The “Népi Crush“ Is Real: Hungarian Dance as Social Regulator in Rural and Urban Settings

Type of Abstract (select): Individual Presentation

Abstract (max. 250 words):
This study explores social and kinetic patterns built into the structure of a rural dance event and how they function/ed in the past, in current rural settings, and in the modern-day táncház or dance party. Drawing on dance and music analysis and recent studies, including Sándor Varga’s work in the Transylvanian village of Visa in the 1990’s, my own observations in Visa and the US/Canada in the past few years, and Anna Szekély’s (Janku) recent dissertation on the current táncház generation, I will show how dance rules and structure create a matrix in which social goals may be achieved. These include:
Maintaining social structure
Creating a social space for oneself
Finding a mate
Practicing negotiation with neighbors
Satisfying aesthetic needs

Analysis includes form and tempo changes, the use of space, and interaction between dancers and bands, as well as among and within couples. While it is easy to view dance rules as archaic, I suggest that they continue to function in the present for much the same purposes as in the past, on both sides of the Atlantic.



Brief Professional Bio (max. 100 words):
Judith E. Olson (NYU, U Colorado) historical musicologist--traditional Hungarian music/dance in Romania, Hungary, and among Hungarians in the United States/Canada. She combines research in traditional settings, Hungarian dance camps, and revival groups with analysis of dance/music structure, process, and improvisation. She presents frequently at International Council for Traditions of Music and Dance, International Musicological Society, Analytical Approaches to World Music, Society for Ethnomusicology, and AHEA. She performs research and organizes táncház in New York City with Hungarian House and American Hungarian Folklore Centrum. Secondary research areas: International Folk Dancing in the US, Balkan brass bands, and 19th-century German music/culture.