Alternatív előadási formák az iskolai színjátszás történetében.Tornaünnepélyek a 19. és a 20. században

Abstract

Alternative Forms of Performance in the History of School Theatre. Gymnastics Festivities in the 19th and 20th Centuries

This paper focuses on the school gymnastics festivities in the 1910s. I have been trying to study the new opportunities created by these events, organized quite frequently, and to demonstrate the new performance techniques around the center of the school presentations: the movement of the body. I am going to analyze whether within the context of school theatre the gymnastics performances can be considered group productions and also whether the additional narrative and musical elements possess the elements necessary for modern social performances. The occasions on which the festivities were organized will be targeted as well, to show how important they might have been in the life of the town, in the cultural memory of the community. As long as the events were organized by an educational institute, the question arises about what the relation is between proper education and physical education performances. Further questions arose in connection with the cultural conventions of using the space, the scenario of the events and the symbols involved. The gymnastics festivities organized in the 1910s thoroughly determined the cultural life of both the educational institution involved and the city itself. After all, the techniques of body movement and the ritual elements show similarity with the dance performances of modern times.