Ágoston Lányi, the former scientific researcher at the Institute for Musicology and dance notator of the former Folk Dance Department, was widely commemorated on the 100th anniversary of his birth. Among other events, the Hungarian Dance Science Society organized a symposium at the Institute for Musicology of the HUN-REN Humanities Research Centre in December 2023, which was opened by János Fügedi.

The volume, which is already available in the webshop of the Hungarian Dance University, features a publisher’s introduction written by János Fügedi, who has been teaching at the Hungarian Dance University and its predecessor since 1987, while also serving as a senior researcher at the Institute for Musicology. His main field of expertise and research includes kinetography, its related pedagogy, dance analysis, and motif research.

“Ágoston Lányi, the late dance notator at the Hungarian Academy of Sciences’ Institute for Musicology, became synonymous with dance notation – a demanding field requiring mathematical logic at times, as well as an exceptionally high level of understanding of movement. After leaving a military career, Lányi began his dance notation work in 1949, primarily recording dances for film. He first worked at the Hungarian Dance Federation, then later at the Ethnographic Division of the Institute of Folk Arts and the Institute of Folk Education. Among the folk dance researchers at the Ethnographic Division, Zoltán Kodály selected Martin György and Ágoston Lányi in 1965, followed by Ernő Pesovár, to join the Music Research Group of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences. After the Music Research Group was incorporated into the Institute for Musicology, the Folk Dance Department was established under the leadership of Martin György, where Ágoston Lányi continued his work in dance notation.” (quotation by Mária Erdőháti-Lányi)

“I first met Ágoston Lányi in the mid-1980s at the Institute for Musicology, during a small, specialized dance notation training course led by him. At that time, I was already teaching dance notation in the C- and B-category assistant training courses at the Institute of Folk Education. However, the practice of notating movement from film, the technique of observing movements, and the understanding required for dance notation were new to me. Therefore, we tried to learn the notation technique from Ágoston Lányi, who showed us how to recognize the correct directions when describing a dance filmed from different angles, when a movement begins, and how to define more complex rhythms.”

“After Ágoston Lányi’s death in October 1986, I continued his work in the position of a dance notator. It was only step by step that I came to recognize the immense work he had done—always remaining in the background of dance research. He created the Dance Notation Archive at the Institute for Musicology of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences, which, with its unique richness in Central Europe, contained over 1,160 entries at the time of his death, as well as the 12,000-entry Motif Archive. He had his own style of notation, which made it immediately recognizable when looking at a manuscript that it was Lányi’s work. Even when he quickly wrote down the signs, his manuscripts still reflected the characteristic dynamic elegance he was known for. In addition to notating original folk dances, Lányi also transcribed approximately forty choreographies from the folk dance movement, most of them by István Molnár. Among the notable choreographers whose works he recorded were Katalin Györgyfalvay, Miklós Rábai, and Sándor Timár. Besides his work as a notator, he also taught at several domestic and international courses. This volume commemorates the beloved master on the centenary of his birth.”

(Quotation by János Fügedi)

A Lányi 100 – Studies in memory of Ágoston Lányi, who was born 100 years ago bejegyzés először MTE-én jelent meg.

On the 52^nd anniversary of the first folk dance festival, several programs in Hungary and worldwide were awaiting those who have already been captivated by the exciting world of folk music and folk dance, and those who are just getting started. As folk dance is a very important and successful part of the curriculum of the Hungarian Dance University (HDU), it was a great pleasure that the Folk Dance Department was able to join the program series of the Táncház (“Folk Dance House”) Day.

The central event took place at the same location as last year, in front of Music Academy at Liszt Ferenc Square, where dance and singing lessons accompanied by live music, a book sale and craft activities awaited the visitors throughout the afternoon. But there was also a flashmob on Deák Square, a charity Moldavian dance and a Satu Mare dance lesson in Satu Mare, which was a great success.

The Folk Dance Department was successful as ever. Béla Ónodi DLA, Head of the Folk Dance Department, was present at several events and was happy to convey the appreciation of the House of Traditions.

“I think it’s very important that we have a closer and continuous link with the amateur folk dance movement, because it provides the supply for our training. I think that HDU’s participation in the Dance House gathering and the current commitment will contribute to this, which is important for the university,” said Béla Ónodi.

A HDU students participated in the event organised on Táncház Day bejegyzés először MTE-én jelent meg.

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.

A Focus on the science of making a dance stick bejegyzés először MTE-én jelent meg.

Lában Kinetography is a subject as well as a dance mark making taught at the university’s Folk Dance Teacher and Art Specialisation. The ICKL, an international organisation which cares for and develops the system of movement notation and continues the spirit of Rudolf Lábán, a world-famous modern dance artist and theoretician of Hungarian origin, organises its conferences every two years.

Béla Ónodi DLA, head of the Folk Dance Department

This year, the 33rd international conference was held in Seoul at Sejong University between 17 and July, where two lecturers from our university, Dr Henrik Kovács and Nóra Oláh, gave a lecture and workshop on the transcription of the rotary dances of the Vajdaszentivány in Transylvania.

“A basic knowledge of the science of dance mark making is definitely an additional knowledge for students specialising in folk dance education and art”, said Béla Ónodi. “It is a great pride for the Folk Dance Department that the lecturers of the course are internationally recognized experts, meanwhile Dr János Fügedi is the president of the organization.”

Béla Ónodi also said a few words about the Valley of Arts Festival (Művészetek Völgye) held in Hungary every summer.

“Around December last year, we had a discussion with Mátyás Bolya, the Head of the Folk Music Department at the Academy of Music, about the possibilities of the two departments working together. The first milestone of this was the project we implemented this summer at the Festival of Arts Valley, which took place from 21 to 30 July. For the first time in the history of the festival, the university stage was created as a joint venture of the Folk Music and Jazz Department of the Liszt Academy and the students specialising in modern dance and folk dance education. Our students represented our institution here with their own productions, dance lessons, joint creations with musicians, round-table discussions. Two lecturers from the university, Dr Katalin Lőrinc and Szilvia Nemes, put together the students’ completely independent productions. Szilvia Nemes assisted the students and the organisers throughout the festival. As a result of this joint effort, this has been the first but not the last opportunity during the year.”

The Head of the Folk Dance Department also mentioned the summer activities of the students and teachers of the Folk Dance Department, such as the rock opera “Stephen the King” which was performed on 19 August in the Papp László Sports Arena, directed by Péter Novák. The 40th anniversary performance was choreographed for 120 dancers by János Appelshoffer and Tünde Rémi, the masters of this year’s graduating class of folk dance.

For the folk dancers, however, this was just one of the prides. The four weeks of preparation, often 10-12 hours a day, was voluntarily undertaken by the entire second grade folk dance class during their summer break.

A The folk dancers have not been and will not ever be bored bejegyzés először MTE-én jelent meg.

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

A Famous book inspires the folk dance exam performance of the Dance and Rehearsal Department bejegyzés először MTE-én jelent meg.