Hungarian fire and German folklore at the International Folklore Festival Summerfest 2015 in Szazhalombatta

Our dancers and musicians experienced 10 breathtaking festival days in Szazhalombatta (Hungary) at Summerfest 2015 together with 600 dancers from 19 countries around the world. The stages were gigantic, the audience enthusiastic, the temperatures very sweaty, the nights quite short and the atmosphere excellent. Although a musician’s leg in plaster was brought back to Dresden at the end – midnight soccer matches are not without danger after a strenuous program …

A report from an ensemble dancer:
“All the dancers from the TU Dresden folklore dance ensemble “Thea Maass” were very excited to see how the International Folklore Festival Summerfest 2015 would go. After lively e-mail contact between the organizers and us since February, we became aware that none of us had ever experienced such a large and professionally organized CIOFF festival.
In total, groups from 20 countries around the world attended Summerfest 2015 and were accommodated in three cities. In Ráckeve, four of these groups took a school building as their accommodation for the next 10 days, including the TUTE.
Alongside us were the Slovaks, Cypriots, Italians and some Hungarian guides with whom we had to share the rather poorly running showers. But above all, we shared and exchanged our dancing skills, certain spirits and, as far as the language allowed, our thoughts and feelings every evening. We only heard about the groups in the two other cities, Százhalombatta and Tököl, during our performances.
We traveled from festival location to festival location with Paraguay, Lithuania, Sardinia and Peru. A new stage with great sound and lighting technology almost every day. The Hungarian audience was always enthusiastic. Our personal success mostly depended on how long we had to wait before the performance without losing our nerve. The more time we had to put on make-up, dress up in costumes and sort things out, the more we pulled at one or other of the tangles that seemed to be connected to some nerve cord. As the performances were mostly in the evening, we also had time to explore the area around the stage.
Coffee in the afternoon was a must. So the TUTE explored a few cafés and ice cream parlours to revitalize our dancing and vital spirits as our sleep deprivation grew daily. The Hungarian-organized supporting programme was also an experience for all participants, and we will especially remember the night-time boat trip on the Danube through Budapest with all the festival participants.

Time flew by and before all the dances had been danced once, it was already time to say goodbye at the bus door. Contacts were exchanged between the groups, the last souvenir photos were taken and kisses were distributed.
Then the buses filled up and a short time later everyone probably fell asleep with one laughing and one crying eye.”  (Lotte)