Ketlin Oja and Gabriel Davidsson in Othello duet.

Ketlin Oja and Gabriel Davidsson in Othello duet. Music by Arvo Pärt, choreography by Marina Kesler, répétiteur Eve Andre. Shot on 29.5.2015 in Rahvusooper Estonia during the Tallinn Ballet School 2015 Gala dress rehearsal.

Ketlin Oja was born in Tartu, Estonia. She graduated 2015 from Tallinn Ballet School (teacher Tiiu Randviir) and was appointed to Estonian National Ballet same year.

Gabriel Davidsson is currently soloist with Estonian National Ballet. Gabriel Davidsson began dancing at the National Ballet School in Gothenburg in 2000. After moving to the United States, he studied primarily with Jamey Leverett at the Timothy Draper Center for Dance Education in N. Y. (2001–2007). He finished his training at the Kirov Academy of Ballet in Washington D. C. with Anatoli Kucheruk (2007–2009). From 2009–2012 Davidsson was engaged at the Kansas City Ballet. Since 2012 Gabriel Davidsson is a soloist with the Estonian National Ballet.

Arvo Pärt (born 1935) is an Estonian composer of classical and sacred music. Pärt is often identified with the school of minimalism and, more specifically, that of mystic minimalism or holy minimalism. He is considered a pioneer of the latter style, along with contemporaries Henryk Górecki and John Tavener. Although his fame initially rested on instrumental works such as Tabula Rasa and Spiegel im Spiegel, his choral works have also come to be widely appreciated. Pärt’s musical education began at age seven. He began attending music school in Rakvere, where his family lived. By the time he reached his early teenage years, Pärt was writing his own compositions.

Arvo Pärt is one our era’s most-loved, most recognisable and biggest selling composers.

Marina Kesler 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 in 2000.

Photos by Jack Devant Ballet Photography with kind permission of the Tallinn Ballet School and National Opera of Estonia, special thanks to Kaja Kreitzberg.