A total of 22 performances competed at this year’s Semmelweis Spring Festival, which was organized for the 13th time by the university’s student organizations. The gala event held at the Nagyvárad tér Theoretical Building was opened by rector Dr. Béla Merkely. The organizers will donate the funds raised at the event this year to the 1st Department of Pediatrics.
On the first day of competition of the Semmelweis Spring Festival, a total of 22 performances competed in the categories of dance, music and poetry recital. At the gala event held on the second day, the first three finishers in each category performed their acts once again.
The gala event held at the Nagyvárad tér Theoretical Building was opened by rector Dr. Béla Merkely, who thanked the student organizations – the Students’ Union, the Instructor Self-Active Group and the Frigyes Korányi College for Advanced Studies – for organizing the spring festival on what was now the 13th occasion. The goal of the program is to foster cultural life at the university, the importance of which is underlined by how similar medicine and culture are, the rector noted. One could say that medicine is art, while on the other hand it is also true that art heals the soul and the body, he said. He also pointed out that portraying the body or various illnesses has always been a frequent topic in the fine arts, for example in the works of Leonardo da Vinci or Michelangelo, while it is also no coincidence that there are numerous natural scientists and physicians who were active in the arts as well.
The rector urged students to leave some energy in addition to their medical and health sciences studies to pursue some other interests as well, be it sports or some kind of art. “Art and the preparation for medical sciences can bring significant synergies to your lives,” he said.
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The first day of the festival kicked off with a dance competition, where guests saw Indian and Latin dances, as well as an aerobics-infused rhythmic gymnastics performance. At the poetry recital, university students recited both classic and their own, modern poems, while the duel of the virtuosos included performances by musicians and singers.
Organizers Borbála Huszár and Kata Kismarjai told our website that the festival is a good opportunity for students to show their hidden, less public, artistic sides. They added that the event was a success this year as well, and they received many positive responses.
As in previous years, the festival’s charity wine was available for tasting and purchase, with the funds raised to be donated by the organizers to the 1st Department of Pediatrics. As the opening performance of the gala, participants were treated to a dance number by the folk dance ensemble of Semmelweis University, which was formed in 2007.
Pálma Dobozi, Bernadett Bódi
Translation: Tamás Deme
Photo: Attila Kovács – Semmelweis University
