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"I consciously tried to preserve my childish self"
Rita Góbi in the Lugas interview series
Bényei Adrienn - Magyar Nemzet
“I consciously tried to preserve my childish self” – says dancer Rita Góbi in the Lugas interview series
The works of dancer, choreographer and teacher Rita Góbi are characterized by both brave experimentation and precise choreography. Geometry and minimalism are present in her style, and in her performances, the close harmony of movement, music, projected visuals and lighting technology creates the futuristic atmosphere of the pieces
– How do you remember your early years?
– Tiszakálmánfalva, located near Novi Sad, is my hometown where I grew up. There was a small Hungarian community in our village, so there were six of us in a class. In order to break away from this small community, my parents thought I should learn something in the city. Since I really liked running and everything related to movement, I chose dance. I started my dance studies in a private studio in Novi Sad when I was seven years old.
– Did you fall in love with it from the first steps?
– I remember the great freedom and the great play. I was captivated by the joy of mere existence in dance. I fell in love with the fact that I could be myself here. Dance became a necessity for me, an integral part of my life. I met a very special, creative teacher who taught classes based on improvisation. This laid the foundation for my openness, I understood that dance is a form of communication that comes from within. Early dance school experiences gave me spontaneous improvisation, playfulness free from constraints. I remember that at my first performance, the others were on stage, my task was to just go in and improvise. From this I understood that I had to dance, and I really enjoyed the freedom. It was also important that dance was not tied to language, and I didn't have to speak in Serbian, I didn't have to introduce myself, I just gave what I was. This was a very good feeling because I grew up having difficulties in this environment because of my Hungarian background. I spoke Serbian well, but my name gave away where I came from.But dance was an existence for me where my nationality didn’t matter, I could function honestly. At the age of ten, I enrolled in the local ballet school on the recommendation of my teacher, and I went there for four years.
– At the age of fourteen, I came to Budapest from Novi Sad to study. It must have been difficult to break away from my home environment…
– It was very difficult and I struggled with a constant homesickness, but I left for dance, to learn more and develop myself. Thanks to a scholarship program, I was admitted to the Hungarian Academy of Dance, the Ballet Institute. I graduated in classical ballet in 2004, and later studied choreography and dance pedagogy.
– Dresden, Amsterdam, New York, Tokyo, Seoul — you’ve been to all these places. The culture is different everywhere. What were you able to gather from all this and incorporate into your own dance language?
– I am very grateful that at the Hungarian Academy of Dance I had the opportunity to regularly travel to summer universities abroad, where I could also study modern, contemporary techniques. At that time, only ballet courses existed in Budapest, which was a very good foundation, but I was also looking for something else. After ten years as a graduated ballet artist, I felt that I was not ready yet, that I needed to gain more knowledge. The teacher who taught in Dresden became the director of the University of Amsterdam and invited me to study there on a scholarship. Later, I experienced that dance is a global language that works anywhere in the world. There are different cultures, but when we are in a rehearsal room or on stage, we become one. If someone lives in Japan or Mexico and is involved in dance, they experience the same things as us, we go through the same processes. The stage is a stage everywhere, people have souls, they feel and think.
– How did your career continue at home?
– I joined the long-established Pécs Ballet, which was a good start. I gained significant experience in old classical pieces. I also created my own choreographies, I met many artists. When I left there, I felt that I had to dig deep into my own things, discover my inner dance. I wanted to open up even bigger and try even more extreme things. My goal is to step outside my comfort zone, take on absurd, experimental, unusual things. I was also found in acting roles and the fashion world, and I was also able to appear in films.
– Did all of this come true?
– Yes, I worked as an independent artist for ten years, I was able to try many things.
– Which one is the most memorable?
– I filled my days with maximum intensity with dance. I was able to participate in three work processes in one day, I was invited to smaller and larger projects, and at night I continued experimental workshops. It was very decisive that Miklós Jancsó saw me on stage and invited me to his upcoming film. For example, I appeared in Ede’s feature film “I Ate My Lunch,” and I will never forget the filming of his last sketch film. I also worked a lot in the Bozsik Yvette Company, where I also got to experience what kind of children to perform for, how to be present in front of a children’s audience.
– Children really like Hacukaland. How did this come about?
– The background to Hacukaland is that I work a lot with puppet actors, directors and theatres, we influence each other. The performance was born in collaboration with the BábSzíntér in Kaposvár, with which I travel the world a lot. I don’t speak in my performances, I think it’s important that the image that appears in front of them creates stories in them. In other words, they can use their imagination freely. After each children’s performance, I invite the young people to an interactive movement activity and game, where we get to know our body parts and dance.
– What do you consider the most important thing in your choreographies?
– Choreography is not just a form, but a physical representation of thoughts and feelings. Most of my choreography is technically very difficult, in which case the body goes beyond the boundaries of everyday existence. When this is present, the kind of transformation that interests me takes place. I like to research and experiment. My goal has always been to give people something unusual, personal, unique. You have to learn the technique of dance, I have mastered many styles, but there was a point when I asked myself who I am, what is my dance? That's when I decided to focus only on honing and understanding my own style, improvising in the dark, without music. It is important that the movement is born to an inner music. This way, the musician can be my partner, and the two art forms can blend together.
– You are the founder of the Góbi Rita Társulat/Gobi Dance Company, which represents one of the most distinctive voices of contemporary dance in Hungary and internationally.
– We were founded in 2006. Our performances move on the border between contemporary dance and theater, often reflect on social issues and always push the boundaries of physical and emotional expression. In recent years, I have only been able to employ people for small projects, we don’t have a theater yet, we don’t have a rehearsal room, but our home is the whole world, the plays are constantly on tour.
– What are you working on now?
– By the end of October, an adult full-length play will be prepared for the En-Knap Company in Ljubljana, after which we will tour in Vietnam and then in Finland. A new adult work will be prepared for the Central European Dance Theatre in Budapest in early 2026, and then in the spring I will dream up a new children's play for the Napsugár Puppet Theatre in Békéscsaba. In between all this, we are preparing an opera in Pécs, an operetta in Sopron, and a children's play in Szabadka; I have to figure out the movement part of these. I love collaborating with directors, it's great to add to something, to disrupt the stage with movement. The repertoire of the Góbi Rita Company is also expanding, we are constantly looking for future collaborations, working on them.
– How do you manage to maintain your agelessness? What is your secret?
– There is a conscious element to this, because in childhood you are still very much yourself, very pure. I tried to consciously preserve my childish self, because that is where the real movement comes from. That was when my first movements of my own were formed, which my dance teacher at the time still discovers in me today. I try to preserve that cloudless period even next to the obstacle courses. Since dance art only exists in the now, we cannot hang it on the wall, put it on a pedestal, or project it later, my motivation is great that I have to play now, I have to create now.
Cover image: Dance artist Rita Góbi (Photo: Árpád Kurucz)
