Blogcikkeinkben bepillantást adunk mindennapjainkba, eseményeinkbe és terveinkbe. Írásaink folyamatosan frissülnek, hogy közelebb hozzuk hozzád mindazt, amit képviselünk – a hagyományt, a közösséget, zenét, táncot és mindenek felett a kapcsolódás élményét.
Upon arriving in London—as usual—we immediately set out to explore the city. We visited the London Eye, Buckingham Palace, and Grosvenor Square. We even fed some squirrels… by convincing them we had snacks. 🐿️ After sightseeing, we headed to the Rosemary restaurant, where the owner, Mihály Herceg, was already bustling around getting everything ready. Mihály Herceg, the owner and director of the Rosemary restaurant, is a true London legend. We first got to know him better when he was running an organic farm near Gravesend—while simultaneously owning an organic restaurant in central London. His endurance and boldness are truly inspirational; he’s the kind of person who, as the saying goes, works day and night—and in true Chuck Norris fashion, he can turn day into night if needed. One example? Hosting a Hungarian festival in Gravesend that welcomed nearly 2,000 guests (aptly named “The Meadow Is Ours”). During the pandemic, Mihály took up pottery, and in no time mastered the craft to the point where all the plates, mugs, and serving dishes in the restaurant are handmade by him. He now leads popular workshops on the art. As always, the themed evening at the Rosemary offered fantastic hospitality and a wonderful audience. We were treated like royalty—and even served a proper St. Martin’s Day goose, prepared by Zoltán Kondics. The event was honored by the presence of Hungarian Ambassador Ferenc Kumin and Agricultural Attaché Enikő Magyar.
At the invitation of the Bristol dancers (well, not exactly—they didn’t ask, but Mihály Herceg, the owner of the Rosemary Organic Hungarian Restaurant, did 😄), we played at the Rosemary in October 2023. I wrote more about Mihály separately in the St. Martin’s Day blog post. As always at the Rosemary’s themed evenings, we were treated wonderfully and got to perform for an amazing audience. After the event, we headed to Bristol, where the next day, at Enikő’s request, we explored the Banksy empire—this included a dizzyingly paint-scented and visually mind-blowing graffiti tunnel. We also learned what a “ship’s biscuit” is, and that it’s perfectly normal to go bungee jumping at 9 AM. After lunch, we visited Marcsi Bangó (not the famous singer, but she does make excellent pálinka). After a quick pick-me-up, we rushed over to the dance house venue. The Bristol dance group is one of the most tight-knit Hungarian communities in the UK. Members take turns leading the dance, manning the snack bar, collecting tickets, setting up tables, baking treats—the list goes on. Their artistic director, Ádám Radics, guides this cheerful group of dancers with a liberal yet firm leadership style. The táncház is always lively here, and despite being under two years old, the events are impressively organized and run. Ildikó Máthé carefully designed the children’s program with attention to language, musicality, and movement development—while keeping the focus on having fun together. There was a “meet the instruments” session, object-based tasks, group singing, and playful rhyming. After the little ones, the stage was taken over by the big and medium-sized dancers, with Ádám Radics hosting and leading the táncház. The high-energy dances from Moldva were followed by Mezőföld-style dances, led by guest dancer Gábor “Gaga” Kiss. After a short break, we crossed the Királyhágó and didn’t stop until Szék. Our bassist Nándi Kiss tuned down to C, and from there we played Magyarpalatka music until the organizers finally decided: “Alright, now we really should go home…” All the way through on the C string. Endlessly. 😄
We met an absolutely amazing team in Brussels. At the invitation of the Viola Dance Ensemble, we had the chance to play and celebrate at the first Hungarian táncház (folk dance party) ever held in Brussels. The whole dance group pitched in to organize and run the event, but the heart and soul behind it all were clearly Bori Máté and Feri Robinek. They welcomed us into their home, fed us (including cheese!), let us use their iron, didn’t mind our snoring, and chatted with us even when there was nothing important to say. We’ve already agreed to invite them back as soon as we have a reason—but haven’t told them yet, just so they don’t think we’re speaking into thin air (though really, where else would we be speaking? To the wall? A pillow? Into the middle of the grown-ups’ conversations?). The táncház was a blast—turns out Gergő Csendes isn’t so quiet after all, but he sings and dances beautifully. Bori and Feri’s warm and consistent presence and leadership mesmerized many people—myself included. The next day, since we were already in town, we played at Antoine and Fanni’s wedding too (in fact, the táncház the night before was part of the celebration). Antoine performed a Kalotaszeg men’s solo dance for the opening, which was met with thunderous applause. Then came the csárdás and the fast dances. Their performance—shaped by Bori and Feri’s teaching, their thorough preparation, and their constant, mutual attention—was truly impressive. It was all topped off by Bori’s perfectly curated original Kalotaszeg folk costumes. It was incredible! Antoine found his shoes a bit tight for dancing, so my black shoes also got to join the opening dance. Even more incredible.
In May 2023, at the invitation of Folktone Productions, the two lead fiddlers of the Gyantár Band from Szeged—Bence Vörösmarty and Enikő Magyar—visited the UK. Our first stop was the 10th anniversary celebration of the Hungarian School in Cambridge. It was a fantastic experience to hear local Hungarian students perform folk songs and traditional Hungarian chants. It’s hard to even imagine the amount of work, patience, and perseverance required for young people raised in the British school system to understand and come to love their parents’ native language—to preserve their Hungarian identity in the alluring Western world. On the evening of our Cambridge visit, we headed toward Montgomery for the Bristol Hungarian folk dance group’s team-building event. In addition to getting to know each other and rehearsing with the band, we also visited the historical site connected to The Bards of Wales and the Arany János memorial plaque placed there. It was uplifting to see that the local council also considers it important to keep the memory of our cosmopolitan poet alive. After our night in Montgomery, we traveled to Chester, where we performed at an event called Hungarian Cultural Day Chester. The day featured a concert-style performance, accompanying the Bristol dancers, and a dance house session—plus, Enikő even managed to squeeze in a little violin teaching between sets. By the time we reached the airport parking lot, we were happily exhausted. We toasted the success of the weekend—and Bence’s birthday.
In October 2022, Folktone Productions welcomed the Róna Band from Hódmezővásárhely and Enikő Magyar to London, where we had the chance to play together at a dance house and at the Lovászi Instruments workshop opening party. The Róna Band’s double bassist (Feri) received urgent dental care—but we can assure everyone that neither the dentist nor the assistant were harmed during the procedure. 😄 Many new friendships were formed, and we all returned home with a wealth of experiences and memories. This weekend sparked a long-standing collaboration among folk musicians from Hódmezővásárhely, Szeged, and others currently living in England—a connection that remains strong to this day.