Hungarian dance celebration

FIVE encores and a standing ovation greeted the Fire Flower Folk Group from Hungary last night after their master stroke in following their normal finale with a perfectly-executed hornpipe, in which they were joined by Rinceoiri Ui She, who had a spot in each half of the programme.

Presented by the Hungarian Ambassador to Ireland, Mr Lazlo Mohai, with major sponsorship from ESB International, the show celebrated the 1,100th anniversary of the first Hungarian settlement in the Carpathian Basin and the 40th anniversary of the 1956 uprising. The large group performed a wide range of group and solo dances choreographed by artistic director Magdolina Madi.

To music on stage by the four-man Hegedo's Ensemble of fiddle, cello, bass and a variety of wind instruments, the dance style varied from Magyar with the men in white baggy pacts and the women with conical wine bottles on their heads in a type of sword dance using crossed sticks and uttering fierce cries - to numbers which could have been Tyrolean with their knee and thigh slapping, reminding us that Hungary was once part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, as also did a solo dance by a man in a feathered hat twirling a baton like a propeller. Sometimes, however, such actions mingled with the booted foot and hip movement seen in the czardas or the mazurka.

Wearing wonderfully-colourful costumes, the group followed intricate rhythm changes, winding from ring dance to chain dance and splitting now into twos, now threes and then fours, the girls' single plaits flying as the men swung them around, their petticoats circling.

This was a splendid and versatile group who, with the excellent O'Shea Dancers in their version of Riverdance, perfectly illustrated the ambassador's stated desire for European integration while retaining a rich cultural diversity.