Company

About theatre

Fine5 Dance Theatre is a group of Estonian professional choreographers and dance artists working together since 1992. Combining various approaches to human movement, somatic principles and different strategies, ideologies and practices we create productions for bigger and smaller stages, experiments with different site-specific and environmental ideas and collaborate nationally and internationally with scientists and multidisciplinary artists. As dance artists, we navigate through research of individual movement approach and understandings of choreography as art form, somatic body-statement and dig deep to investigate how movement research generally is valuable in current world. Our statement is sustainable creative activity – lifelong learning in dance, care and sharing in local community.

Company is active participant in several international networks: "Lifelong Dance Practice", "Dance Across Borders", "Baltic Meets Barents". From 2020 to 2023 is Fine5 Dance Theatre the main organizer/leader of project "BET – body, experience, time through 45+ dancers", which is supported by Creative Europe and Estonian Ministry of Culture.

The mission of Fine5 Dance Theater is to develop and expand Estonian contemporary dance art, to provide professional choreographers and dancers with a work and development environment and creative processes based on the specifics of dance art, and to present their own creations in Estonia and abroad. It is important for us to encourage and involve different target groups through dance art and creativity. Our target groups are the young, grown and elderly people interested in the art of dance, to whom we want to offer a health-conscious, empathetic and caring attitude to life. We offer opportunities for cooperation and joint activities for people with different life and movement experiences: we are open to cooperation with various art fields that are based on a research approach to art and what is happening in the world.

Focus on movement research trough artistic reflection to nowadays life diversity.

Producing and performing both nationally and internationally.

Educational programs and performances.

History

This non-profit organization was founded in 1992 when five dancers, Anu Ruusmaa, Katrin Laur, Tiina Ollesk, Oleg Ostanin and René Nõmmik formed their own troupe. In the early 90-ies their work was influenced by traditional modern dance techniques, but since the end of 90s, the working methods have remarkably changed, combining various new approaches to human movement, somatic principles and different strategies, ideologies and practices. Since 1997, the key figures of theater are Rene Nõmmik and Tiina Ollesk.

In 1994, Fine 5 opened the first contemporary dance school in Estonia. Fine 5 Dance School students have won the “free dance” category of “Schooldance” contest in 1997, 1999, 2002, 2003, 2005, 2006. This educational branch of the company was active until 2012, when the theatre could not afford to keep up with their own studio in the old town anymore.

Over the years, Fine5 has won several contemporary choreography prizes at Vitebsk IFMC (1992, 1993, 1996, 1999, 2001, 2003, 2007, 2010). Their works have been nominated 8 times as best contemporary dance production in Estonia and in 2009 and 2015 they became laureates of the Theater Union Prize for the Best Dance Production. In 2005-2012, his company participated at the Birgitta Festival in Tallinn, performing their own production of C. Orff's “Carmina burana” and G. Verdi's “Requiem”; in 2018, in the frame of Estonia100, was created a co-operation production with Rakvere Theater "To touch the Moon". The company has performed in 18 countries (USA, Canada, France, Italy, Israel, Sweden, Norway, Belgium, South-Korea, Cypros, Finland, Poland, Latvia, Lithuania, Armenia, Georgia, Russia and Belorussia).