Bartók Trilogy/2: Labyrinth Music: László Sáry Visual designer: Péter Gerzson Kovács Costume: Edit Szűcs Singers: Ágnes Herczku, Milán Hetényi Featuring: the dance troop and band of the Hungarian State Folk Ensemble Band leaders: István Pál, Ferenc Radics Dance troop leader: Richárd Kökény Assistants: Gabriella Bakos, Szilvia Nemes, Péter Varga Choreographers: Csaba Horváth, Péter Gerzson Kovács, Gábor Mihályi Director-colleague: Gábor Mihályi Director: Péter Gerzson Kovács Artistic director: Gábor Mihályi The Bartók Trilogy aims to represent and understand the aesthetic and philosophical route that Bartók trod in his journey from folk music to contemporary musical language, from community to autonomy, to see how historical, political, cultural and social layers are continually constructed upon one another, exploring how this can change into a creative model in dance art. Labyrinth is the half way path from where it is not possible (or worthwhile) to turn back. We are still close to the boundary of folk dance and folk music, and the sources of inspiration can be easily recognised, but the musical world is not structured “folk music writing” but stage music composed for this work. The language of dance is rebuilt in contemporary language. Labyrinth orders the visual image and music alongside one another to make a throne upon which are placed dancer and musicians. The laws of the surrounding (abandoned or rejected) world are not valid in the labyrinth. Here exists magic, metamorphosis, death and rebirth... life! Periphery is a transition, the start and end of the path: “reality” and a new quality both begin and end at the edge of the labyrinth. The path to the centre is not just potentially bi-directional but leads by necessity from the centre to the starting point of another path, back to “reality”. But anyone who has traversed this does not return to where they began. They carry “The Path” along within themselves. And the result is this contemporary-peasant-urban-Baroque-pseudo-opera, in which everything is united, where everything different is the same: tales are truth, magic is truth, the island is the centre, the part the whole, the path is spiral, the straight the labyrinth... Further performance: Festival Theatre, 19.00 November 4

Presented by: