Hungarian Costume and dance

Every year the Smithsonian Institution in Washington DC brings the cultures of countries from all around the world to their annual Folk Life Festive that runs for two weeks at the end of June and beginning of July.

I try to go every year.  It is always so excellent.  This year the featured country is Hungary. I had to go back a second time to bring my husband, it was so good this year. This link will take you to the official site for this year.

I want to share some photos I took and a couple short videos, if you can't come see it yourself. But, if you live near Washington ... it runs through July 7th, come on down!

My favorite performance were the finalists of the "Peacock Talent Show", an Hungarian TV show.  All the contestants must be between 18 and 35 and they can only perform absolutely authentic Hungary music and dance.

The show began with a small brass ensemble.

This young lady, who we were told is an engineer in real life, sang a hauntingly beautiful solo song.

Then a young couple got up to dance. All the woman dancers wore really full and beautiful petticoats and pantalets under their skirts. Because they were constantly spinning and the skirt would fly way up! Below is a short video showing this.

The Hungarian traditional clothing is beautiful. I loved the outfits these ladies were wearing.
When I saw the show a second time I asked one of the women what was under their skirts.  I thought it might be some kind of stuffed bum roll because there was so much padding around the hips.  She lifted her skirt and let me feel her petticoat.  She had two petticoats that were as stiff as cardboard.  Each petticoat was made with a cotton print on the inside and outside with something like buckram sanwiched between. The hem was scalloped with a blanket stitch worked over a raw cut edge.  I wish I could have seen how it was attached to the waist, but it must have been cartridge pleats. Nothing else would have worked. That would explain the incredible thickness just below the waist.  She also told me that some women wear up to 5 or 6 of these petticoats ... WOW.

The men mostly wear trousers, shirt, vest and sometimes a jacket with fun hats. They, also, wear stove pipe knee boots which they slap with their hands when they are jumping up and down clapping and slapping other parts of their bodies.  The men's dancing is so athletic.

The young man below wore this beautiful coat for his dance that featured the twirling of two long staffs.  

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Hungary was the main theme for the festival this year, but one of the other themes was "Voices of the World" which featured languages and cultures that are being lost.  I heard some Tuvan music and an energetic ensemble from Bolivia.  As I was walking through the booths of  handicrafts I saw this beautiful dress hanging in the Tuvan booth.

To give  you feeling of being at the festival, I didn't crop the photo so you can see the empty food containers on the grass!

I wonder what they will do next year?