Iván Markó (29 March 1947 – 21 April 2022) was a Hungarian

choreographer Choreography is the art of designing sequences of movements of physical bodies (or their depictions) in which Motion (physics), motion or Visual appearance, form or both are specified. ''Choreography'' may also refer to the design itself. A chor ...

and ballet

dance Dance is an The arts, art form, consisting of sequences of body movements with aesthetic and often Symbol, symbolic value, either improvised or purposefully selected. Dance can be categorized and described by its choreography, by its repertoir ...

Biography

Markó was born in

Balassagyarmat Balassagyarmat (Hungarian: ; formerly ''Balassa-Gyarmath''; ; or ) is a town in northern Hungary. It was the seat of the Nógrád County, Nógrád Comitatus (Kingdom of Hungary), comitatus. Balassagyarmat is the capital city of Palóc country as ...

. He studied

dancing Dance is an art form, consisting of sequences of body movements with aesthetic and often symbolic value, either improvised or purposefully selected. Dance can be categorized and described by its choreography, by its repertoire of movements or ...

at the Hungarian State Ballet Institute in Budapest. After having graduated in 1967, Markó joined the

Hungarian State Opera The Hungarian State Opera is the national opera company of Hungary. Located in Budapest, it is a busy institution, with over 200 operas each calendar year, on top of extensive educational programs, ballet, and musical theatre. The company employs ...

, where he became a

principal dancer A principal dancer (often shortened to principal) is a dancer at the highest rank within a professional dance company, particularly a ballet company. A principal may be either gender. The position is similar to that of ''Soloist (ballet), solois ...

in 1971. In 1972 dancer,

and

opera director Crossbreed is an American industrial metal band from Clearwater, Florida, formed in 1996. They were signed with Artemis Records before being dropped from the label in 2003. The band released two EPs and three full-length albums before disbandi ...

Maurice Béjart Maurice Béjart (; 1 January 1927 – 22 November 2007) was a French dancer, choreographer and Theatre director, opera director who ran the Béjart Ballet Lausanne in Switzerland. He developed a popular expressionistic form of modern ballet, tac ...

invited Markó to his

Ballet of the 20th Century Ballet () is a type of performance dance that originated during the Italian Renaissance in the fifteenth century and later developed into a concert dance form in France and Russia. It has since become a widespread and highly technical form of ...

. One of his best known roles was in Béjart's production of Stravinsky's ''

Firebird Firebird and fire bird may refer to: Mythical birds * Phoenix (mythology), sacred firebird found in the mythologies of many cultures ** Fenghuang, sometimes called Chinese phoenix * Vermilion bird, one of the four symbols of the Chinese constella ...

''. In 1974 he was ranked as one of the top ten ballet dancers worldwide. In 1979 Markó established the Győr Ballet in

Győr Győr ( , ; ; names of European cities in different languages: E-H#G, names in other languages) is the main city of northwest Hungary, the capital of Győr-Moson-Sopron County and Western Transdanubia, Western Transdanubia region, and – halfwa ...

, Hungary. He was director of the ensemble until 1991. Markó was a choreographer for the Bayreuth Festival from 1985. He also worked at the Jerusalem Academy of Music and Dance, and as a guest choreographer for other companies. In 1996, he established the Hungarian Ballet Festival. Markó died in April 2022, at the age of 75.

Awards in Hungary

Markó was a recipient of the

Kossuth Prize The Kossuth Prize (, ) is a state-sponsored award in Hungary, named after the Hungarian politician and revolutionist Lajos Kossuth. The Prize was established in 1936, by the Hungarian National Assembly, to acknowledge outstanding personal and grou ...

in 1983, and was also a recipient of the Meritorious Artist Prize and SZOT Prize, and a member of the Society of Immortals from 2005. In 2007, Markó was awarded the

Hungarian Order of Merit The Hungarian Order of Merit () is the fourth highest State Order of Hungary. Founded in 1991, the order is a revival of an original order founded in 1946 and abolished in 1949. Its origins, however, can be traced to the Order of Merit of the K ...

. He was also made an honorary citizen of his birthplace, Balassagyarmat. Markó was a recipient of the Prima Primissima Prize in 2008.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Markó, Iván 1947 births 2022 deaths Hungarian choreographers Hungarian ballet dancers Artists of Merit of the Hungarian People's Republic People from Balassagyarmat Hungarian Jews