Richard Balazs (left) and Roman Lewkowicz

The Harmonia Wedding Band: from left,
Steven Greenman, Alexander Fedoriouk,
Walt Mahovlich and Paul Morrissett.

We are pleased to sponsor our second Carpathian event, featuring music and dance from Hungary and the surrounding area.

Dance workshops:

Dance classes will be led by two former Tamburitzans making their Harrisburg debut: Richard Balazs (Szatmar) (Hungarian/Transylvanian) and Roman Lewkowicz (Slovak).

More about Richard Balazs »
More about Roman Lewkowicz »

Praise for Walt Mahovlich and the Harmonia Wedding Band:

"It is hard to describe Harmonia's music without sounding overblown, but the adjectives called to mind are no exaggeration. Brilliant. Lush. Dazzling. Soulful. All true, but still insufficient to evoke the passion and exhilaration, the melancholy and triumph, that a Harmonia performance evokes. Each individual musician is stunningly virtuosic; together, they weave such a complex layer of richly textured sound that the only thing one can liken it to is the finest of traditional oriental rugs." -- Judy Barlas in Sing Out! Magazine, Spring 2001

...at Christ the Saviour Orthodox Church

5501 Locust Lane, Harrisburg Directions

Hungarian/Slovak Dance Workshops

Dance workshops with Richard Balazs and Roman Lewkowicz.

• Saturday Morning 9:30am
• Saturday Afternoon 1:30pm
• ...plus a light lunch between sessions

For each workshop:

• $16 General Admission

• $12 SFMS Members

  SFMS Members Save!

• $10 Students

  — ages 3 to 22
• Admission is at the door.
• For more information, call Bart at 717-234-3844
  or email bart.carpenter (at) sfmsfolk.org

Concert/Dance: 7:30pm

The evening concert features performances by Richard and Roman, a concert by Harmonia Wedding Band, and open dancing, including material learned during the daytime classes.

Saturday Night Festivities:

• $18 General Admission

• $14 SFMS Members

  SFMS Members Save!

• $10 Students

  — ages 3 to 22
• Admission is at the door.
• For more information, call Bart at 717-234-3844
  or email bart.carpenter (at) sfmsfolk.org

About Richard Balazs

Richard Balazs was born in Kisvarda, a small town in Northeastern Hungary. He began dancing at the age of 3, encouraged by his father, Dr. Gustav Balazs, a renowned authority on Hungarian Gypsy dance and folklore. Richard was also lucky enough to grow up in a "dance family"; his aunts, uncles and cousins are among the best Gypsy dancers in the Szatmar region of Hungary and are often the subjects of anthropologists and folk dance researchers. From a young age, Richard frequently accompanied his father on research trips, workshops and rehearsals. By the age of 6, Richard was already being asked to join established folk ensembles as a guest performer.

Richard danced competitively as a child and won many awards. At fourteen, he traveled to Finland to study classical ballet, finishing five years worth of classes in one year. Returning to Hungary, he became a professional dancer and instructor, traveling throughout Europe and gathering laurels. At the age of 18, Richard was accepted at the Kossuth Lajos University in Debrecen to study Anthropology, but decided instead to study in America at Duquesne University in Pittsburgh. He was awarded a scholarship to join the Duquesne University Tamburitzans, a folk group specializing in Eastern European music, song and dance.

During his four years as a Tamburitzan, Richard performed across North America, averaging 100 shows per year, while still maintaining full-time student status. Richard has taught workshops and choreographed dances for folk dance groups across the United States and Canada.

About Roman Lewkowicz

Roman Lewkowicz is a professional dancer in New York City who grew up in a Ukrainian community near Binghamton, NY and began dancing Ukrainian folk dances at age three. From 1991 to 1994, he danced with Syzokryli Ukrainian Ensemble in New York. From 1994 to 1997, he was a member of the Duquesne University Tamburitzans, where he had the opportunity to learn from a variety of prestigious choreographers of multiple nationalities. Touring all across the United States, the ensemble performed over 90 shows per season.

Roman spent the 1998 season in Presov, Slovakia, where he performed with PUL'S, the Dukla Ukrainian Dance Company, and also danced with multiple local Slovakian ensembles, including Sarisan, Dubrava and Karpat'anin. For the last group, he choreographed two dances, one of which was broadcast nationally over the Slovak Television Broadcasting Station as part of the opening ceremony of the 45th Svidnik Rusyn-Ukrainian Folk Festival.

He founded and directs the folk song and dance ensemble "OBRIJ" in New York City. The emphasis of his ensemble is to preserve and perpetuate the dances of the Carpathian Mountains and numerous regions of Ukraine. He also dances with and serves as guest instructor for the Limbora Slovak Folk Dance Ensemble of New York City.

Roman has taught and choreographed dances across the Northeast. He was an instructor of Ukrainian and Russian dance at the Sudly Dance and Arts studio of Manassas, VA. He also was called as an instructor for Ukrainian dance and culture for the 2002 Passport Project in Cleveland. The Cleveland program is designed to use the folk arts as a vehicle to educate and promote racial and religious diversity within inner city schools in Cleveland. He worked with multi-ethnic children between the ages of 10 and 12 by educating them in Ukrainian dance, culture and language.