About us
„Dancing is not only the art of the rational thinking, but also the art of living and breathing with all our being. It is an exceptional lesson for nonviolence. It teaches us to control and direct the power and strength of our subconscious.”
Mireille Négre
The Háromszék Folk-Dance Ensemble was founded in 1990 in Sfantu Gheorghe (Sepsiszentgyörgy), Romania. Financed from the state budget till 1999, it is now supported by the local authority. With its 70,000 inhabitants Sfantu Gheorghe is the centre of Covasna county. 70% of the population is Hungarian. This town is an important cultural centre of this region of Transylvania, also called “the land of Székelys”. Apart from two professional theaters (Tamási Áron and Andrei Mureșañu), the artistic, literary and musical activities, followed by all the newspapers, magazines and radio stations of the region, are also of great significance. Nearly a dozen buildings - including the Szekler National Museum - were designed by Kós Károly, the famous Hungarian architect.
The aim of the Ensemble is to collect, to preserve and to present the traditional folk music and dances from Transylvania through an original theatrical and dramatic language and form. These performances reveal the contemporary values of folklore and break down the audience’s prejudice about this tradition seen as anachronistic. The Ensemble combines together traditional folk dance and music with modern dance-theatre elements and movements and discovered the great theatrical potentials in different regional rituals, traditions even local historical events.
The Ensemble performed for more than 2000 times in every Transylvanian city, often toured in Hungary and appeared on stage in Austria, Germany, Slovakia, Switzerland, Italy, Portugal, Poland, United Kingdom and even in the far-away Novosibirsk.
Another success in the two big performances which are organized by the Ensemble together with the Lajtha László Foundation every year. Since 1991 these two institutions have hosted 30 editions of Folk Dance and Music Meetings where the participants may meet those who cultivate beliefs and traditions still existing in the region. A similar concept underlines the organization of the Gipsy Folklore Camp from Kommandó which has been held every year since 1999, with the aim to present the culture and everyday life of the gypsies.
Manager: Deák Gyula Levente
The Háromszék Dance Ensemble is sustained by Covasna County Council.