Folkdance Show

Last night some Hungarian friends invited us to go with them to a performance of a folk dance team from here in Debrecen. It was delightful! Our friends told us that this troupe travels all around Europe and the world giving their performances, and we could tell why. The performance included two stories. The first was of Hungarian soldiers leaving their women at home and going off to war. The second was about events connected to the market fair held at Hortobagy. (We visited Hortobagy with our Hungarian class last summer.) The music was traditional, lively Hungarian music and the dancing was energetic and spirited. You've just got to see how the men dance stomping their feet, clapping their hands and slapping their boots. They even twirl shepherd's staffs sometimes--and no one was hit by them! Our friends told us that when Hungarians are happy, they drink, dance and sing. When they are sad, they drink, dance and sing! It's true. Just about every celebration, commemoration or parade we've been to has included at least the dancing and singing. There were interesting references in the show to communism under the Soviets that demonstrated how the Hungarians hated that repressive time. They made fun of how the Soviets told them what to do and how they tried to change their traditions. We really enjoyed ourselves last night and learned some things, too!