A former drum and bass promoter is bringing a new kind of “heritage clubbing” to Manchester this summer: táncház.
Ottilia Ördög who promoted DJs including Fabio and Shy FX at her celebrated night Squiggle Dee Mash in the late 90s and early noughties, is going back to her roots.
One night only: táncház
For one night only, Ottilia will stage an after hours “táncház” or dance house, which she likens to a traditional Transylvanian Hungarian party. In common with the Irish ceilidh tradition, everyone who buys a ticket is encouraged to get on the dance floor, learn the steps and become a part of the event.
But instead of shuffling or skanking, traditional dances at a táncház include couples dancing the csárdás, which starts slow and builds to a high speed crescendo and circle dance the karikázó, which is performed exclusively by women.
Every táncház needs a live band, and the Tcha Limberger Kalotaszeg Trio is an outfit with an international pedigree. Born blind into a musical Roma/Flemish family (both his father and grandad were celebrated violinists), violinist and vocalist Limberger is known as the “king of Gypsy music”.
Joining forces with acclaimed musicians Toni Rudi (brac) and David Otto Varga (double bass), Limberger will bring life and vigour to Hungarian folk music that dates from as far back as the 18th and 19th centuries.
They will be accompanied on stage by the Bekecs Dance Theatre band from Szeklerland in Transylvania
A Hungarian concept dating back to the 1970s
The grassroots táncház concept began in Hungarian capital Budapest in the 1970s as a subcultural movement and a forum for passing cultural knowledge through the generations. It was a reaction against the “top down” communist cultural controls of the time and an attempt to revive the atmosphere of spontaneous village dances of earlier rural generations.
Operating in a grey area, the community organised dances were not illegal, but were monitored by the authorities. The dances were thought to represent a potentially dangerous link with cultural pride.
It celebrates ten years of Góbéfest
The event, at Band on the Wall, is a double celebration. It marks 10 years of Manchester’s Transylvanian-rooted international folk festival Góbéfest (19-21 June 2026, Cathedral Gardens) and the birthday of master musician Limberger.
Ottilia moved to the UK from Transylvania as a child, later settling in Manchester. Whilst studying at Salford University, she started itinerant drum and bass night Squiggle Dee Mash, which ran from 1998-2002 and took up home in venues across the city, including Generation X, Club Havana, UMIST Underground, and K2 at MMU Students Union.
Heritage clubbing, Hungarian style
Ottilia:
This is heritage clubbing, Hungarian style! Expect swirling circle dances, dancing couples, energetic fiddles and feet and a full on party atmosphere until 3am. I can actually always hear drum and bass and jungle in the footwork of the dancers.
Attending a táncház back in the day was a radical act, which I think will resonate in Manchester, which is also a revolutionary city. Music and dance have always been powerful forces for resistance and community and the dance house tradition is part of this movement.
Táncház with Tcha Limberger Kalotaszeg Trio is at Band On The Wall on Saturday 20 June 2026 11pm-3am £20
