The fast paced Czardas (chär-däsh) whose correct spelling is Csárdás is the National dance and music style of Hungary. The dance originally derived from the Magya Kor (Hungarians, c.9th century to present) and palotás peoples and later became popular in the early 1800's. Czardas means 'Innkeeper' and is of Gypsy origin which is done in duple time (2/4). The dance starts off slow, easy and sedate then ends up in a fast whirling and turning pace. There are still performing troupes who do this dance today.

   The tárogató instrument, (similar in timbre) to that of the clarinet, provides much colour, in parts making everything sound traditionally Russian. The female does steps that are similar to Flamenco but the sounds she makes are not

important while at the same time using their hands around the body in a shimmering type motion. Their outfits (wide skirts) are used to accent the turning and twirling they do while dancing. The males steps again are similar to the Flamenco but uses his heels to create 'Sharkazni' or a stomping sound. The male will leap, jump, squat and use knee bends etc. while they dance. The male and female dancers will also clap and snap their fingers to create a mood to the rhythm of the music. Many people in the United States see this dance as a Russian dance, however it is not.

   The Jewish Czárdás dance version seems to be related, but is more of a couples dance form (touching or partnered) rather than the male and / or female not touching but dancing together. Some of the steps used like the Rida, Buzz and Chug steps, leaps and knee bends (dips) play a part.

   In America, the Russian dance was usually performed with what they called 'Kazotskys', where the dancer squats down, crosses their arms across their chest and Kicks their legs out alternately. Altho this was an allready established Hungarian dance called Czardas and it was not Russian, most Americans would not know the difference and still today see it as Russian dancing. Ida Forsyne was one of the first American woman to do these 'Kazotsky's' at the end of her performance in her Moscow program. These "Kazotsky's where done long before her but after this one performance, and her improvisations of it, she would be hailed (incorrectly) as the greatest Russian dancer of all time as she traveled the world for nine years without a break. For about 15 years this style Ida started would be done by many dancers in American Vaudeville and even on the Broadway stages from 1911 to 1925 and was even portrayed this way in many Hollywood movies and Telvision shows even today.

   Russian / Hungarian dancing was popular in the States especially in American Vaudeville as early as 1900, but Ida Forsyne brought it to the forefront, up until Tap dancers started to control the stages. Ida Forsyne, Greenlee and Drayton, U.S. Thompson, Willie Covan, Dewey Weinglass and others would excell in these qoute "Russian Dances," often times calling it Legomania and sometimes a mixture these and other dances were called Eccentric dancing after WWI (see below).

Posters, Lobby Cards etc.

Sheet Music Covers

CD's

Csardas

$ Gipsy Czardas & Flamenco

Ka`lma`n Imre (1945)

$ Slovak Csardas: Dance Tunes from the Pennsylvania Coal Mines 1928-1930- CD

The Minstrel

Night Clubs

Theaters

Locations

Carpathian Mountains

Hungary

Paris, France

Slovakia Mountains

Transylvania (Romania)

Czardas Music ... ]< = Listen

C'est Si Bon Czardas

Czardas Of Spisz

Mendez Czardas (Rafael Méndez)

Chardas

$ Czardas Vivace

Parobek Czardas

Classic Dance Of The Czardas

Czikos Czardas

Sacred Czardas

$ Czardas (Rafael Méndez) ]< ]<

$ Danze hongroise Czardas

Solo Magyar

$ Czardas Caprice

Goulash Czardas 1

Czardas Danube Waltz

$ Lied und Czardas from Mariska

Mgayar Polkák

Czardas Related Films

Ballets / Stage

1927 - Czardasfürstin, Die (Princess Csardas)

1914 - Célestins of Lyon

1928 - Ungarische Rhapsodie

1915 - Princesse Czardas

1934 - Die Czardasfürstin (Princess Csardas)

1921 - Célestins of Lyon

1935 - Csardas

Coppélia (Petipa also Alonso)

1935 - Princess Czardas (Czardasfürstin, Die)

Swan Lake

1937 - Csardas: Her Wildest Night (Ihre tollste Nacht)

1937 - Zauber der Boheme (Magic of the Boheme)

1944 - Bulgaro-ungarska rapsodiya

1954 - Ungarische Rhapsodie

1957 - Emmerich-Kalman-Story, Die (Czardas-König der)

1958 - Czardas-König, Der (Princess Czardas)

Publications

1964 - Képek a magyar némafilm történetéböl (silents)

$ Czardas, the by Diane Pearson

1971 - Csárdáskirálynö (Princess Czardas)

$ Dances of the Hungarians (Rearick) '39

1979 - Magyar rapszódia

$ Hungarian folk dances by György Martin

1991 - Magyar rekviem

$ A Concise History of Hungary (Molnár)

2003 - Magyar szépség

$1997 - Footnotes: the classics of ballet (Coppélia)

Subscriptions

Slovak Czardas and Songs (Dudik, Mrenica, Puskar)

$ Magyar Elet = Hungarian Life Magazine

$ Amerikai Magyar Szo Newspaper

$ Slovak Week Newspaper

$ Slovak V Amerike = Slovak American Mag.

$ Slavic & east European Performance Mag.

Other Related Dances of the time...

Allemande

Bukovynskyj Veselyj Tanok

Gopak

Legini

Romani Dances

Bayadère

Circle Dance

Gypsy Dance

Magyar friss dance

Russian Dance

Berceuse

Cossack Dance

Hopak

Mazurka

Sabre Dance

Bokazo?

Czardas Marimba

Hora

Obereks

Slovak Czardas

Botolo Tanc

Flamenco

Hungarian Dance

Polka

Slavonic Dance

Bottle Dances

Folk Dancing

Legenyes

Poltavskyj Kozaczok

Turning Dance

Punjabi folk dance

Waltz

Dancers, Choreographers etc.

Political

Books, Magazine Articles on the dance...

Title

Author

Date Published

Publisher

Musicians / Bands / Composers etc.

Singers

Artists

Brahms, Johannes (1833-1897)

Chet Atkins

B. Gestwicki (Lustige Blatter mag. 1927)

$ Delibes, Léo (1836-1891)

Jan Kiepura

Enesco, Georges (1881-1955)

Ljuba Welitsch

Leahy

Marta Eggert

Liszt, Franz (1811-1886)

Mendez, Rafael

Michaeloff, Mischa (1950s)

$ Monti, Vittori (1868-1922)

Moreau, Adrien c. 1877 (Les Tsiganes)

Gladiators, Nero And The

Strauss, Johann (1825-1899)

Tchaikovsky, Pyotr Il'yich (1840-93)

Misc. Research Words that may be related ... to help your searches

Chasidic communities

Gypsy

Kazotskys

Jewish dance

Roma (Romani)

sharkazni (Heel Strikes)

Tambura

Táncház

Other...