This content was translated using AI.
With the material support of Zalaegerszeg Municipality, we announced a competition series in 1998 with the aim that we, today's young dancers, develop a deeper acquaintance with the characteristic, beautiful male dance of the Carpathian Basin, the "verbunk". In addition to mastering the given dances, this can also mean personal meetings with the tradition bearers.
The task of the 2026 verbunk competition is the verbunk dance of Sándor Keresztúri from Vajdaszentiván.
A) COMPETITION TASK
Round I: Compulsory dance
The dancer's task is to present a verbunk from Sándor Keresztúri's dance. The compulsory dance may be freely constructed; the organizers do not prescribe a set dance sequence from the tradition bearer.
The presented dance sequence must be minimum 1.5 minutes, maximum 2 minutes in length.
Round II: Freely chosen dance
The dancer's task is to present an improvised dance from any male dance of a tradition bearer from Vajdaszentiván.
The presented dance sequence must be minimum 1.5 minutes, maximum 2 minutes in length.
B) JUDGING
The jury consists of three members.
Evaluation criteria:
1. The authenticity and style of the dance.
2. The quality of the construction of the free dance.
3. The appearance, bearing, and costume of the dancer.
C) PRIZES
The jury decides on the following prizes:
1st place: 70,000 Ft and a traveling trophy offered by the Rákóczi Kovács Gusztáv Tradition-Preserving Ensemble from Nagyecsed
2nd place: 50,000 Ft
3rd place: 30,000 Ft
The jury's task also includes awarding any offered special prizes. An audience prize will also be given, for which spectators of the competition may vote.
E) HOW TO REGISTER
Registration for the competition is open until 31 August 2026 at midnight via the following link:
https://forms.gle/SL6RbJgaYo95VgMRA
Entry fee: 2,500 Ft
We wish you good preparation:
Zalai Táncegyüttes
Anyone can add events to the Folk Calendar. We try to check the data daily, but we cannot take responsibility for its accuracy.