Well, this day has arrived, too quickly, when the 17^th Hungarian Dance Festival closes. I am already missing the buzz and the city.

On the Main Stage, Solus Amor (Love Alone) by Recirquel, was talking about love through the language of circus, dance and puppetry. About love for each other, soaring love, the happy dance of body and soul. About love for nature and animals.

It seems as if gravity didn’t exist for the performers: they are able to hold themselves with their hair or teeth, dance on a rope, fall down on a ribbon, and lovingly entwine without really touching the ground. They are in their elements up in the air so much that it looks strange when they put their feet on the ground, almost as if it wasn’t their natural habitat.

The stunts are literally breathtaking (I was holding my breath and onto my chair quite a few times) however, they are also beautifully emotional and poetic. Elated lovers are flying together, while others take the journey on their own. A big bear appears on stage, the puppet is amazingly alive, and there is someone who can tame this huge animal or what it symbolises, instincts, unstoppable emotions – using the power of love. At the back of the pure, white and grey stage, an enormous source of light invites everybody, as if offering the soul its forever home.

Not sure how others felt but whilst being blown away by the performance, and my soul was also soaring with the performers, it felt like I entered a sacred place, the sanctuary of pure love. I was pondering if love infuses everything, if it is so uplifting and beautiful, then why are we trying to avoid it or push it down?

Does it feel too much and we are not used to it? Or maybe fearing pain and loss, we are scared of opening our hearts? Or is it because true love changes us and for that, we have to let a part of us die? Would it be possible that to experience true love we would need the courage of flying acrobats or tightrope walkers?

I was not the only one stunned by the show, the whole auditorium gave a standing ovation celebrating the performers, beauty and maybe love too.

And dance hasn’t stopped at this point. In front of the theatre, FlamenCorazónArte Dance Theatre took us to Mediterranean places with their show, Flamenco Latino. Mother and daughter, Andrea Lippai and Zsófia Pirók, combined flamenco with jazz and Latin music. It was captivating to see how their dances expressed connection, the joy and power of life.

Today's motto for me was: love and passion. And this festival, which was organised with so much love and care, couldn’t have ended in a more beautiful way!

Photos by Béla Szabó