Drama students visit Hungary in exchange programme

Performing arts students from Capital City College (CCC)’s Holloway centre travelled to Budapest, Hungary, to work with another performing arts school.

Led by Blanka Molnar, a Lecturer in Performing Arts at CCC, this was the first exchange where 16 Level 3 and Level 4 students from Holloway centre travelled to Budapest, to Nemes Nagy Ágnes Művészeti Szakgimnázium, to work with 16 local students. Blanka shared some thoughts on how the exchange went.

“The exchange started with a teachers visit, where six of the Hungarian teachers came in October 2023 to our centre to observe and facilitate a few workshops and understand how our courses are running. Then last April, some of us went to Hungary to visit their school and do the same, so we would know what to expect. I am Hungarian and an alumni of the school, so it was great to connect with my teachers.

“We arrived in Budapest on Sunday 2 March and were welcomed at the school by the students with some cakes for an informal meeting. On Monday, we started working, deciding on a topic we would be interested in (the online meetings were focused on coming up with a topic), and after having an intellectual debate, we started to improvise based off our agreed topic: Pollution of the Mind.

“Throughout the week, the students had workshops together: Hungarian folk dance, ballroom dance and salsa, creative music lessons. The students were split into small groups, and Hungarian students took our students sightseeing around Budapest. On 8th March, we had a show based off the work we did throughout the whole week, and all 32 students performed together for a small audience at the school. We travelled back on Sunday, 9^th March.

“Overall, it was an extremely valuable experience for our students, they have made friendships, learnt a bit of the language (that was part of the show), were immersed in a different culture, and their professional attitude has developed significantly.” 

Gracie, a CCC student, said: “It was a great experience, I feel so lucky that I got to be a part of it! It was such a fun trip but also so educational, seeing how much the Hungary students appreciate what they have and how dedicated they are to what they do, it made us realise how much we take for granted living in London. We got plenty of time for sightseeing, and it was so beautiful in the city, especially at night.

“We tried so many different cultural dishes like Langos and chimney cake (which was my personal favourite!) It was so nice how the students were so interested in our cultures too, they loved how we were all so diverse and all had our own cultural stories to tell them. 

“The actual drama school itself was so homely and welcoming, I felt like I actually attended the school. We did lots of improvising, which I thought was really fun, and everybody was so creative. My favourite part was definitely the dance lessons, not just because I’m a dancer myself, but it was so fun learning their folk/gypsy dance, it was captivating seeing everybody so happy and laughing together! I’d love to have dance lessons like these here in London. I feel we bonded with the students so well, considering we only worked with them for a few days. Overall, the trip was amazing. I’d 100% do it again!”

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