Imola Virág & Endre Virág HU/RO| Representing Háromszék & Caterpillar Dance Ensembles

"My name is Imola Virág and I have been an official dancer of the Háromszék Dance Ensemble since 1997. In 2006 we launched the Caterpillar children dance collective together with my husband and each week we teach dance to over 150 children.

Our aim is to share Hungarian folk heritage as widely as possible, passing on skills in folk music, folk dance and traditions. Every year we organise various showcases all over Transylvania and over the years we have also performed internationally, appearing in Hungary, Portugal, Finland to name just a few places.

in 2007 and 2010 I worked with the Le Baroque Nomad XVII-2 band from Paris. Over the last 20 years we have taught in countless dance camps, running Dance Houses around Transylvania as well as cities from Bucharest to Brussels."

Endre Virág

I was born in County Maros, more specifically in Szászrégen in 1967. I got introduced to folk dance in 1985, when I joined the Folk Dance Studio Group led by the renowned Árpád Könczei. After the regime change the Háromszék Dance Ensemble was launched, of which I am a founding member. In 2007 I joined the County Kovászna Cultural Centre as a leader of dance , but I continued to perform with Háromszék Dance Ensemble until 2015.

Dance is an important part of my life and the source of a lot of work, sweat as well as much happiness. Dance brought me together with my wife Imola and in 2008 our son Nimród was born. With my dear wife we think it is our calling to share folk music and folk dance as widely as possible. We believe that as a basic human right that every child should be able to learn their mother tongue and in the same way every child should have the opportunity to experience their folk heritage and learn folk dance. Because of this belief, we launched the Caterpillar Dance Ensemble in the autumn of 2006, and we now have over 150 young participants.

I have been working with the dance cultures of the Carpathian Basin since 1985, gaining expertise in Hungarian, Romanian and Roma dance styles since being a member of the Folk Dance studio group. I have been dancing for over 30 years, 25 of of which with the Háromszék Dance Ensemble. Since 1992 I have been an educator of dance teaching in camps, schools and dance houses. Currently I am working with almost 600 children and young people, passing on valuable knowledge in our dance traditions. I have been awarded several awards for my work, including the Kacsó András Award. Since 2020 I am the president of the Hungarian Folk Dance Association of Romania.

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