“Discovering tradition, for me, means finding a path that leads deep into a garden full of secrets. In the shelter of the foliage, however, I encounter not only the wondrous and the uplifting, but—again and again—myself.”
“It is no easy task to briefly present an artistic career of more than two decades—inevitably subjective from my own point of view. To mention the philosophical foundations and artistic directions that have shaped my actions, consciously or unconsciously. To reflect on the nature of tradition. To answer the question: what should we do with our traditions, with the influences of European or ‘global culture,’ so that the human being—who has long been wandering in this conflict—may find their own path? For me, it is entirely clear that traditional culture is nothing other than the personal path that leads to it. Culture becomes truly culture only when it is embodied in someone, because culture is something alive, something that continues to exist within human beings—within modern people today.”
“Contemporary folk dance art rooted in tradition—which, in my belief, is cultivated by the Hungarian State Folk Ensemble—makes the old dance, music, and cultural heritage part of the present, personal and meaningful, speaking the language of today and addressing people of our time.”
“In my creative work, Béla Bartók is my role model; his spirit and life’s work stand as proof that tradition and modernity are complementary categories.”
“As the leader of the ensemble, I consider myself the successor to my great predecessors—Miklós Rábai, ‘the legendary founder,’ and Sándor Timár, ‘the figure who brought the dance house movement to fruition.’ Under my direction, a new era of the ensemble has begun and, I hope, continues to unfold. A new company has been born—one that, alongside traditional interpretations of folk dance, is also open to contemporary arts. In my works, traditional folk dance and folk music, contemporary music and dance, modern stagecraft, and present-day dramaturgy come together to create a modern folk dance theatre that embodies universal values and allows for both communal and personal identification.”
