This one-hour program taught attendees the basic positions in ethnic folk dancing, the fundamental steps, and classic accompanying songs. The performers demonstrated Slovaky Verbuňk - which was placed on the UNESCO List of Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity, along with Slovaká Beseda - which are simple folk dances from the Slovácko region with basic position, steps, and couple dances from Kunovice and Hluk, as well as finally, dance games that include Metlový and Spadl z pece holúbek.
In order to attend the event, individuals were asked to pay a symbolic price of $5 for tickets so that the proceeds would be used to benefit the activities of the Czech Center Museum Houston.
This workshop was taught by The Folk Dance School from Kunovice, Czech Republic. They teach folk dances and dance games at folklore festivals - with their ultimate mission being that they want to preserve Czech customs and traditions through music, dance, and song. They promote this through dance performances done with precision, accuracy, and enthusiasm.
Lecturer: Ivana Majíčková
Dance accompaniment: Petr Majíček
Musical accompaniment: Students of the Brno Conservatory
Radovan Siman - violin, Kateřina Sečkářová -dulcimer
MEET THE ARTISTS:
Ivana Majíčková is a teacher. She loves folklore and has danced in a folklore group from the age of six. Her goal is to pass on our folk dances and customs to the next generations, not only in the folklore group but also to everyone who is interested in this genre. Since 1985, Ivana has been teaching folk dances from Moravia to young people who participate in festivals. In 2003, she founded the Folk Dance School in Kunovice. Within this school, courses are held in the verbunk; male dance, which is listed on the UNESCO List of Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity. Over the last twenty years, the school trained a number of excellent “recruiters”. Ten years ago, the school started organizing workshops during the Wine Festival in Uherske Hradiste. And now they wish to pass our folk dances to our compatriots in the USA.
Petr Majíček graduated from BUT in Brno, majoring in telecommunications. He is an entrepreneur. He is a big supporter and sponsor of the folk dance school and the trip to Texas. He takes care of the technology. He is the principal organizer of their tour.
Kateřina Sečkářová is a student in the 6th year of the Brno Conservatory. She has been playing the cimbalom 100% since the age of eight. Katerina plays classical music but mainly focuses on folk. Despite the fact that she is only 19 years old, she is one of the best cimbalom players in the Czech Republic. In 2018, Katerina won first place in the national competition and the jury prize for exceptional performance. At the International Cimbal Competition (CIMBALFEST) in 2017, she won a special jury prize for high artistic level, and in 2021 she took first place. Katerina plays with cimbalom musicians and with the Brno Philharmonic. She has already performed her art in Greece, Macedonia, Turkey, England, Croatia and Italy.
Radovan Siman is a student in the 5th year of the Brno Conservatory. He has been playing the violin and folklore since he was three years old. He was a member of a children’s folklore group and founded a children’s cimbalom music group. Radovan graduated from the Academy of Václav Hudeček, an excellent Czech violin virtuoso. He has won numerous awards and performed with the Bohuslav Martinů Philharmonic. In addition to playing the violin, Radovan is also engaged in folk dancing. He is one of the best dancers of the Slovak verbunk, and was the king of the Ride of Kings in Kunovice.
