The History of Hungarian Ballet

A special issue of Arts (ISSN 2076-0752).

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (17 November 2022) | Viewed by 7575

Special Issue Editor


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Guest Editor
Hungarian Academy of Arts' Research Institute for Art Theory and Methodology, Budapest, Hungary
Interests: philosophy of dance; ethnomusicology; dance ethnology; ethnography and cultural anthropology

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

We are pleased to announce our intentions to publish a thematic Special Issue, named “The History of Hungarian Ballet”.

The existing research corpus of the history of Hungarian ballet is given primarily by the results of fundamental research. Systematic research in the field of art theory, which has been initiated in the last few years, has placed the main points of Hungarian ballet history in interdisciplinary contexts—the opening of the Hungarian Theatre in Pest and the art of the first Hungarian female choreographer, the star of Hungarian ballet romanticism; the spectacular ballets after the opening of the Royal Hungarian Opera House around the turn of the century; the period up to the First World War, which laid the foundations for the training of the ballet company; the all-art endeavours between the two world wars; and the theoretical issues surrounding Hungarian ballet education. The foundations of Hungarian ballet research—approached from the theory of art—were thus laid.

The upcoming Special Issue is in line with this approach. The aim of the issue is to present the international connections and Hungaricums of the development of the Hungarian ballet repertoire within a framework of cultural history and art interpretation, with special attention to issues that have been little examined thus far: the interaction of different dance styles, the theoretical and methodological issues of dance education, the development of the repertoire of the Opera House, all-art endeavours, and the connections with music history.

The aim is to provide a framework of a history of ideas for the significant turns in the history of ballet, laying the foundations for a theoretical understanding of ballet.

The thematic topicality of the Special Issue is given by the 80th anniversary of the death of Nicola Guerra—who developed the corps de ballet of the Opera House—in addition to the reopening of the Opera House after five years of reconstruction, and the recent commemoration of the 70th anniversary of the death of Vaslav Nijinsky, a dance genius with strong Hungarian connections, during the pandemic.

Dr. Anna Mária Bólya
Guest Editor

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Keywords

  • Hungarian ballet
  • history of ballet
  • history of dance
  • theory of art
  • Hungarian Opera House
  • Nicola Guerra
  • Nijinsky Budapest

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Published Papers (4 papers)

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Research

13 pages, 338 KiB  
Article
The Categorization of the Operetta Dance Genre in the Táncművészet Magazine between 1952 and 1956
by Emese Lengyel
Arts 2023, 12(5), 197; https://doi.org/10.3390/arts12050197 - 11 Sep 2023
Viewed by 1116
Abstract
The aim of the Hungarian state socialist regime to renew the operetta art manifested in the transformation of operetta-playing via the setting of its main cultural objectives. Once private theatre organizations were disbanded in 1949, newly written and composed operetta pieces had to [...] Read more.
The aim of the Hungarian state socialist regime to renew the operetta art manifested in the transformation of operetta-playing via the setting of its main cultural objectives. Once private theatre organizations were disbanded in 1949, newly written and composed operetta pieces had to be adjusted to meet the expectations cultivated by those responsible for the drawing up of the contemporary cultural policies, not only in terms of theme, subject, and dramaturgy but also, as productions designed for stage performance. At that time, questions regarding the realm of operetta dance and choreography arose as significant professional issues. The remarkable case of operetta dance was brought to the notice of the larger professional community by an article written by choreographer Ágnes Roboz, which was published in 1952 in the Táncművészet magazine (1951). Due to its professional nature, this magazine served as a suitable platform for the discussion of the operetta dance genre. The present study reflects upon its publications from the period between 1952 and 1956. Throughout these years, 16 articles discussing the categorization of operettas were published. I aimed to analyze these primary sources according to their genre before presenting, juxtaposing, and contextualizing them. Thus, my objective is to gain a thorough understanding and comprehensive overview of professional discussions and arguments over 1950s operetta dances and choreographies. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue The History of Hungarian Ballet)
12 pages, 287 KiB  
Article
Nicola Guerra (1865–1942) at the Budapest Opera: A Crucial Turning Point for Hungarian Ballet
by Francesca Falcone
Arts 2023, 12(3), 114; https://doi.org/10.3390/arts12030114 - 31 May 2023
Viewed by 2252
Abstract
This study aims to investigate the contribution that the Italian maestro Nicola Guerra brought to the Budapest Opera House Ballet (from 1902 to 1915), founding a corps de ballet capable of competing with the best corps de ballet of other international theatres and [...] Read more.
This study aims to investigate the contribution that the Italian maestro Nicola Guerra brought to the Budapest Opera House Ballet (from 1902 to 1915), founding a corps de ballet capable of competing with the best corps de ballet of other international theatres and endowing the theatre with a consistent and valuable number of choreographies, some of which were performed even after Guerra had left Hungary. It also aims to investigate the transnational career of a choreographer in the early twentieth century, exploring the circulation of mindsets in a range of dance concepts. The investigation explores first-hand sources, many of which come from the Guerra family archives, dwelling also on the notations transcribed by the maestro himself, in particular of the ballet Havasi Gyopár (Edelweiss), which allow us to draw with some reliability on his compositional style that was particularly fruitful in choreographies for large groups. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue The History of Hungarian Ballet)
10 pages, 270 KiB  
Article
Representing National Culture on the Dance Stage: A Chapter from the History of Hungarian Ballet between the Two World Wars
by Máté Kavecsánszki
Arts 2023, 12(2), 41; https://doi.org/10.3390/arts12020041 - 22 Feb 2023
Viewed by 1572
Abstract
In the case of a mixture of dance languages, especially in dance productions that are the result of a conscious creative process, the interpretation of the symbolic content and message of the dance language elements becomes important. It is in this context that [...] Read more.
In the case of a mixture of dance languages, especially in dance productions that are the result of a conscious creative process, the interpretation of the symbolic content and message of the dance language elements becomes important. It is in this context that the dance art endeavours of the 19th and 20th centuries in Hungary can be examined, which aimed at staging folk dance culture on the one hand, and at developing a modern language of dance art by using folk dance culture as a source of inspiration on the other. The underlying motivations behind these dance art endeavours could be different, as they could be born in the spirit of modernism or traditionalism, or they could be the manifestation of political-social artistic aspirations, or the two different motivations could overlap. Taking these aspects into account, my study seeks to answer the question of why and how the need for a stage work to function as a national representation of Hungarianness emerged in the history of Hungarian ballet. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue The History of Hungarian Ballet)
15 pages, 4247 KiB  
Article
Inspirations and Traces in the Works of Pál Frenák
by Nóra Horváth
Arts 2023, 12(1), 34; https://doi.org/10.3390/arts12010034 - 14 Feb 2023
Viewed by 1780
Abstract
I have known Frenák’s choreographies for almost twenty years, and since 2017, I have been regularly presenting discussions at domestic and international conferences regarding studies of the aesthetic and philosophical aspects of Frenák’s work. We started to work together some years ago. I [...] Read more.
I have known Frenák’s choreographies for almost twenty years, and since 2017, I have been regularly presenting discussions at domestic and international conferences regarding studies of the aesthetic and philosophical aspects of Frenák’s work. We started to work together some years ago. I assisted in the creation of the productions Cage (2019), Spid_er (2020), Fig_Ht (2021) and Secret Off_Man (2022) as a philosophical consultant. When researching and collecting the inspirational material, I experienced impressions that affected my other works as well. My work as a philosopher with dance and the conversations with Frenák opened new pathways to self-knowledge. When it seems that everything points in the same direction and everything is about the same topic, it is time to create a trace. This was my feeling when I wrote and published my book on Frenák in 2022, entitled L’abécédaire of Pál Frenák—Transverses Between Philosophy and the Organic Movement Language of FrenÁk (Published in Hungarian and in English in one book: Frenák Pál Abécédaire-je—Átjárások a filozófia és FrenÁk organikus mozgásnyelve között, Kortárs Táncért és Jelelő Színházért Alapítvány, Budapest, 2022). In this paper, I am going to display some essential inspirations of the fantastically creative art world of Frenák. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue The History of Hungarian Ballet)
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