The Transcendent Artistry of a Legendary Hungarian Folk Dancer, Six Decades In | Part One

By Panni De Cheke Qualls

István Kosbor, or “Kosbor” is known to many as a premier folk dancer and teacher. His lived experience within the North American folklife movement speaks to his transformative influence on the unique Hungarian culture that we experience in this diaspora today. Through contagious energy, curiosity, and discipline, Kosbor continues to make his mark wherever he goes, inspiring generations of folk dancers and musicians. And not by standing on a soap box, but by doing, doing, doing.

Kosbor’s mother was a folk dancer, teacher and choreographer, and his father a puppeteer. Part of the Fényes Szelek generation, they traveled the Hungarian countryside on a so-called ‘culture mobil’, performing multifaceted productions to villages. Representatives of various art forms made up the group of performers, which included his parents. It was in this context that they found each other and soon Kosbor was born.

Though Kosbor’s father had a degree in economics, he was drawn to an artistic career, which often posed financial stresses. In Pest, the family rented a room in a small apartment on Rippl-Rónai Street.

“One of my first exposures to the art world had to do with where we lived. The building was on a street named after Rippl-Rónai. Once I learned about his life and creative influence, Rippl-Rónai became one of those iconic Hungarian creatives who has accompanied me throughout my life,” recalls Kosbor. “Later, when I went to Pécs, I found he had an influence on the Zsolnay factory there. My mother and I often visited the collection at the Zsolnay Museum, where the transformative ceramic works of the Hungarian Art Nouveau, based on the designs of József Rippl Rónay, were displayed.”

And you might say, the rest is history. Such early experiences planted the seeds for a lifetime of creativity and service. We sat down with Kosbor to taker deeper dive into his journey. [The original Hungarian interview can be found below in PDF form.]

HFA: Can you tell us more about growing up in Hungary and exposure to folk dance?

IK: After my parents’ divorce, we moved to Pécs, and I had the opportunity to look into the secrets of folk dance. My mother danced in the Mecsek Ensemble, and supported herself by leading various dance groups. She often took me with her to rehearsals and performances, but those experiences deserve a separate chapter.

During that time, the urban folk dance culture looked radically different. Folk dance productions were limited to a few choreographies by a handful of professional choreographers. At one festival, for example, we could see several versions of the same Kalocsai choreo, performed by various ensembles. Most of the choreographies at that time were influenced by the style of the National Ensemble led by Miklós Rábai. There was one exception, however. The works of István Molnár had some elements of authentic folk dancing.

My brother, who is two years younger than me, attended ballet from the age of four and was also a member of the children’s dance group of the Pécs Pioneer House. I only joined the activity when I was 14 years old, which was the minimum age limit to join the Pécs KISZÖV Folk Dance Ensemble.

We went to festivals, partied, sang what we could, but we didn’t come across original recordings or authentic sources. I went abroad around the age of 18, so folk dancing stopped for me temporarily. When I arrived back, I had immediate military obligations. I was able to use my background as a folk dancer to some extent, because I was released from the barracks to participate in the rehearsals of the local Alba Regia Ensemble. To audition, I danced a huszár verbunk, because at that point improvisation was not practiced.

When I was released from the military in 1972, there were radical changes in both the folk dance movement and my personal life.

HFA: How did your folk dance career evolve from this point on?

IK: I was accepted back into the Pécs KISZÖV Folk Dance Ensemble, and I threw myself into the folk movement. There was a renaissance of folk crafts, the practice of object shaping, the search for and application of authentic folk music, folk dance and folk customs. We took part in summer camps and táncház programs, which were just starting up.

After a while, I moved with several others to the reorganized Mecsek Folk Dance Ensemble, where promising work seemed to be unfolding. We had three dance rehearsals a week. In addition to that we went to courses, performances and festivals, supplemented by regular practice and physical training at home. Sándor Timár and his team often helped in the preparation of our choreographies, so we were able to successfully perform with recorded material – on stage and during táncház programs. I took part in the first táncház leader training course, and I also obtained qualifications as a dance group leader and performer. I ran táncház programs and went on tour with Pécs’ Zengő Band.

HFA: What else were you doing at the time?

IK: I went on trips to Transylvania to collect dances/music and to the villages inhabited by the nationalities of Baranya. I was able to meet Moldavian Csángós, Bukovina Székelys, Szűri Germans, all kinds of South Slavs, Bunyevac, Sokac, Serbs, Croats, Bosnians, etc. In addition, there were villages with the original Hungarian population in our area in Mecsek – Ormánság and the Eastern areas of Baranya. During my trips to Transylvania, I was able to participate in Szék táncház programs, where the music was performed by Gyuri Ilka and Icsán’s Band. I was able to meet Feri Árus in Méra, and in Magyarbece I had the opportunity to collect from Ferenc Szántó and Ferenc Kulcsár for the first time. I took part in weddings and balls. I had the rare opportunity to see and hear people telling stories, beggars singing, mourning women and much, much more. I visited country fairs, markets, homes and farms. These were incredibly transformative and lasting experiences.

HFA: What about your journey to the States?

IK: Through different twists and turns in my life, I ended up in America. At that time, there were international social dances in New York. Accompanied by a local brass band or recorded music, people danced various South Slavic dances and some Hungarian marches usually led by my friend Steve Kotansky, whom I got to know in Hungary.  He visited me in the company of Zoltán Zsurávszky (Zsura) at my home in Pécs. Steve was very surprised to see me at the táncház in New York. He invited me to join his group, called Guzsaly. When I arrived at the first rehearsal, he asked me to do one unusual thing – to walk around, so that the others could see how a Hungarian walks. They used good choreographies, which Zsura and Batyu taught them. There was one problem though – at first, the dancers moved strangely because everyone was brought up in an American cultural context. The melancholic Hungarian mannerism was completely foreign to them.

At that time, there were no Hungarian táncház programs in New York, so we decided that it was time to create them. Natália Zagyva (principal), József Gartai/Heki (contra) and Raul Rothblatt (bassist) was the band, and I was the dance teacher. This is how the Hungarian táncház programs started in New York.

Later, István Gyékényesi/Gyiki appeared. With him and a few others who wanted to dance and had some experience, we formed the Ritka Magyar Hungarian Folk Dance Ensemble and managed to build a serious repertoire in a short time. After the breakup of the group, we created Talpra Magyar with Áron Székely and continued to perform.

In the meantime, our son Hunor Kosbor was born and we envisioned a more rural location for his upbringing. We moved to the bordering State of New Jersey, where we had the opportunity to join the Csűrdöngölő Folk Dance Ensemble, then led by László Hajdú Németh. We regularly participated in American and Canadian dance camps, organized táncház programs and other dance events.

My wife Melinda Török is the current leader of Csűrdöngölő, and if necessary, I also help manage the Mákvirág children’s and youth dance groups operating in the Hungarian American Athletic Club in New Brunswick.

HFA: It seems like folk dance has changed a great deal since the movement began (in the States and in Hungary). What are your observations?

IK: Before the 1970s, a very small proportion of the average urban population had the experience with authentic folk dance as was practiced in the countryside, in some villages, and on farms.

The majority of people were only exposed to folk dance through stage productions, majális (May Fair), and parades. Double csárdás, cifra steps and emphasized ridas did appear during balls, but people had no idea of ​​their origin or source. By the way, with the exception of individuals involved in folk dance ensembles and their close network of connections, the genre did not have many admirers. The older folks were more familiar with musical genre through operettas, and popular folk song festivals. For the majority of the young people, it was downright cringy and embarrassing to like the peasant, folk style music. For them the youthful, fashionable musical styles imported from the West were the currency, together with the dances that came with them. For example, the term ‘belvárosi’ (urban), common among the cream of the city’s youth, characterized a value system that was clearly manifested in a Westernized, fashionable appearance and behavior.

Interestingly, the first signs of change were also seen in phenomena imported from the West. American Hippie culture started to permeate. Followers of the pol-beat and folk-beat musical trends enjoyed outdoor gatherings by singing and dancing together at campfires, and began to deviate from the fashion styles. Longer skirts, homemade clothes made of natural materials, satchels, macrame bags, etc. appeared. From there, it was only a step to fill this youthful revolution with folk content.

By this time, our folk music, ethnography and folk dance researchers and scientists had already accumulated a huge amount of material, all that was left was a platform to share the recordings for people to use. In terms of music, the singles and later LPs and albums released by Béla Halmos, Ferenc Sebő, the Muzsikás Ensemble and other bands was a huge step forward. In the dance space, Sándor Timár and the members of the Bartók Ensemble led by the way, supplemented by Zoltán Zsuráfszky, Zoltán Farkas, Miklós Végső and others who were still dancing in the State Folk Ensemble. 

The basic principle was the preliminary mastery of the dance material at an improvisational level. Choreographies and its stage application could only be discussed afterwards. It was compulsory to go to the táncház programs. When you were lucky, you had chance meetings with experts – masters and practitioners of their specific village traditions. New media inventions such as the cassette tape recorder and easy-to-use recording/duplicating equipment made it easier to learn about and access recorded archival material. Before we tried to borrow footage from the library of the Academy of Sciences. We had to have a qualified projection specialist available to ensure that the film rolls were returned in the right condition. Tears and burns were common.

I didn’t have a video camera at home yet, so if I came across some interesting dance material during my travels, I had to learn it on the spot and remember it so I could take it home.

It so happened that I first encountered something interesting in the well-known Széki collection, through a training course. Male dancers expressed their approval with enthusiastic hujjogás. Eventually, I acquired video equipment in the States. I received a copy of this very collection from my friend Steve Kotansky, which he recorded in the library of the Academy of Sciences, through Zoltán Zsurávszky’s help. The recording took place in such a way that the film was projected onto a screen and Steve recorded it from there with his video camera. On the copy I received, the dancers’ legs all merged together, and it was difficult to make out the figures. After about six years, I visited my friend Lajos Bergics, the leader of the Zengő Band (Pécs). He turned on the television, and this Széki material appeared on the screen crystal clear, accessible to all viewers.

This little story can vividly describe the changing times. Nowadays, all publicly available material is accessible to anyone through various media, all that is needed is the discipline to master the steps and figures. As my friend Sándor Szabó (who was once nicknamed Pécsi Tűz) used to say, “Nothing is impossible, only incapable.”

In principle, today’s technology makes it possible for anyone to become a skilled dancer without even leaving their own home. I, on the other hand, confess that being close to the context, the source from which this vast body of knowledge originates, not only develops our skills, but also our humanity.

To summarize my experience in America, the Hungarians living here are used to giving and volunteering, because they have less access to a cultural/state apparatus to support them.  The maintenance and operation of Hungarian organizations requires a lot of volunteer effort, devoted work and expertise. Where there are the right people who make sacrifices, there are results, where there are none, less so.

Fortunately for us, the Hungarian Government has been providing us with excellent specialists within the framework of the KCSP program in recent years, who help us translate our collective aspirations into quality and variety. The other blessing is that some individuals and communities take it upon themselves to organize dance camps and festivals, where the participants can meet year after year, have fun together and expand their knowledge. All of this as a whole, has helped advance the folklife movement in North America.

Stay tuned for the second part of this two-part interview, where we discover an entirely different aspect to István Kosbor. (Photo credit: Rózsa Ákos)