Belly Dancing in Hungary
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Although I am best known as an oriental dance artist, I have had a very eclectic dance career, including classical, jazz, flamenco, Polynesian, African, Brazilian and salsa. I even taught Hungarian folkdance for a year, in spite of the fact that I knew very little about the country or its culture. Therefore, I was delighted to be invited to teach in Budapest this year during my annual European tour. I instructed a wide variety of material throughout four days of workshops, all of which were very well attended by the city’s instructors and several of their advanced students. It was a joy to teach such a talented and enthusiastic group. They learned and adapted to the new information very quickly, despite the language barrier and the fact that oriental dance is a very new phenomenon in Hungary. Only eight years ago, a lovely dancer named Thia began Hungary’s first belly dance classes after she returned from the US. Now, Budapest alone has over 30 instructors. However, because there are very few performing venues and opportunities, these hot-blooded Hungarians have created their own network of regular shows featuring instructors and students. The entire dance community, in an atmosphere of positive cooperation and communication supports these events. This reflects the warmth, enthusiasm and unpretentious nature of the Hungarian people, as well as my gracious hostesses. This group of four very lovely dancers, who call themselves Art of the Orient, are quickly gaining recognition for their performances in many European Festival and Workshops.
They are also very proud and knowledgeable about their country and its beautiful capital city. Budapest, with a population of less than 2 million, is actually two cities merged into one. Buda, nestled in the cliffs and wooded hills of the right bank of the romantic Danube is the home of a medieval quarter, castles, monuments, cathedrals, caves and palaces. Pest, the larger left bank, is home to the parliament, the city’s business center, hordes of museums, theaters, parks, markets, synagogues, mansions, a basilica and more castles. Its magnificent 18th and 19th century architecture reflects only a few of the many civilizations that have passed through this center of Eastern Europe. These include the Celts, Avars, Tartars, Huns, as well as the Roman, Ottoman and Austrian Empires. Because of my great love of Turkey and its rich dance culture, I was particularly fascinated with the influences left by the 150 years of Ottoman Turkish rule. Turkish words, food, spices, legends, instruments, music, and rhythms are ingrained in the Hungarian culture and may explain the natural aptitude and obvious love that these ladies have for oriental dance. Another gift left by Ottomans is the Turkish bath, which has evolved into an enormous bath culture. As a trained European-style hydrotherapist, I was very excited to explore Hungary’s legendary mineral thermal waters while rejuvenating my travel weary, hard working dancer’s body. Although Budapest boasts over 20 public baths, I chose local’s favorite, the famous Szechenyi Thermal baths. This palatial complex, located in Budapest’s Varosliget Park, lived up to it’s reputation with saunas, steam baths, soaking pools and outside swimming and lounging pools with Jacuzzi jets and fountains at a cost of $10 for over 2 hours of luxury. This was only one of many amazingly affordable ways to explore the wonders of Hungary. I recommend that anyone interested in visiting this lovely country do so in the near future, before their new status as a member of the European Union results in increased prices.
One suggestion would be to attend Budapest’s Annual Oriental Dance Festival and Competition, to which I have been invited as instructor and judge next year. This event runs for 4 days in May and combines a 2 day, mulit-level competition for soloists and groups, followed by 2 days of workshops and the gala performance for the instructors and special guests. Previous instructors include Raqia Hassan, Dr. Mo Gedawi, Magdy Aleysi and Samara from Lebanon. I was both happy to hear that the winner of this year’s festival will be sent to compete at the MEDINA’S St. Louis competition, where I will be teaching. This should be a wonderful addition to Desert Moon’s annual event that may surprise both judges and the audience.