The festival’s fourth day mainly explored the relationships one has with the community and with themselves.

Ballet Company of Győr’s miniFestival was addressed to the young audience again by hosting the company’s show, Kippkopp and Tipptopp and with the concert of Aranykapu. There were also some more opportunities to take part in WobbelYoga and miniBallet which you can read more about in yesterday's blog post: One Festival Closes, Another One Opens - Itt vagyok a Magyar Táncfesztiválon... (blog.hu)

Kippkopp and Tipptopp, choreographed by László Velekei, tells the story of a chestnut girl, Kippkopp (Zsuzsanna Kara) who is looking for a home and a true friend. She meets various characters; a hedgehog, a squirrel, a frog, and a butterfly (Bálint Sebestyén).

However, she can only find her true friend, the chestnut boy, Tipptopp, when she dares to be herself. The fairy tale is told by Judit Gerbert, the movements and words together help the children discover the dance’s storytelling power. After the show, the stage is turning into a playhouse where the children could play ball games with the little chestnuts.

At the concert of Aranykapu band, the edutainment and fun went on.

Through the playful, catchy songs kids could learn to count from 1 to 10, they were taught to dance and differentiate their right foot from the left. 

The evening, interestingly enough, offered four different choreographies, that seemed to be exploring the same questions but from different angles and in various styles. Contemporary dance is exciting, giving us the opportunity to use our imagination, there is no right and wrong approach, only individual.

On the Main Stage, Butterflies by Székesfehérvár Ballet Theatre begins in a dusty, dark attic. 'The moment is the most important.', a female voice whispers. 'Life is a series of moments.' It is perhaps what chrysalises are going through before becoming butterflies: moment by moment, changing slowly in seemingly standstill. The philosophical and lyrical tone suddenly changes to something more uproarious.

In the red setting, evoking Moulin Rouge, the butterflies, wearing scarlet winglike skirts, in all their splendour, dance their frivol dances in pairs or alone. By watching the grotesque movements, an audience member noted that Attila Egerházi’s choreography reminded her of Kylián’s Six Dances. As for me, Robert De Niro’s cancan in the film Stardust also came to mind.

You and The World by Inversedance-Zoltán Fodor Company, a choreography based on the poems of the Hungarian poet, Lőrinc Szabó followed. In the dark-toned piece, lonely people, locked in themselves, dance the same dance searching for the same, trying to connect but these relationships are superficial. From time to time, some light shines on the stage that makes their movements livelier, only to fall back into their grey world shortly after.

The atmosphere, darkness and isolation reminded me of the lockdown periods when the most important relationships could be maintained online, however, the set may also recall a bunker, referring to the war. The beautifully composed piece made me quite gloomy so the performance of Éva Duda Company at the Kisfaludy Room came just at the right time.

As Éva Duda described, the Double Bill’s pieces are connected as yin and young. Golden Section, created by Beatrix Csák and I Shall be Free by Attila Rónai both focus on the previously seen themes.

However, in these productions, the connections are real, the dancers are not only faceless members of the grey masses but real individuals - in movements, characters and costumes. The first part is a feminine, flowing, pastel-coloured choreography, while the second half offers more masculine, tougher movements, and the relationships are more saturated with competition and humour.

Whilst, at the theatre, I was trying to explore more about my relationship with my inner and outer world, on the open-air stage both in the afternoon and evening, the talented students of Aforce 1 Dance Sport Team entertained the audience.

Photos by Béla Szabó