Ekaterina Bulgutova and Yury Kudryavtsev in the duet from Othello

Ekaterina Bulgutova (Rus. Екатерина Булгутова) and Yury Kudryavtsev (Rus. Юрий Кудрявцев) from Krasnoyarsk State Opera and Ballet Theatre in the duet from Othello. Music by Arvo Pärt “Spiegel im Spiegel”, choreography by Marina Kesler. Shot 5.8.2015 in Mosfilm Studios, Moscow. Big Ballet 2016 TV Show (Rus. Большой балет), where 14 dancers from 6 biggest musical theatres in Russia took part in the competition.

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Ekaterina Bulgutova (Rus. Екатерина Булгутова) is currently the leading soloist with Krasnoyarsk State Opera and Ballet Theatre. Katya graduated from Krasnoyarsk Choreographic College in 2005 and was included to the troupe of Krasnoyarsk Theatre in the same year.

Yury Kudryavtsev (Rus. Юрий Кудрявцев)is currently the leading soloist with Krasnoyarsk State Opera and Ballet Theatre. Yury graduated from Krasnoyarsk Choreographic College, he was taken to Krasnoyarsk State Opera and Ballet Theatre alredy, when studying in the Colllege.

Spiegel im Spiegel is a piece of music written by Arvo Pärt in 1978, just prior to his departure from Estonia. The piece is in the tintinnabular style of composition, wherein a melodic voice, operating over diatonic scales, and tintinnabular voice, operating within a triad on the tonic, accompany each other. It is about ten minutes long.

Arvo Pärt (born 11 September 1935) is an Estonian composer of classical and sacred music. Since the late 1970s, Pärt has worked in a minimalist style that employs his self-invented compositional technique, tintinnabuli. His music is in part inspired by Gregorian chant. Pärt has been the most performed living composer in the world for 5 consecutive years.

Ballet Othello was choreographed to the music of Arvo Pärt for Estonian National Opera in 2010; nominated for the special prize of the jury at the annual Estonia Theatre Awards 2011.

Marina Kesler, choreographer with Estonian National Ballet, graduated from the Tallinn School of Choreography in 1988 from the class of Tiiu Randviir and joined the ballet troupe of the Estonian National Opera. In 1992–2010 she worked as a teacher at the Tallinn Ballet School. Since 2010 she works as a repetiteur at the Estonian National Ballet. In 1997 she obtained master’s degree from the Russian Academy of Theatre Arts (GITIS, Moscow). She made her debut as a choreographer in Helsinki tanssiopisto in 2000 with “Jota” to the music of Glinka. At the Estonian National Opera she has been the choreographer for several opera and operetta productions. She has created works also for Bel-Etage and Endla theatres. She has created short ballets “One Day” (2006) and “Bernarda Alba’s House” (2008, both for Tallinn Ballet School students), “Werewolf” (to the music of L. Sumera, R. Kangro, A. Pärt and L. Auster; Estonian National Opera, 2007), “Othello” (to the music of A. Pärt, Estonian National Opera, 2010; nominated for the special prize of the jury at the annual Estonia Theatre Awards 2011). In August 2012 she staged her “Othello” at Tel Aviv Suzanne Dellal Centre for Dance and Theatre within the festival “Maholohet Summer Dance Festival 2012”. In the summer of 2013 the Estonian National Ballet participated in ESTO Days in San Francisco with the same production. In autumn 2012 she staged her first full-length ballet, Prkokofiev’s “Cinderella” In 2015 it was followed by Tubin’s ballet “The Goblin”. She has also created choreography for several gala performances, such as “Estonia 100” (2006) and the Estonian Indepence Day concert (2011, Stage Director: E.-L. Semper, Music Director: T. Kaljuste). Within Nargenfestival Kesler choreographer a dance production “The Generous Tree” (composer Tauno Aints, 2011). She came among the three best at the X International Moscow Choreographers’ Competition 2005 and received a prize for the dance piece “Danse sacral” (I. Stravinsky) and for “Ne me quitte pas” (J. Brel). Marina Kesler received the Annual Estonian Theatre award 2007 in the category of ballet for “Werewolf” (Estonian National Opera) and was awarded the Colleague Prize of the Estonian Professional Dancers’ Union in 2011.

Photo by Jack Devant ballet photography © with kind permission of the Kanal K, special thanks to Darina Timofeeva, who made it possible to shoot there.