Sunlegend spectacularly features the perfect harmony of Nikola Parov's music and Gábor Mihályi's choreography. The show meets the requirements of the 21st century audience, being a unique and powerful combination of the ancient motives, the dynamic quality of traditional movements, mysticism and music in a fresh, modern tone.
It is a tale of the Sun and its various phases (day, night, eclipse, full moon) mirrored in human life and Hungarian history.
Sunlegend is a two-part performance with 17 smaller scenes, therefore it is suitable for presentation in excerpts as well.
Forty dancers and two singers, computer-controlled lighting and special effects provide the audience with an unforgettable dance and music experience.
Sunlegend is a breathtaking show inspired by folklore, yet with a powerful modern message. Its fresh and dynamic conception includes the rhythmic movements of traditional Eastern European dance and new choreographic ideas alike.
The production is firmly set in the 21st Century, and conveys a disconcerting glimpse of the future through archaic ethnic images.
The choreographer Gábor Mihályi was chosen "The Best Author of the Year" by the Association of Hungarian Dancers for making Sunlegend.
The program series takes place within the framework of the Theater Olympics 2023.
Part I.
Dawn / Spring
We've came on a star path
Our people came from the east like the Sun. Now we have entered a new millennium and we intend to survive. Perhaps, as the ancient legends say, we were led here by a magic stag with the sun shining between its antlers, or Prince Csaba may have led us here along a starry path. Myth and memory are mixed in the mists of time. We also try to find our place under the Sun and rejoice.
Sunrise sacrifice
the ancient sacrificial rite signifies the dawn of mankind. A dance of repetitive movements is done in a circle, with an interlocking pattern suggesting strength and protection. A girl is separated from the dazzling circle as the symbol of ancient human sacrifice.
Song of the sun
A song asking the sun for salvation and good fortune.
Noon / Summer
Summer is now, summer
Love, youth and strength. The power of nature is embodied in the relationship between man and women. The sun shines on the horizon.
Sunset / Fall
You will see me go away
A vision of horrors that lurk in the destiny of humanity, with the sadness of future farewells.
Trains take them away
Soldiers set off for war, leaving their sweethearts and dreams behind. The scene freetes into as till-life, symbolizing the fate of young soldiers on the battlefineds.
Night / Winter
Lament in Red and Green
Girls mourn their lovers that who had gone off to war. Their monotonous movements reflects a stubborn hope of being together again.
Fighting games - Nice day appears
The self-destructive rage of the men subsides with the arrival of women; sisters of the Sun. Women's all-conquering hope of dissolve the men's aggressive wrath.
Part II.
Full moon
Farewell
A man bids farewell to a world to which he will not return. Instead of sunbeams, the silvery rays of the Moon light up the worn-out earth, promising a rather dim future.
Prisoners' song
Man's loneliness in captivity. He is not only imprisoned by the walls, he is also captive of his own loneliness and sorrow form which he is trying to escape in vain.
Alone
The dance begins. The harshness of the movements implies the coming of austere and gloomy times.
Waiting for the rain
Yearning for the purifying rain, hoping for the magic of the new millennium.
Eclipse
The devil's ball
Evil powers of the underworld invade the earth and human souls.
The last song
A desperate cry for salvation. The absence of hope turns humans against one another. Finally, the tormented souls are reconciled as they realize there can be no future without one another.
Solar eruption
There is always a new day
Men and women join hands and the blessed Sun shines again signifying the strength of love rekindled by a million hearts beating in unison, as the great cycle begins again.