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A New Take on Tubin’s Ballet Kratt


The new production of Eduard Tubin’s Kratt will premiere on October 4 at the Vanemuine Concert Hall in Tartu as part of the sixth TubIN Festival.
It brings together hundreds of young dancers from Shaté and dotE Dance School with the Vanemuine Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Mihhail Gerts.

A new generation encounters Tubin

The scale of the production is unusual: hundreds of young dancers fill the stage. They encounter Tubin’s historically important ballet as a starting point for exploring contemporary questions.

The 2026 production also creates an unexpected dialogue with Nurms’s earlier Kratt. In the 2015 Estonian National Opera production, also designed by Nurms, the Kratt was interpreted through the lens of consumer society - a figure of greed and the persistent feeling that one never has enough.Ten years later, the focus has shifted inward.  The new Kratt is not only something surrounding us. It can be something inside us. 

It can be the voice that says we are not good enough.
The pressure to perform.
The fear of failure.
The need to compare ourselves with others.
The feeling that we must constantly become something more.

And rather than simply destroying the Kratt, the project asks another question: Can we learn to recognise it, to tame it?

 

Upcycling on a massive scale


The set design of "Kratt" combines stories from Estonian folklore with contemporary themes and materials. The geometric shape used as a central design element is inspired by embroidery patterns. Light beams pass through the stylized eye motif, which is cut using CNC technology, creating shifting patterns on both the bodies of the dancers and the performance space. A golden high-gloss reflective floor interacts with haze and light, lightweight mesh panels frame the playing area.
The eye becomes an image of surveillance, self-awareness and self-observation.
Costumes incorporate straps, neon applications and technical fastenings, cables, elastic bands, carabiners, buckles and zips. Masks have been made using both 3D printing and laser cutting. Among the more distinctive elements are Karl Korsar-patterned stretch fabrics.

With hundreds of young dancers participating in the production, creating hundreds of new costumes from newly purchased materials would have a significant environmental impact. For this reason, upcycling is a fundamental part of the costume design. Second-hand clothing forms the base material for many of the costumes. Existing garments are then transformed and combined, creating a unified visual through a consistent colour palette. Olive green, neon green and white form the main palette of the Kratt world, with hi-vis red appearing as a sharper accent.


Kratt 2026

4 October 2026
Vanemuine Concert Hall, Tartu, Estonia
Part of the TubIN Festival

Performed by students of Shaté Dance School and dotE Dance School, Vanemuine Symphony Orchestra.

Director – Ingmar Jõela
Assistant Director – Liisa Laine
Set and Costume Designer – Madis Nurms
Lighting Designer – Anton Kulagin
Stylists and Fashion Designers – Triinu Pungits, Kaire Avi-Kinnunen, Laura Kaasik, Karl Korsar
Stylist's Assistant – Annalisa Kesküla
Seamstress – Kersti Rüütel
Technical Team – Kaspar Kiviste, Markus Kuslap, Karl Robert Kriis
Choreographers – Liisa Kangur, Gertrud Kuusmaa, Kätriin Viru, Triin Veskimeister, Lisell Ojamets, Greetel Joanna Võrk, Lisanne Joasaar
Producers – Krõõt Kiviste and Kati-Ly Koit

Cast

Kratt – Margareth Kõnd
Kratt Prototype – Laureen Laar
The Wise One – Christopher Meier
The Bosses – Micaela Marie Võsu, Mari-Liis Martin, Lisell Ojamets, Hanna Talving, Emily Kalda
The Bosses’ Entourage – Ketlin Papp, Annika Bublei, Kristel Mägi, Annalisa Kesküla, Liselle Kirsipuu, Saara Martoja, Kadi Krikmann
The Good Boy – Uku Julius Pahtma


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