“Dance art is the best cultural immune booster,” said Balázs Hankó, Minister of Culture and Innovation during his opening speech given at the National Dance Theatre last Thursday at the International Gala Performance held as part of the 25th Budapest Dance Festival, celebrating the 75th anniversary of the Hungarian Dance University. At the event, honorary university professor titles were awarded to Anita Magyari, Gábor Mihályi, and Zoltán Zsuráfszky.
Photos by Adrienne Horváth
In her welcoming speech, Márta Fodorné Molnár, rector of the dynamically evolving Hungarian Dance University (HDU), recalled that today, students can pursue higher education at the university in seven programmes and 23 specializations. However, she emphasized that this is not enough and also outlined an ambitious goal for the institution’s future.
At the event held at the National Dance Theatre Balázs Hankó emphasized that looking back at the past years, it is clear that the renowned Hungarian dance art operates within a unique training, practical, and higher education structure in which dance, regardless of its form or style, is practiced at the highest level.
He added that the essence of this lies in the fusion of practice, knowledge, commitment, and a sense of mission.
“Deep in our souls, we can desire nothing more than beauty, goodness, and harmony – qualities that are found at their highest level in the arts and culture,” the minister stated. Balázs Hankó concluded his speech by saying, “Let us not forget that dance art is the best cultural immune booster.” He emphasized that “this is what sustains us in everyday life – it gives us life and hope.”
In her welcome address, HDU’s Rector Márta Fodor-Molnár recalled that while the institution began as the State Ballet Institute offering only secondary-level ballet training, today students at HDU can pursue higher education across seven programmes and 23 specializations. She added that beyond dance performance, choreography, and dance pedagogy, students can also enroll in contemporary and innovative postgraduate specializations such as stress management and burnout prevention.
“We are proud that there is no other higher education institution in the world that offers such a wide educational spectrum in dance and its related fields,” she said.
At the event, in the presence of Minister Balázs Hankó, honorary university professor titles were awarded by János Kiss, HDU’s Chairman of the Borad of Tustees, and Rector Márta-Fodor Molnár to Anita Magyari, former member of the ballet company of La Scala in Milan, Gábor Mihályi, Kossuth and Gyula Harangozó Prize-winning Hungarian dancer and choreographer, Meritorious and Excellent Artist, and a permanent member of the Society of Immortals, and Zoltán Zsuráfszky, Kossuth Prize-winning Hungarian dancer and choreographer, recipient of the title “Artist of the Nation,” and also a permanent member of the Society of Immortals.
Following the Gala, Márta-Fodor Molnár personally expressed her gratitude, stating: “The event appropriately represented the spirit and values of the 75-year-old institution.”
