On 31 October 2026, my mother, Larissa Kaur, celebrates her 85th birthday. She is a long-standing prima ballerina of the Estonia Opera and Ballet Theatre.
Prima ballerina Larissa Kaur danced on the stage of the Estonia Theatre for more than 20 years. Her repertoire included the Black Swan and the White Swan in Swan Lake, the title role in The Sleeping Beauty, and many other outstanding roles.
It was a golden age for Estonian ballet, a happy time that also gave my mother the opportunity to meet some of the world's greatest ballet stars in person, including Rudolf Nureyev, who came from St. Petersburg.
In the 1960s, Larissa Kaur was considered the most beautiful woman in Estonia. Alongside her career as a prima ballerina at the Estonia National Opera, she was also a sought-after fashion model, appearing in some of Estonia's and Eastern Europe's largest and most popular fashion magazines. She graced the cover of the Estonian fashion magazine Siluett on numerous occasions.
Her beauty inspired many distinguished painters. The renowned Estonian artist Olev Subbi, for example, painted the prima ballerina. She also inspired Georg Ots, Eri Klas, Peeter Saul and Sulev Nõmmik. Even the great maestro Eduard Tubin wrote love letters to my mother.
The prima ballerina's granddaughter, my daughter Viktoria (30), a master's student at the Estonian Academy of Arts (EKA), bears an astonishing resemblance to her grandmother.
Happy 85th birthday, Mum! ❤️
