Mare Tommingas

Mare Tommingas
Vanemuine Ballet Director

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In Theatre Vanemuine since 1978

Date and Place of Birth:

November 6, 1959 in Tallinn

Education:

- in 1978 graduated from the Tallinn Choreography School
- in 1990 merited scholarship from the Goethe Institute in Germany and refreshed her knowledge of modern dance in Cologne

Career:

- 1978-1989 Theatre Vanemuine, ballet artist
- 1989-1998 Theatre Vanemuine, ballet solist and choreographer
- in 1992 established the theatre’s modern dance studio on the basis of the students of the Tartu University
- since 1998 Theatre Vanemuine, head of ballet
- is the founder of the Vanemuine Dance and Ballet School and pedagogue of modern dance
- has designed costumes and stage design to most of her dance and ballet productions, also to musical, opera and drama productions, has directed concert programmes
- since the year 2000 organizes I.D.A. (International Dance Activity) dance festival that is dedicated to the founder of the Vanemuine ballet, Ida Urbel
- since 2009 Member of the International Dance Council CID

Current productions in Vanemuine:

- Jule Styne's "Sugar" (2008)

Earlier productions in Vanemuine:

- three short ballets to Vivaldi’s, Kreisler’s and Sumera’s music “Spring Manuscripts” (1989)
- “Dawn” and “White Night” to Eller’s music (1989)
- Orff’s “Carmina burana” (1991)
- Volkonsky’s “The Little Prince” (1991)
- “African Sanctus. Barcelona” to Fanshawe’s, Mercury’s and Moran’s music (1992)
- Prokofjev’s “Romeo and Juliet” (1993)
- Bartok’s “Wonderful Mandarine” (1994)
- Tshaikovsky’s “Nutcracker” (1994)
- Leigh’s “Man of La Mancha” (1995)
- “Going Inside the Picture” (1997)
- Stravinsky’s “The Rite of Spring” (1997)
- “The Lost Woman in Me”
- “Wolfgang AMADE Mozart”
- “Night in Venice”
- “Gypsy”
- “The Bat” (2006)
- “Peer Gynt” (2006)
- "Queen - The Doors of Time" (2009)
- international gala "Vanemuine Ballet 70" at Tartu Song Festival Arena (2009)

Created choreography and assisted productions:

- „Mowgli” (director Andres Dvinjaninov)
- „Honk” (director Ain Mäeots)
- „Xerxes” (director Herz)
- „Summer Night’s Dream” (director Finn Poulsen)
- „Masquerade” (director Finn Poulsen)
- „Winter Fairy Tale” (director Taisto Noor)
- „Koidula” (director Aivar Tommingas; co-director and designer)

Earlier roles in Vanemuine:

- Evening Hostess – “Birth of Dance: Trap” (Wakeman’s music, 1982)
- Island Maid – Kapp’s “Kalevipoeg” / “Son of Kalev” (1985)
- Girl – “Montecchi and Capuletti” (Tshaikovsky’s music, 1986)
- Squirrel – Auster’s “Bamby” (1987)
- solist – “I Know Your Nights…” (music by Beethoven, Ravel, Wagner and others, 1987)
- Venla, Mother Fox – Ojanen’s “Seven Brothers” (1988)
- solist – „African Sanctus. Barcelona” (to Fanshawe’’s, Mercury’s and Moran’s music, 1992)
- Woman – Bartok’s „Wonderul Mandarine” (1994)

Recognition:

- 1989 Estonian Theatre Union Young Choreographer Award of the Year for productions „Dawn” and „White Night”
- 1992 Estonian Theatre Union Young Ballet Artist Award for the production „African Sanctus. Barcelona”
- 1995 Estonian Theatre Union Music Theatre Award of the Year for the musical „Man of La Mancha”
- 2004 Tartu Culture Endowment Creative Scholarshp of the Year for organizing the I.D.A. festival
- 2007 Estonian Theatre Award of the Year in the category of Best Ballet Production for the dance production „Peer Gynt”
- 2006 Order of the White Star of the Republic of Estonia, class IV