Uplifting, exciting, fantastic, beautiful – this is how the audience described the Dancing on the Square concert in 2019 – as it shows on the pictures as well. Take a look!
We concluded our series of regional meetings in Budapest at the French School, in a truly multicultural environment. Keeping all the kids on the same page was even more exciting challenge this time: not only did they come from different schools, different towns and villages or different regions – only half of the dancers attending […]
We not only played and danced in Kazincbarcika, we also filmed a short movie (which we will be ready to present soon); and, in fact, we also found the time to let out a loud battle cry together. As for what we learned during the movie shoot: we learned that these kids are thrilled to […]
Many of the children participating in our regional meeting in Salgótarján asked us, “so what is Budapest really like?” Before we could even respond, somebody else would yell out, “I sure would like to live there!” Most of the children participating in our Dancing on the Square project come from disadvantaged parts of the country, […]
“This will be the best day ever,” one of the youngest dancers from Apátfalva participating in the Dancing on the Square project already proclaimed right at the start of the regional dance rehearsal. We hope the young man felt the same way at the end of the day. A great deal of preparation goes into […]
In early August, we again set out with the young participants of the Dancing on the Square project to spend another week among the Nógrád hills in Hollókő. The staff and volunteers of the Foundation For Democratic Youth were once again our partners for the organisation and implementation of the camp. The second rotation included […]
The first session of this year’s Dancing on the Square Camp surpassed the expectations of all participants. The magical surroundings of Hollókő, the occasional showers bringing respite from the summer heat and the rainbows accompanying them were just the backdrop. Once again, it was the children who played the lead roles: many of them were […]
The Dancing on the Square project is not a simple concert. On the day after the concert, the children participated in a sensitivity session that helps them process the events with the team of the Foundation for Democratic Youth. From the Basilica, we went on to Papsziget to continue the bonding with lots of laughing, […]
The Dancing on the Square project has grown into a project of such scale that each year, the Festival Orchestra needs and welcomes volunteers to help with the organisation. Once again, István Tuba Z. has helped us by capturing the most important – and sometimes intimate – moments of the event. He possesses a unique […]
The evening of 17 June was a celebration of great encounters and unforgettable moments. With 500 children, Iván Fischer, the Festival Orchestra, Gypsy musicians and a terrific audience, the 2018 Dancing on the Square Project proved that experiencing tolerance is not only important, but also a great feeling. We are grateful to all of them!
Dear Dancing Children! The Dancing on the Square concert was a wonderful experience. It was a pleasure to see both for me and the members of the Festival Orchestra that so many of you came to dance with us so beautifully. The square was fully packed, you brought delight and an unforgettable experience to thousands […]
The Dancing on the Square kids have not only gained a fantastic experience, but also books. Special thanks to Libri for their generous donation and for bringing the kids closer to reading as well as to music and dancing.
Sándor Zwack, chairman of the Board of Directors of Zwack Unicum Nyrt., has been a supporter of the Festival Orchestra for several years and has a special place in his heart for the Dancing on the Square project. He identifies the sense of continuity and the message of the project – the power and momentum […]
This year, Prezi co-founder and originator of the Budapest School Péter Halácsy will also join the ambassadors of the Dancing on the Square project. In April, he already become more closely acquainted with some of the dancers in Salgótarján. Here are a few of his insights: “I used to always attend BFO concerts with my […]
One member of the Festival Orchestra is taking an even keener interest in the progress made by the Dancing on the Square kids. Our violinist, Antónia Bodó, visited the regional meeting in Salgótarján, checked out the dance rehearsal and joined them for a hike up to Salgó Castle. This is what she shared: “It is […]
We are overjoyed to have lead singer Dóri Behumi and the Budapest Bár join the ambassadors of Dancing on the Square project this year. She has a nice, personal message for us: “I have a clear memory of attending my first chamber music lesson as a flute student when I was about 10. The experience […]
She has been called Mother Theresa, named heroine of the year, and a child from Hétes once said, “Perhaps Kriszta never sleeps – she always takes care of everything”. Kriszta Bódis, CEO of the Van Helyed (You Belong!) Foundation has been an ambassador of the Dancing on the Square project for years. Her message for […]
The Festival Orchestra’s relationship with Karcag is a long-standing one. We have treated locals in the past to free concerts in the synagogue and in a church, and now we have brought our children’s programme, the Music Castle, to this Jászság city (known far and wide for its mutton stew). This was our regional meeting […]
We are astonished at our regional meeting each year in Téglás at how intently the children pay attention to one another and by their level of concentration. They were almost 150, yet they waited in perfect silence for the icebreaker games by DIA, and for instructions by our lead choreographer, Berci Vári. Yet the hero […]
The 9 April regional meeting in Salgótarján was unique for a number of reasons. This was the first occasion for groups of local preschool children, as well as the kids from the Dancing on the Square project, to see the Festival Orchestra’s Music Castle programme. The concert had the pre-schoolers laughing aloud. Squabbling instruments, a […]
On 5 April, we held our first regional meeting in Cserdi, where we always receive a warm welcome from Mayor László Bogdán and the entire village. Each time we return, we hear something worth carrying home with us. This time, we will be remembering these words: “I am a real fan of the BFO. If […]
The Dancing on the Square project is set to continue in 2018, with plans to involve 526 students from 24 schools this year. And preparations are already under way! The first and most important step is that to ensure that the teachers and dance instructors working with the children are able to commence this months-long […]
“The Dancing on the Square camp has opened my mind,” said one participant after the camp. This summer, for the second time, we had the opportunity to organise a summer camp for children participating in the Dancing on the Square project and their teachers. While we do have some expertise in organising camps and transporting […]
The young dancers of Heroes’ Square did not stray far from the Dancing on the Square project during the summer: the fantastic team from the Budapest Festival Orchestra and the Foundation For Democratic Youth organised one summer camp in July and one in August for the children and the accompanying adults, who, like the youngsters, […]
The writer and poet János Lackfi, an ambassador of the Dancing on the Square project, provided a crystal clear description of what it felt like to be a spectator in Heroes’ Square and to share the joy of 10 June. I appreciate the opportunity to have been one of the ambassadors of the BFO’s Dancing […]
Thousands turned out once again in Heroes’ Square last Saturday (10 June) for the Dancing on the Square performance led by Iván Fischer, where five hundred fabulous young people danced together to the music of the Budapest Festival Orchestra. The heroes of the day on 10 June were clearly the children who danced in Heroes’ […]
“The best part was sleeping in bunk beds, roasting marshmallows over a campfire, talking even after lights-out and wandering around the forest without Mum…and I also liked that our uncle, who lives in Budapest, was also able to see us dance!” – the children from Karcag summarised their experiences in Csillebérc preceding the Dancing on […]
“We never had any pop bands come to play here in Cserdi. And so long as I have any say in the matter, I’d rather have the Festival Orchestra. And not because Fischer is such a big shot”, Cserdi’s mayor László Bogdán, and one of the Dancing on the Square project’s ambassadors, tells Fidelio (a […]
“The Dancing on the Square project is my life.” Thirteen-year-old Ramóna Rácz from the Hungarian town of Salgótarján plans to be a hairdresser, but as long as she can remember, she has wanted to dance. This is just another reason why the Dancing on the Square project – which she is representing this year as […]
We met in Apátfalva on April 13, and finally had the chance to meet two of our junior ambassadors in person: Sándor Sinoros-Szabó and Domonkos Mátó Here too, there was plenty of song, dance and games. “The first time it was exciting and interesting to perform at the Dancing on the Square concert; my legs […]
The second regional assembly was held in Téglás on April 11. It was wonderful to hear feedback from the children: “I love dancing!”, “it’s good to be together!” and “it’s so amazing that we’re here together and having fun”. Our musicians even had their own “attendants” – check it out (and see how their eyes […]
Erzsébet Virágos is a teacher of Hungarian in Salgótarján and the main co-ordinator and mentor of the local youths who have become the driving force behind the town’s community programmes. She helps the secondary school students organise and run the preparatory activities for children in Salgótarján participating in the Dancing on the Square project. We […]
The Dancing on the Square concert was one of the key topics at our press conference in Müpa Budapest, 29 March. We announced that one of the highlights of the season will be the Dancing on the Square project, to be held on Heroes’ Square on June 10th. This year, over five hundred children, some […]
On 24 March, the “Choose your Instrument”, sponsored by the Norway Grants, was presented at the BFO’s rehearsal hall to half of the youngsters who participated in the Dancing on the Square project in June – nearly 250 kids. It was opened by Nóra L. Ritók, one of the ambassadors from the Dancing on the […]
On March 9, the Foundation for Democratic Youth’s team was in the town of Ózd, Hungary, at the You Have a Place (Van Helyed) Studio, working with local catalysts. Who are they? People from the helping professions, teachers and musicians, all are drawn together by the desire to change that which seems to be unchangeable: […]
With over a thousand dancing feet, nearly a hundred musicians and one conductor, the Budapest Festival Orchestra (BFO) will once again be giving a free concert on Heroes’ Square on 10 June. The heroes of the event will be the young people, Roma and non-Roma from privileged and less-privileged backgrounds, for whom the preparations have […]
Preparations for the 2017 Dancing on the Square performance are underway. This means not only that the choreographies are ready and rehearsals are in progress, but also that we are preparing schoolteachers and dance instructors for the tasks and challenges ahead – for we can expect the latter as well. Although the project is indeed […]
Before starting to work with the kids we deemed it important for the dance teachers who are to teach the choreography of the DancingOnTheSquare performance to have an opportunity to meet each other, to discuss and debate the experiences, difficulties and joys of the previous season, and to equip them with sufficient tools to handle […]
It was a wonderfully sunny autumn day when the team of the Foundation for Democratic Youth visited Apátfalva to meet the kids who can’t wait to join the DancingOnTheSquare community-building programme. The deputy mayor, the head teacher, the manager of the cultural centre, nursery teachers and dance tutors along with youth representatives were all present. […]
We were recounting stories in the Festival Orchestra rehearsal hall to representatives of the media, in the company of our partners and friends, about the experiences of the children participating in the DancingOnTheSquare project and what we learned. During our work we heard the story of a girl who cannot blow into her flute as […]
“Only the truly brave dare to stand up and perform.” In October the Festival Orchestra took its community concert entitled Music Castle to Cserdi, a mostly Roma-populated village in Baranya county, where a miracle happened. There’s not enough space here to tell you all about it. Instead, please read the on-site reports of wmn.hu, Abcúg […]
Gathering new experiences continued in August, when together with the Foundation for Democratic Youth we organised a 4-day-long DanceCampOnTheSquare for 42 socially disadvantaged children. Cooperation, folk dancing, new friendships, drama sessions and colourful personalities: these were the highlights of the participating children during the few days in Hollókő, where the accompanying teachers were also […]
It was a great pleasure for us to celebrate children’s talents and the community-building power of music and dance in the name of tolerance with thousands of spectators at the DancingOnTheSquare event. As Iván Fischer put it: “Tolerance begins where we can learn to love each other’s values, where we can find beauty in what […]