''Táncdalfesztivál'' (literally ''Festival of dance music'') was a series of Hungarian

pop music Pop music is a genre of popular music that originated in its modern form during the mid-1950s in the United States and the United Kingdom.S. Frith, W. Straw, and J. Street, eds, ''iarchive:cambridgecompani00frit, The Cambridge Companion to Pop ...

competitions and exhibition shows, airing on the National Television from 1966 to 1994.

Significance

In a country with only one television channel, Táncdalfesztivál was the premier chance for young musicians to showcase their skills and become well known in the Hungary of the '60s. It was the starting point in the career of the era's most popular performers, like Kati Kovács,

Pál Szécsi Pál Szécsi (19 March 1944 – 30 April 1974) was a Hungarian pop singer, one of the most popular of all time, who achieved unprecedented cult status during his lifetime. Biography Pál Szécsi was born on 19 March 1944 in Budapest. His fathe ...

, Klári Katona or Zsuzsa Koncz. As television sets were just becoming widespread, it also meant a good opportunity to musicians already popular from the radio, but never seen performing live. Performers who gained fame through the show include

Éva Mikes Éva Mikes (22 December 1938. Budapest – 5 February 1986 Budapest.) was a Hungarian pop singer, who rose to fame during the 1960s. Biography Mikes started her music career at the late 1950s at the studio of the Magyar Rádió. Her charac ...

, Mária Toldy, Katalin Sárosi,

János Koós János Koós (born Kupsa; 20 November 1937 – 2 March 2019) was a Hungarian Pop music, pop singer, who became successful in the 1960s after participation in the talent show ''Táncdalfesztivál''. Early life János Koós (né Kupsa) was born i ...

, and László Aradszky. According to

János Bródy János Kristóf Bródy ( Hungarian: Bródy János, born 5 April 1946) is a Hungarian pop singer-songwriter, guitarist, composer and scriptwriter. Successful both with the bands Illés and Fonográf and in his solo career, writing lyrics for s ...

, the Táncdalfesztivál series played a key role in the renewal of the contemporary Hungarian music scene, which spread beyond national borders. The TV show had similar, equally successful radio counterparts called Tessék Választani and Made in Hungary.

Chronology

The classical Táncdalfesztivál was held annually between 1966 and 1972, followed by irregularly held competitions with varying names and scopes until 1994.

Sources

*István Zoltán Kiss. Magyar könnyűzenei lexikon 1962-től. Budapest: ZAJ-ZONe, 1998. *Dénes Gáncs, János Zoltán. A dallam diadala – A táncdalfesztiválok története. Budapest: La Ventana, 2004.

External links

tancdalfesztival.lap.hu
- a site collecting links related to Táncdalfesztivál and its performers {{DEFAULTSORT:Tancdalfesztival Hungarian television shows Talent shows 1960s Hungarian television series 1970s Hungarian television series 1980s Hungarian television series 1990s Hungarian television series Magyar Televízió original programming