Maarja Tosin and Mart Kangro received the Mait Agu award
On September 30, the TLÜ BFM choreography curriculum awarded prizes named after Mait Agu.
The awards went to Mart Kangro as a consistent promoter of modern dance art and Maarja Tosin as a young but personal and up-to-date choreographer.
According to Oksana Tralla, head of choreography curricula, one of Mait's characteristics was fighting for the rights of dance genres and artists with a weaker position. The motto of TLÜ BFM choreography is also openness, cooperation and a comprehensive and searching approach. "In our activities, we try to cover a lot, building bridges between different styles and different layers of the dance landscape — from recreational education to the world of professional dance. We value the same for laureates", said Tralla.
In the case of Mart Kangro, the commission pointed out that he is one of the best-known Estonian choreographers outside of Estonia and that he has been a consistent promoter of Estonian contemporary dance art for 30 years. Kangro was a student of Mait Agu and he shares his knowledge and experience with performing arts students.
Maarja Tosin graduated from TLÜ BFM choreography curriculum in the spring of 2024. According to the commission, Tosin is a choreographer-director with a personal, bold, experimental, forward-looking and sharp artistic vision.
The Mait Agu award was created in Tallinn University's Choreography Department in 1999 and is awarded once a year with the aim of supporting talented students, dance creators and/or actors in the field of dance for their long-term contribution to the field. The prize is financed by the folk culture endowment fund of the Estonian Cultural Capital. Last year, fourth-year student Roosmarii Sarapuu and industry advocate Priit Raud received the award.
The purpose of the award is to keep Mait Agu's memory alive and through it support talented students and recognize experienced dance creators who have excelled in creative or theoretical work, have been successful and active in teaching or in the field of dance art in general. Today, October 1, is the birthday of choreographer Mait Agu (1951-1998).
