Viru Varietee troupe

Currently, Viru Variety, in cooperation with the PARK INN BY RADISSON MERITON CONFERENCE & SPA HOTEL TALLINN, is holding annual Christmas performances with great success and with a full house. Viru Variety performances at corporate and other private events are very popular.

Sparkling costumes and overflowing dance energy – all this will make the evening unforgettable! The program includes both classical can-can and modern dances. This is a show that must be seen!

Come and spend an unforgettable evening with the Viru variety show, which has become a symbol of its era. Unforgettable moments and impressions are waiting for you!

We are waiting for you in the variety show Viru!

The idea of reviving Viru Varietee, which ended its performances in 1994, arose at the beginning of the 2000s. Kalju Saareke, a recognized grand varjeetee in the genre, took part in the creation of the modern troupe. The dance collective “Golden Lady” supervised by him became the basis of the new “Viru Varietee”.
In 2003, on the stage of the popular night club “Bonnie & Clyde”, the audience received the repertoire of the restored Viru varjetee program with great approval. From 1986, the cosmic show “Supernova”, which was directed by choreographer Kalju Saarekes, shone not only in Estonia, the performances took place with full halls in concert halls in Finland, Denmark, Leningrad, Sochi and continued success.
In 2005, with the “Grand Revue” concert program, Viru Varietee announced its comeback. Ants Väheaus and Irina Kruglova became the creators of the colorful show, Ülle Ulla, Gustav-Agu Püüman, Hendrik Kerge and others made an invaluable contribution to the preparation of the magnificent show. The generation of actors who shone with their talent in the previous years filled the action with unique color and maintained the connection of the times. Tõnu Kilgas, Tiina Gross, Erich Krieger, Viru Trio, Raivo Peekmann, Svea Reintak, Irina Kruglova with their solid acting skills created an atmosphere of creative upsurge, encouraging the development of the younger generation of artists.
…2006. In Viru Varietees, intense work took place – the preparation of a spectacular Christmas show. Considering the high demand for tickets, it was decided to do two shows on one day. On December 9, not only older fans of variety art, but also young people gathered to watch the show in the Salme cultural center. This trend pleases us because we believe that real art can be understood by people of all ages.

On April 28, 2007, a remarkable event took place in Tallinn City Hall – Viru Varietee celebrated its 35th anniversary. anniversary. The jubilee concert conducted by Ants Vahejausi and Irina Kruglova confirmed the high skill of Viru Varietee artists. After each performance, a storm of applause erupted in the hall. The program featured famous numbers from earlier years, alongside well-loved modern dance arrangements. The biggest praise for both the artists and the organizers of this party was the unceasing ovations of the audience.
Not by chance, after the jubilee concert, an offer of cooperation came from one of the best hotels in Tallinn – Meriton Grand Hotel Tallinn offered its restaurant Viru Varietee for regular performances. 2007. from autumn 2008. The season that lasted until the spring of 2018 has proven the popularity of the project.

The anniversary concerts of Viru Varietee 45 and 40 became the traditional continuation of the Viru Varietee 35 celebration, which took place in Tallinn City Hall in 2007. All artists who have ever worked at Viru Variete are always invited to the Jubilee performances in the Salme cultural center.

In 2022, Viru Varietee celebrated its half-century anniversary, and as is known from ancient times, 50 years is considered a special, significant date… The hero of the day can count on the forgiveness of all his “sins” and fairly continue his journey from scratch. Time does not stand still, eras, habits, and interests of people change. The time has come and Viru Varietee is changing the format of performances Taking into account your wishes, in order to increase the time of active recreation for guests, we decided to combine two separate shows into one longer block. Now, after the end of the show program, the dance floor will open for you a little earlier, and you can fully enjoy the musical compositions of the 70s and 90s.

In the anniversary season, as a surprise for the audience, talented artists of the vocal genre performed their solo programs before the program. The audience really liked the practice, and we will continue it, inviting bright and charismatic vocalists for you.

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An outsider’s view, especially if it is the view of someone who has been a member of the friendly collective of the variety show, is particularly interesting to see how the Viru variety show emerged after a period in the shadows. We give the floor to the incomparable Ülle Ulla:

“The 30th. on the evening of October, many people gathered in the Salme cultural center, who still remembered the times when friends who arrived in Tallinn were invited to spend time in some Tallinn variety show. It was pleasant to sit in a cozy atmosphere, enjoying aromatic coffee and the famous Estonian chocolate, which everyone loved… And that evening, already many years later, you could feel a special atmosphere that took us back a few decades in our memories. And if you squint your eyes, letting the bright spotlights illuminate them with different colors, you can’t immediately tell what year you are… The same smells, the same stories, the same sensations.
Tonight’s audience came here with the hope of seeing their favorite – Viru Varieteed, which has been in the shadows for ten years. 1972. Viru Varietee worked with great success for more than twenty years, presenting more than twenty productions on stage – libretto-related shows with soloists, dance troupe, singers and a live orchestra. The soul and founders of this theater were Inge Põder, who can be considered one of the best experts in Estonian variety shows at the time, and Endrik Kerge.
The nightly menu for the audience was a theater-variety show with its solid traditions, and to everyone’s surprise it happened that this great and high-class theater-variety show was suddenly closed. There was a lot of misunderstanding, we could not find justification for such a step… And there is no point in finding justification for such a step – it is a sign of weakness. Viru Varietee was never a weak collective.

But every good thing comes back! There were enthusiasts who decided to wake up the “sleeping beauty”. Irina Kruglova started her creative and professional career as a dancer in the friendly group of girls Viru Varietee and eventually reached solo performances, dancing a duet with a partner. One of his important achievements should also be considered the third place achieved with Gennadi Jakovlev in the soloist category at the All-Union Pop Dance Competition. When Viru Varietee was closed, Irina still wanted to continue dancing. At Kalju Saarekes, he became a diligent student, but soon also an assistant at dance rehearsals. Subsequently, he had the desire to make arrangements for dances himself. Having registered the company Varietee Viru, he asked for help from Ants Vehejaus, who was the last artistic director of the Viru variety show before its closure. This idea resonated. Why not surprise everyone and revive Viru Varietee again!

…Today’s evening confirmed that it is possible to realize secret wishes, but in addition to enthusiasm, experience and like-minded people are always needed. Viru Varietee’s new line-up of dancers is sparkling and young. Irina Kruglova has set most of the dances herself. The number performed by the girls with big fans was particularly effective. The end of the show was memorable for the dance routine and gorgeous variety costumes. The duet “Darling” received the biggest applause of the evening. At the end of the first part, the contemporary hit “Supernova” set by Kalju Saareke was performed, the re-staging and organization of which was entrusted to Irina by Kalju Saareke. Besides the excellent dances and preliminary program, excellent singer-soloists – Tõnu Kilgas, Erich Krieger, Erkki Otsman and the young singer Margarita – performed. The Viru Trio performed with their former brilliance. What pleased me the most was that with the current lifestyle, some young people still think about beauty, appeal and melodic music and try to revive the forgotten harmonic variety art. It is my wish that the theater-variety created under the old name would stand up in our new society! When we were in the front row of the variety show of the Soviet Union, we were respected and proud of us in this complex sphere. Nothing prevents us from reaching this level even now, when the material possibilities for creating a variety show are many times greater! Despite the new taste of the new century, the variety show must have the right to life. The good old thing must be followed. For this, former Viru Varietee dancer Ülle Ulla wishes for strength and success.”

Nothing stands still, and the next ten years brought new winds of change.

Since 1985. Viru Varietee worked under the direction of Ants Vehejaus, who continued established traditions, creating new productions and simultaneously training new dancers.
At the same time, there were no cardinal changes in the work of the variety troupe. The traditional activity continued, because the show, as you know, must always go on! The development of a professional dancer and the maintenance of one’s form are not possible without a certain routine: morning rehearsals-training for soloists took place in the rehearsal hall of the National Philharmonic (Viru Varietee was a part of the Philharmonic), evening rehearsals took place in the variety hall in the Viru Hotel from 5 p.m. until opening at 9 p.m. The hard work paid off – many group dancers became acclaimed soloists over the years. Tatjana Narma, Ella Rossmann, Sirre Oengo-Anderson, Nina Sopova, Irina Kruglova, Gennadi Jakovlev, Kristjan Härmi could be cited as examples.
Viru Varietee’s many trips abroad were the result of constant work and raising the level of professionalism. It happened during this period that in 1988 In July 2018, the Estonian variety show went to the Finnish Kotka Sea Days for the first time. The lineup included 35 artists who performed various 2-hour programs. And that variety show was Viru Varietee.

In August 1989, Estonian Culture Days took place in Sochi. Viru Varietee was represented by a troupe of 36 artists and performed 11 shows in the large Festival Theater, with each show lasting one and a half hours.
The year 1990 was rich in guest appearances. A two-part program at the opening of the Helsinki East Center, a one-and-a-half-hour program at the Leningrad Variety Festival, a New Year’s show in Turku, Finland, where the program started at 11 p.m. with a two-hour non-stop program.
1991 year. 19. – 30. until November, the soloists of the variety show danced in the operetta “Night in Venice” performed at the Rewell Center in Finland. Immediately after the performances, Viru Varietee performed a half-hour program in the night bar of Waskia Hotel, where the program started at midnight.

1993 year. In the large concert hall-restaurant of the Fargen Sjalland ship museum (located in the center of Copenhagen), which could accommodate 2,000 visitors, Viru Varietee gave five two-hour performances to the full hall. They consisted of the best numbers of Viru Varietee ever, which was like a platinum selection. Such large and responsible performances can only take place if the troupe is able to revive its previous repertoire, which primarily requires hard work. But Viru Varietees never knew what fatigue was. Work can be fun!

Time: 06 May 1972 year.
Place: Hotel Viru, the biggest hotel in Estonia at that time.
On that day, a major event of the local culture of that time took place in Hotel Viru – the opening of the grandiose and western Viru Varietee, which was led by the respected Lembit Mark!

The organizers of the variety troupe and the creators of the first programs combining soloists, orchestra and dance troupe were Inge Põder and Endrik Kerge. The music of the first three programs was created especially for the variety show by well-known Estonian composers – Gennadi Taniel, Aarne Oit and Uno Naissoo. The choreographers were Inge Põder and Endrik Kerge (the latter was also the author and director of the libretto). The costume creator was Aime Unt, later Gustav-Agu Püüman, but also Agu Pilt, Tuuliki Tolli, Kaisa Pärenson were involved in it. The choreographers Heino Aassalu, Mai Murdmaa, Kalju Saareke, Mait Agu, Irina Generalova, Valentin Katajev (Leningrad), Vakil Usmanov (Moscow) were also the directors of Viru’s variety shows and dances. In 1982, there were changes in the management team – Ülle Ulla became the artistic director of the variety show, maintaining its leading role among other variety shows in Tallinn.

Separately, I would like to mention the first-class professional dancers who were with us during those years:
Juta Lehiste, Larissa Kaur, Tamara Burova, Tatjana Narma, Tatjana Basova, Elonna Spriit, Sirje Nurmis, Helju Aren, Berta Krumm, Vyacheslav Maimussov, Jüri Laas, Janis Garancis, Ants Vahejaus, Aleksander Buldakov, Väino Aren, Endrik Kerge, and also One of Tallinn’s biggest dance groups GIRLS – a singing and dancing trio that was always an audience magnet.

Before “Supernova”, which was staged in 1986, the musical accompaniment of the program was a live orchestra, which included the best musicians in Tallinn: Arvo Pilliroog, Toivo Unt, Tiit Paulus, Margus Kappel, Enn Vai, Tõnu Naissoo, Jaan Kuman, Helmut Aniko, Tõnis Kõrvits, Tiit Varts, Heiki Kalaus and many others. Singer-soloists were Jaak Joala, Els Himma, Marju Kuut, Oleg Melnik, Boris Lehtlaan.

This period, from 1972 to 1985, was eventful. In a short period of time, 13 years, Viru Varietee was able to get back on its feet and develop, but in addition to that, thanks to the talent of the management team, it achieved republican fame and well-known outside the ENSV.