Csíkszentdomokosi Cepper

The Cepper could be considered a new-style dance, probably developing in the 19th or early 20th
century. While this dance is only found in the village of Felcsik, in all likelihood it developed from a dance or dances adopted from the urbanizing Saxon-Germans of the region; possibly brought from the city of Brassov, where lads learning a trade would follow their apprenticeship. Interestingly, one of the tunes played for this lively dance is also found in the Rábaköz region of Hungary, which borders Austria and has a large Schwab-Germans influence.

Presented by Dénes Dreisziger and Gissella Santayana in 2010. View pdf here.

Csíkszentdomokosi Csárdás

A new dance style known as the “Csárdás” swept through Hungary in the 19th century, a time when the countries of Europe were building the notion of a national identity and arrived later in Transylvania. As a new national dance, the Csárdás also went a long way towards homogenizing the dances of regions, and thus had a negative effect on the diversity of Hungarian dance. It is for this reason that remote regions are interesting. While the Csárdás ostensibly took over, wiping out the existing turning-style couple dances, in reality the elements and motifs of the more archaic dances merged with the new fashion, creating an interesting and no-less-diverse fusion of new and old. The Csíkszentdomokosi Csárdás, preserved to this day among the Szeklers of the Hargita Mountains, is a classic and beautiful example of this phenomenon.

Presented by Dénes Dreisziger and Gissella Santayana in 2010. View pdf here.

Csingerálás

There is a practice among Hungarian folk dancers to study dances from original recordings of villagers dancing. Partly due to the popularity of the world-renowned Szászcsavás Band, there are many recordings of gypsy dancing from that village. However, for this dance, we chose to teach steps exclusively from a recording that can be found on YouTube. We hope you refer back to that recording to learn and perfect this dance. The recording is of the musicians of the Szászcsavás Band dancing with their wives. In general, we are teaching the dance as done by Levente Mezei and his wife, found starting at 1 minute 50 seconds into the recording.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R0swGFtHVaE&feature=related Please note that this physically and mentally challenging dance will be taught at an advanced level.Please note that this physically and mentally challenging dance will be taught at an advanced level.

Presented by Dénes Dreisziger and Gissella Santayana in 2010. View pdf here.

Kerekes

The name of this dance is derived from the word “kerek” meaning round. This is one of a grouping of dances from Gyimes collectively known as the “Aprók” (little) dances. This kind of archaic circle dance can no longer be found in most of the regions where Hungarians live. Opinion differs as to whether it exists in Gyimes because the Csángo people learned these dances from neighboring Romanians or whether they kept this earlier style of dancing. In other Hungarian regions, this dance style was lost when the wave of couple dances arrived. The archival footage we used to recreate this dance was collected in 1980 in Gyimes by Gyorgy Martin, et al.

Presented by Dénes Dreisziger and Gissella Santayana in 2010. View pdf here.

Párnás (Elvesztettem zsebkendömet)

This dance is danced in a circle formation with one person inside the circle looking for a partner while waving the handkerchief. This person chooses a partner and they both kneel on the kerchief and kiss, at which point the musicians make funny sounds with their instruments. The newly formed couple now dances as described below in the center of the circle. The person who was chosen is then the next one to look for a partner while the first person joins the circle. The circle changes direction each time a new couple kneels to kiss.

Presented by Dénes Dreisziger and Gissella Santayana in 2010. View pdf here.

Sántanémetes

The name of this dance, “Sántanémetes,” (a.k.a. Németes) literally means “Limping German.” This is one of a group of dances from Gyimes collectively known as the “Aprók” meaning “little” dances. Some of them, such as this dance, have Saxon origins. The archival footage we used to recreate this dance was collected in 1980 in Gyimes by Gyorgy Martin and others.

Presented by Dénes Dreisziger and Gissella Santayana in 2010. View pdf here.

Változtatós

This dance bears some resemblance to musical chairs. There is an odd number of dancers on the floor and one broom! While the music plays, couples dance as below. When the music stops, everyone must find a new partner as quickly as possible. The person left without a partner will have to dance alone with the broom. The person with the broom can dance a similar dance holding the broom upside-down, pretending the broom is his or her partner, or the person may choose to use the stomping steps described in the Cepper dance.

Presented by Dénes Dreisziger and Gissella Santayana in 2010. View pdf here.