Tibor Toghia

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Hungarian
Hungarian

Tibor Toghia

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Tibor Toghia, also known as "Ted" or "Tibbie," was born in Hungary and was one of the 1956 immigrants, coming to this country when he was three years old. He is fluent in both Hungarian and English. He studied and choreographed dances under Andor Czompo's guidance and direction, a 20-year relationship, as well as with Sándor Timár, artistic director of the Hungarian State Folk Ensemble.

Ted has done field research in Hungary and Transylvania. He has choreographed for other Hungarian and international dance groups since 1972.

He became the artistic director and director for the Kárpátok Hungarian Folk Ensemble of Los Angeles, California. Kárpátok was founded in 1965 by a group of young Hungarian immigrants wishing to preserve their heritage. The name "Kárpátok" was chosen as a symbol of greater Hungary and the ensemble's repertoire include examples from all three dance dialects: Transdanubia, the great Hungarian Plains and Transylvania. In the last thirty years, more than 400 members have participated in Kárpátok.

Tibor Toghia Tibor Toghia In 1983, Ted brought the Tanchaz movement, combined with workshops, to the West Coast. He has taught at the Palo Alto Hungarian Heritage Festival and he produced recorded music and singing from the Sárkőz region. In 1985 he was honored in Hungary with publication in Labanotation of his own chroeographic work, a suite of dances from Kalocsa. He toured Hungary with Kárpátok. The group also participated in the World Festival and Ted was able to conduct field research on this trip.

Ted choreographed a suite of dances from the village of Jászalsoszentgyörgy and also taught the dances of the Jászság area to Hungarian dance enthusiasts at a traditional táncház dance party in Los Angeles. He also choreographed Délalföldi Táncok, a suite of dances from Délalföld, for the Storm Mountain Folk Dancers of Fort Collins, Colorado.

Kárpátok teamed with Anthony Shay's AVAZ International Dance Theatre for a dual performance in 1986. While Kárpátok follows a traditional path, that of preserving Hungarian songs, dances, and identity for those Americans sharing that ancestry, AVAZ reflects the distinctly American vision of safeguarding multiple heritages that artistic director Anthony Shay pioneered when he co-founded AMAN in 1964.

Ted returned to Hungary where he was involved in an industrial accident.

Dances Ted has taught include Adjon a Isten, Kalocsai Táncok, Lörincrévi Táncok, Sárkőzi Lassu és Friss Csárdás, Sárkőzi Táncok, Szatmári Táncok, and Sárkőzi Ugrós.