Dance Production HALO. Teet Kask, Kristjan Kannukene
From May 3 to 8, Niguliste Museum will host performances of HALO, a new production in the dance series Dances of Life for Eternity, created and performed by Teet Kask and Kristjan Kannukene.
HALO is part of an innovative dance series Dances of Life for Eternity, inspired by the timeless message of the renowned artwork Dance of Death, created in the workshop of Bernt Notke. Choreographer Teet Kask and musician-composer Kristjan Kannukene have created a unique artistic whole in which the dialogue between dance and music becomes a meditation on the boundaries between life and death, light and darkness.
What happens when we look mortality straight in the eye—not with fear, but with curiosity, seeking a deeper meaning of life within it? If we confront mortality honestly, it can become a source of awakening. Dance of Death expresses the inevitability of transience and invites reflection. It is a meditation in which awareness of mortality is not an end in itself, but a gateway to a deeper understanding of life. Halo (from Ancient Greek: “ring,” “disc,” “halo,” “aureole”) symbolizes the inner light that awareness of mortality has brought to humanity throughout the ages.
Thus, through a unique dialogue between dance and music, HALO is born—a production in which the rhythms of life and death, light and darkness, intertwine into a unified artistic whole, offering the audience a deeply moving experience. This is not a story about the end, but about awakening.
At the same time, the medieval sacred space encounters contemporary performing arts. History enters into dialogue with the present, and the audience is invited to an experience that leaves a lasting impression.
Direction and Choreography: Teet Kask
Music: Kristjan Kannukene
Set Design: Ülar Mark
Lighting Design: Margus Vaigur
Visuals: Mart Anderson
Stage Graphics: Loreida Hein and Kard Subbi
Photographer: Stanislav Moškov
Sponsors: Estonian Cultural Endowment, Northern Grip Vintage Clothing
The series brings together historical artistic heritage and contemporary performing arts, offering new and captivating artistic experiences within the medieval sacred space of Niguliste Museum. The first two productions in the series were Dances of Life for Eternity (Maria Solei Järvet and Juulius Vaiksoo) and VIIS et modis (Teet Kask and Gustavo Twardy).
Teet Kask is a renowned director, choreographer, guest lecturer, mentor, and curator. He graduated from the Tallinn School of Choreography, studied choreography at City, University of London, and earned a degree in cultural management from Aalto University. He has worked as a ballet dancer at the Estonian National Opera, the Royal Opera in Stockholm, and the Norwegian National Opera.
Kask has served as a member of the management team and creative director at MUBA, and he is currently a guest lecturer at the Estonian Academy of Music and Theatre. He has worked as a director-choreographer on more than 65 projects in Estonia and abroad.
www.teetkask.com
Kristjan Kannukene is a violinist, singer, electric guitarist, composer, improviser, and intermedia artist. He studied violin and contemporary improvisation at the Estonian Academy of Music and Theatre from 2016 to 2024, violin at Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music and Dance in London from 2018 to 2019, and in 2024 completed master’s programmes in Music and Art Performance and CAS Creation & Scenario in Music at the Lucerne and Zurich Universities of the Arts in Switzerland.
