At the Bethlen Square Theater in Budapest, Hungary, the 2023 Sissi Autumn Dance Week, organized by the Central Europe Dance Theatre, offered audiences a vibrant international dance theatre showcase. On November 15th, the more than fifty-year-old Studio Contemporary Dance Company from Croatia took the stage with their performance of Figures, Figures, representing their country at the festival. On November 16th, Slovenian choreographer Daša Grgič presented a unique dance piece titled Plenir at the Bethlen Theatre, inspired by old photographs, testimonies, and research.
“We are dedicating all our energy to becoming a regional hub for nurturing talent and a venue for internationally recognized performing arts,” stated László Váczi, the managing director of the Bethlen Square Theatre. He added, “It is important to us to become a prominent venue in Erzsébetváros, where, in addition to supporting local artistic initiatives, we also provide space for Hungarian-language and international productions—including Korean companies—in a studio-theatre setting.”
On the festival’s closing day, audiences were treated to Some Things Touch, a piece created by Slovenian artists Lia Ujčič and András Engelmann. This dance poem speaks to the shared human experience, exploring the most natural of human relationships and their dissolution.
One of the festival’s most extraordinary performances was Dream of a Ladybug, an award-winning work by South Korean choreographer Ha Ji Hye from Seoul. This highly successful closing performance tells the story of young people who, due to the pressures of urban life, have left their familiar hometowns and now struggle with daily life far from their loved ones. “I want to offer empathy, comfort, and positive messages to those who are busy and stressed every day, who don’t have time to think about what day it is today or who they really are,” said the South Korean artist.
Many of the festival’s programs, including the Studio Contemporary Dance Company’s Figures, Figures, Daša Grgič’s Plenir, and Lia Ujčič and András Engelmann’s Some Things Touch, were realized as part of the Beyond Front@: Bridging Periphery project. Moreover, the Dance Communication Lab’s improvisation dance event was held as a side program of the Sissi Autumn Dance Week.
The week-long international dance festival, held for the twelfth time from November 11th to 17th, was enthusiastically received by the audience.
(Photo by Gábor Dusa.)
