Ethno-fitness – the new Hungarian Zumba based on folkloric elements

The government accepted a project working to develop a new way to exercise while getting to know a bit more about Hungarian culture, music and dance. 

A Hungarian association won 12 million forints (33 thousand euros) on a tender for the development of a so-called “ethno-fitness” project. Népszava.hu asked for the application document individually awarded by Miklós Kásler, Minister of Human Resources.

But what does ethno-fitness mean exactly? Finding out was quite the work since the phone number on the association’s website was not valid, and their address in Nagykanizsa led to an empty apartment. When the association’s president was finally reached on Facebook, she could not explain the project’s exact concept, so she redirected Népszava to his husband, the vice-president. He then explained that

ethno-fitness is their “development, a range of fitness exercises to Hungarian folkloric music. The objective is to reach out to youngsters. It is a way to show them the huge and rich heritage of Hungarian folkloric music and dance.”

Apart from his description, the two page-long application document does not share a lot of further information. The association will work with a dance group, a choreographer and a fitness-instructor to make “the music and dance of the Hungarian farmer nation” popular.

The choreographer will work on a series of moves that he will teach to a dance group. They will create a 40 minute-long educational video. Based on the association’s hopes, this video could be sent to schools and other folk dance groups.