Renowned choreographer, ethnographer and director Ferenc “Tata” Novák died on Saturday morning, aged 93, his family told MTI. Born in Transylvania, Novák made his first choreography during his military service, and founded the Bihari dance ensemble in 1954. He later led the choir of dancers of Honvéd Ensemble, Hungary’s oldest art ensemble. In the late 70s, he worked as a choreographer-director at Amsterdam’s Folklore Dance Theatre. In his choreographies, Novák adapted to stage the traditions of Hungarian folk dance and folk music presenting their diversity. He was the founder of the Táncház (dance-house) model of teaching folk dance and music to the public, listed by UNESCO as an intangible cultural heritage. Novák received the Kossuth Prize, the highest state award, in 1993 and the Republic of Hungary’s Order of Merit Middle Cross with the Star in 2005 and is a holder of several other prestigious awards.