MU Theatre
Contemporary folk pop, dance
Non-verbal, in Hungarian
12+
Nóra Horváth and Balázs Oláh’s BALL brings ‘mulatós’, the party pop-folk dance music culture of village festivals, weddings and family celebrations to the contemporary stage. The duo dancing on a raised podium draws on familiar forms of movement, while the roles of lead and follow continually change, and the familiar steps acquire new rhythms and accents.
BALL places ‘mulatós’, often categorised as trash culture, within the context of contemporary theatre – while leaving the irony behind. Olivér Rácz’s live ‘mulatós’ music enters into dialogue with András Molnár’s experimental electronics, without the familiar melodies losing their character. Through a different take on a cultural form that is familiar to many, yet rarely taken seriously, BALL presents a living, constantly evolving community dance tradition. (Léna Szirmay-Kalos, curator)
You are cordially invited to 'BÁL' (Ball), fifty minutes of contemporary folk pop, where well-known hits and joyful dancing await! 'Mulatós' is a genre of popular Hungarian music and dance, often played at weddings, village fairs or festive gatherings. Its upbeat, celebratory spirit encourages people to let loose and have fun. Many people love it, others can't stand it, but it is almost impossible to avoid it at celebrations across Hungary. How will mulatós be remembered in a hundred years from now? What defines tradition, and what is living culture? What happens when we revisit this popular genre through the perspective of contemporary dance?
On Trafó's stage, two music and dance styles, which couldn't seem further apart, meet in the choreography of Nóra HORVÁTH and Balázs OLÁH, who combine contemporary and folk dance techniques with the mulatós genre. Another key feature of the performance is electronic music inspired by the hyperpop microgenre, known for its fractured, distorted, layered and playful sound, that is the perfect antithesis of the mulatós, reflecting the overwhelming flood of information in the digital world, which can burn out everything and everyone. The two dancers and choreographers are accompanied live by the experimental musician András MOLNÁR, who is a regular collaborator of several local choreographers, and the vocalist and keyboardist, Oliver RÁCZ, who is a highly successful mulatós performer and collaborates for the first time on a contemporary dance performance.
BÁL shows that popular tradition is not just an imprint of the past, but a living heritage and part of contemporary culture that is still evolving today. In an extremely divided society, this performance seeks to create a common platform for the co-existence of contradictions found in everyday life.
Credits
Dancer, creator: Nóra HORVÁTH, Balázs OLÁH
Musician, creator: András MOLNÁR, Oliver RÁCZ
Lighting designer: Kata DÉZSI
Set and costume designer: Csenge VASS
Assistant: Panna MAKAI
Consultant: Viktor SZERI
Production manager: Rebeka DOSZPOTH
This production was realized within the framework of the Staféta Program.
Program announced by the Municipality of Budapest.
Supported by: Staféta Program, Trafó House of Contemporary Arts, National Cultural Fund, SÍN Art Center, Krisztina TÉGLÁS
Reviews
“We were interested in how people in Hungary today relate to dance, and how it features in their lives as a physical experience.”
- Panni PUSKÁS, Revizor, 2024.
“Nóra Horváth has now embarked on a new project together with Balázs Oláh, based on the premise that, with the definitive disappearance of the peasantry, as well as folk music and folk dance, our contemporary urban folk art has become party culture.”
- Lívia FUCHS, Élet és Irodalom, 2024.
BIO
Nóra HORVÁTH and Balázs OLÁH started working together on a research project in January 2021 to explore and document the current dance culture of the Hungarian people. Tirelessly, they strive to find new channels for communication through which they can reach audiences from different social backgrounds. They aim to make contemporary dance, concentrated in Budapest, accessible to rural communities with less access to the arts. They combine social dances of the present, such as urban dance or folk dance, with the dramaturgy of contemporary performance to create a new language. It is important for them to make their art accessible to a wider audience, while reflecting honestly and radically on social issues and problems through raw physicality.
Nóra HORVÁTH is a Budapest-based dance artist, co-founder of Collective Dope, and former member of Compagnie du Hanneton/James Thierrée (2020–2023) and Unusual Symptoms -Theater Bremen (2018–2020).
Balázs OLÁH studied at the Hungarian Dance Academy and SEAD in Salzburg. He has worked with The Symptoms, Hodworks, and Máté MÉSZÁROS, and is a co-founder of AHA Collective.
CONTACT
Rebeka DOSZPOTH
doszpothrebi@gmail.com