The Háromszék Dance Theatre was founded in 1990 in Sfântu Gheorghe. Until 1999 it was a professional folk dance ensemble operating from the state budget, then for ten years (1999-2008) it belonged to the city mayor's office.
Between 1990 and 2000 the institution operated under the name of the State Folk Ensemble Háromszék, and between 2000 and 2024 under the name of Háromszék Dance Ensemble.
Sfântu Gheorghe is the centre of the former Háromszék County - now Covasna County - with a population of 70,000, three quarters Hungarian nationality. The town is a major cultural centre of Szeklerland with professional Hungarian and Romanian theatres (Tamási Áron Theatre, Andrei Muresanu Theatre), significant artistic, literary and musical life, a multilingual written press and several local radio stations. The city is particularly proud of the dozen of buildings designed by Károly Kós, including the Szekler National Museum.
The mission of our ensemble is to collect, preserve and transmit the folk music and folk dance culture of the Transylvanian ethnic groups. As a performing arts institution, we aim to pass on this tradition by creating a new, individual world of forms and to place it in a new context through the language of theatre. Over the years, we have developed a unique profile in the combination of traditional folklore shows and contemporary dance theatre forms, in which folk music and folk dance are transformed into a language that is able to speak to the today's audiences.
By exploring and reflecting on the dramatic potential of certain folk customs, rituals or even regionally relevant historical events, we have created productions such as "Vérnász", "Váróterem", "Ábel", "Csávási ballada", "Böjttől böjttig", "A banda", "Száz évig", "A tékozló fiú", "Gábor Áron", "Erdély-menyegző", "Mundruc", "Pure", "Change" or "Tragedy".
Our company has performed thousands of times, and in addition to our performances in Sfântu Gheorghe, we regularly tour the big cities of Transylvania and other places where Hungarians live. We have been guest performers in Hungary on several occasions, we are regular guests of the House of Traditions in Budapest, but in recent years we have also performed at such prominent venues as the National Theatre, the Palace of Arts and the National Dance Theatre. Over the years, our company has travelled to Austria, Germany, Slovakia, Switzerland, Italy, Portugal, Poland, Finland, Greece, as well as to the distant Novosibirsk and the United Kingdom.
The M Studio company was founded in 2005 as a movement theatre workshop of Háromszék Dance Ensemble, today it is a separate company, and since 2010 it has been part of the Tamási Áron Theatre. More information about them can be found on their website.
Our successes so far include our annual major event, the Folk Dance and Music Festival in Sfântu Gheorghe, which provides a platform for collecting and keeping alive traditional folklore. The event has been organised since 1991 in partnership with the László Lajtha Foundation.
From the 2001/2002 season, together with the László Lajtha Foundation and the Ádám Kónya Cultural Centre, we relaunched the Folk Dance House in Sfântu Gheorghe. In our folk dance houses, our orchestra - the Heveder band - and the Folker band play music, and on the occasion of festive dance houses, other invited traditional and folk dance house bands provide a good atmosphere.
From July 2024, we will continue our activities as Háromszék Dance Theatre. The name is a faithful reflection of our company's profile, as in addition to folklore shows, our repertoire includes more and more dance theatre performances every season.
From 2024, the activities of Háromszék Dance Theatre have been extended to include the education of young people, as the company has taken over the Százlábú Children's Folk Dance Ensemble. Founded by Endre Virág and Imola Virág in 2006, the Százlábú Folk Dance Ensemble has become a veritable youth movement in Sfântu Gheorghe. The leaders of the ensemble engage 140 children in three age groups every week, using folk dance to strengthen the experience of belonging to a community and offering young people a valuable form of entertainment. All the while, they educate a culture-consuming and understanding audience.
Director: Virág Endre
The Háromszék Dance Theatre is officially sustained by Covasna County Council.
