A hiány lendülete. Az erdélyi magyar táncszínházi hálózat

The Momentum of Absence. The Transylvanian Hungarian Dance-Theatre Network

Co-publisher: Presa Universitară Clujeană

Noémi Bezsán’s volume presents the results of a theatre-historical inquiry that traces the formative stages and subsequent development of the Transylvanian Hungarian dance-theatre movement. The book maps the operational mode that has taken shape organically from the activities of Transylvanian Hungarian dance-theatre creators and the institutions collaborating with them, as well as from the reciprocal interactions among these actors. One of the structuring and generative factors in the evolution of the resulting network is the intergenerational transmission of knowledge and experience, which ensures a distinctive continuity for the dance-theatre current within the Transylvanian Hungarian cultural field. The author does not seek to circumscribe the phenomenon through a definitive conceptual framework; instead, she undertakes to uncover its contexts of emergence, to describe the organisational patterns of its functioning, and to analyse the tendencies of its artistic development. The study aims to interpret the contemporary dance-theatre sphere in light of its historical antecedents, with particular attention to the cultural, art-political, and aesthetic contexts of the twentieth century. In outlining the historical background, special emphasis is placed on those ruptures and absences that constrained or set back the development of dance art during the second half of the twentieth century. According to the premise articulated already in the book’s title, “absence” appears not merely as a hiatus, but simultaneously as a structuring and generative factor: it occupies the boundary between possibilities and constraints, and as such functions at once as an obstructing and an incentivising force. The structure of the volume, organised along a historical chronology, distinguishes three principal phases: (1) the dance-art antecedents preceding the turn of the millennium; (2) the dance-theatre initiatives that emerged within the institutional frameworks of theatre and professional folk dance; and (3) the stage marking the establishment of movement- and dance-theatre workshops. The book is the first to undertake the creation of a contextual analysis that illuminates the internal dynamics of Transylvanian Hungarian dance-theatre practice, with particular attention to mapping its strengths, ruptures, absences, and areas requiring further development.