Slated to take the stage are ballet school students and young dancers from Estonia, Azerbaijan, Cyprus, Finland, France, Japan, South Korea, Latvia, Norway, Switzerland, Russia, Ukraine and Turkey. The gala performances will also feature a guest appearance by Estonian National Ballet dancer Leonardo Celegato.

This year's summer course was the sixth to be held at Tallinn Ballet School, and teachers and choreographers for the intensive course included both representatives of the Estonian capital's own ballet school as well as guests from foreign ballet institutions.

Following tradition, Estonian choreographer Dmitri Harchenko is serving as director of this year's gala concert as well.

"Each year, we choose a specific theme, and we try to introduce future ballet dancers to not just the ballet classics, but also major choreographers and composers," Harchenko said. "This year it's the work of the fantastic Austrian composer Ludwig Minkus, who worked together for years with renowned choreographers Arthur Saint-Leon and Marius Petipa in Russia."

Included in this year's gala concert program are excerpts from "Paquita," "Don Quijote" and "Bajadeer" as well as contemporary performances.

The Tallinn Ballet Gala Junior will take place at Friday, August 5 at 7 p.m. at Tallinn Russian Cultural Center and Saturday, August 6 at 6 p.m. at Pärnu Concert Hall.

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