Dénes Dreisziger and Gissella Santayana

Status:  
Specialty:  
Range:
 

Active
Hungarian
Hungarian

Gissella Santayana and Dénes Dreisziger

CLICK TO ENLARGE


Dénes Dreisziger is from Montréal, Canada, and teaches Hungarian dances. Dénes didn't have much choice but to start fok dancing when he was seven years old, as his father was the Artistic Director of the Toronto-based Kodaly at the time. In his teens, he had the opportunity to learn from the likes of Timár Sándor Farkas "Batyü" Zoltán, and Zsuráfszki Zoltán, and later a good number of the younger generation of top Hungarian folk dance choreographers.

Dénes dance professionally with Les Sortilèges before moving to Bratislavia, Slovakia, to dance with Ifù Szivek. Since his return to North America in 2008, he and his wife Gissella Santayana have been the Artistic Directors of the Bokréta Hungarian Folkdance Ensemble of Montréal, Québec.

Gissella Santayana started dancing in her native Peru, where her family attended numerous village celebrations throughout her childhood. Gissella danced professionally in the Ifù Szivek ensemble in Slovakia where Gypsy, Hungarian, Romanian, and Slovak dances were constantly in the repertoire.

She has been dancing for many years and has taught dances to children and adult groups as well as choreographed in North America and Europe. Gissella has travelled extensively for more than a decade in Hungary, Slovakia, and Transylvania to learn from and live with the keepers of their rich dancing tradition.

They have taught at several venues around the United States and Canada, including the Stockton Folk Dance Camp.

Dances Dénes and Gissella have taught include Csíkszentdomokosi Cepper, Csíkszentdomokosi Csárdás, Csingerálás, Kerekes, Öreg Zsidó, Párnás, Sántanémetes, and Változtatós.