztián Koronczai, Janka Kőműves, Zsófia Matesz and Panna Pozsony. Ms. Pozsony participated in the competition with her own choreography created with the assistance of Gabriella Kézér.

In the Young Adult category, Panna Pozsony’ solo dance titled “Money” won a third place in a tight competition. In addition to the certificate, Panna Pozsony was offered a one-week study scholarship to Artez University of the Arts, Holland. The group choreography titled “The Rival” was awarded first place in the emerging choreographer category and received a choreographic grant.

Congratulations to all.

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The delegation finished the Vienna competition with two first prizes and valuable places. Congratulations to Lili Németh, Janka Dobra and Saito Hiraku as well as for all participants for the first place!

Thank Vienna for the high-quality organization, and we will see you soon in our capital at the Budapest Ballet Grand Prix!

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