Across the global Hungarian folk landscape and choreographies you don’t often hear the word “Túrkevei.” It may be a less-known dance but one near and dear to educators Gergő Kecskés and Hajni Bába Kecskés. They recently introduced the Bátori Folk Dance Ensemble (of the Washington, DC’s Hungarian Scouts) to the Nagykunság region and its dances over an intense weekend of training.
The town of Túrkeve is part of Nagykunság, in the Tiszántúl region of Hungary. It lies east of Szolnok, more specifically from Törökszentmiklós to the border of Karcag – south of Túrkeve, Mezőtúr and north of Kisújszállás, Karcag, Kunmadaras and Kunhegyes.
The revival of the Nagykunsági dances began in 2009 under the leadership of Kata Herczeg, folk dance educator and mother of Gergő Kecskés. Thanks to her efforts, the archives were unearthed from the Academy – that is, the Nagykunsági collections were officially requested. In total, 25 minutes of film remained from the collection of Sándor Timár, György Martin, and László Mácz.
Many in the profession believed that that original dances did not exist for this region. In fact, through extensive research, it turned out that a lot of archival materials remained – songs, dances, songs, and children’s games. It was from these materials that people in the Nagykunság started finding and putting dances together. Initially, Herczeg wrote the book Nagykungsági Gyerekjátékok, through the Hagyományok Háza. This work, coupled with the archives from the Academy, laid the foundations for work by Nagykuntánc Ensemble (Kisújszállás) to create a program called the Nagykungsági Krónika – the name of a book by István Györfi.
The dances in this show were from Kisújszállás, Karcag, Túrkeve, Pusztaecseg and Dévaványa. It also included a cigány tánc from Szolnok County, taught by Péter Boda. The ensemble workshopped each and every dance.
“I myself participated in the adaptation of the Túrkeve dances, as its point person. In the show itself, we took part in all of the village dances,” recalls Kecskés.
The show successfully premiered in 2010 in Kisújszállás, followed by other performances in Kunmadaras, Kunhegyes, Kenderes, Karcag, Túrkeve, and Mezőtúr. This past weekend, the Bátori Folk Dance Ensemble got a taste of this program, by learning a new Túrkevei choreoraphy – which included a slow csárdás, friss csárdás and verbunk.
Through an intense weekend of rehersals, the 18-member group spent many hours training with Kecskés and Bába Kecskés – 12 hours on Saturday and more on Sunday. And they were in good hands.
Both Kecskés and Bába Kecskés have over 20 years of dance experience and teach in different programs and venues. They participated in the KCSP program multiple times – Bába Kecskés in Uruguay and Argentina, and both went to Berlin a couple of years ago. Kecskés has also taught in China. For them, spreading Hungarian folk dance knowledge is a tremendous and honor and responsibility. Most recently, they took a deep dive into Dél-Alföldi and Tápé dances – and continue to study the Karcagi dances.
“I congratulate the group, and thank Panni very, very much for the opportunity to teach here. She keeps the group together, focused and happy – with her we were a great team. It is special when you get to teach the dances of your country over 4600 miles away, across oceans with your amazing wife. And I think it is a big deal that the Túrkeve dances have now reached communities beyond our Hungarian borders. We hope this trend continues. I was very impressed by the dancers of Bátori, and how they approached learning this new material. They had openness, perseverence, and diligence,” remarks Kecskés.
By Sunday afternoon, the choreography was complete and the group did a mini-performance for the parents. It was met with great enthusiasm – and even a few joyful tears. In April 2025, Bátori will debut this material at Virginia’s Hungarian Festival.
“We hope this is not the last time our paths cross. These young people are very talented, and as dancers they made a huge leap in development during the weekend. They have respect for the material, discipline and humility. It is really a credit to their focus that we were able to finish our work by Sunday. Saturday’s rehearsals were really like trial by fire. Their attitude and approach helped Gergő and I persevere, too. We felt like were all in it together. What we accomplished can be a source of pride not only for the dancers and their parents, but us as educators,” says Bába Kecskés.
“It was a privilege to witness the process – we were all transformed by the experience. Without the parents community we could not have gotten here – they and the Cserkész leadership (Éva Dömötörffy) were so supportive. The music and teaching was truly exceptional and everyone was very pleased with the outcome,” says Panni De Cheke Qualls, who coordinates the ensemble.
