Age Oks (born 29 May 1970) known professionally as Agnes Oaks, is an

Estonia Estonia, formally the Republic of Estonia, is a country by the Baltic Sea in Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland across from Finland, to the west by the sea across from Sweden, to the south by Latvia, a ...

n former

ballet Ballet () is a type of performance dance that originated during the Italian Renaissance in the fifteenth century and later developed into a concert dance form in France and Russia. It has since become a widespread and highly technical form of ...

dancer, who was a principal dancer with

English National Ballet English National Ballet is a classical ballet company founded by Dame Alicia Markova and Sir Anton Dolin as London Festival Ballet and based in London, England. Along with The Royal Ballet, Birmingham Royal Ballet, Northern Ballet and Scottish ...

Early life

Age Oks was born in

Vändra Vändra (german: Fennern) is a borough ( et, alev) in Põhja-Pärnumaa Parish in Pärnu County, Estonia. It has a population of 2,191 and an area of 3.28 km². Vändra is the birthplace of Estonian journalist and poet Johann Voldemar Janns ...

. She started ballet at age 10, and her Russian mother sent her to audition for the Estonian State Ballet School, and started training there. She later entered the

Bolshoi Ballet School The Moscow State Academy of Choreography (russian: Московская государственная академия хореографии), commonly known as The Bolshoi Ballet Academy, is one of the oldest and most prestigious schools of ball ...

Career

Oks first danced with the Estonian National Ballet. In 1990, after winning the

USA International Ballet Competition The USA International Ballet Competition, or USA IBC, is one of the world's top competitions for ballet. Located in Jackson, Mississippi, this competition is attended by dancers from all over the world to represent their country for bronze, silver, ...

in Jackson, Mississippi with her on-and-off-stage partner Thomas Edur, Ivan Nagy, then-artistic director of

invited the two to move to London to join the company as principal dancers, and she anglicised her stage name. The two then danced with the

Birmingham Royal Ballet Birmingham Royal Ballet (BRB) is one of the five major ballet companies of the United Kingdom, alongside The Royal Ballet, the English National Ballet, Northern Ballet and Scottish Ballet. Founded as the Sadler's Wells Theatre Ballet, the company ...

between 1996 and 1997, then went freelance but remained with the

as principal guest artists. For

Wayne McGregor Wayne McGregor, CBE (born 12 March 1970) is a multi award-winning British choreographer and director. He is the Artistic Director of Studio Wayne McGregor and Resident Choreographer of The Royal Ballet. McGregor was appointed Commander of the ...

's ''2 Human'', Oaks was nominated for the

Prix Benois de la Danse The Benois de la Danse is a ballet competition held annually in Moscow. Founded by the International Dance Association in 1991, it takes place each year on or around April 29 and it's judged by a jury. The members of this jury change every year and ...

, and won the

Laurence Olivier Award for Outstanding Achievement in Dance The Laurence Olivier Award for Outstanding Achievement in Dance is an annual award presented by the Society of London Theatre in recognition of achievements in commercial London theatre. The awards were established as the Society of West End ...

with Edur. In 2009, Oaks retired from dancing. She said she delayed her retirement after she learned ENB would debut

Kenneth MacMillan Sir Kenneth MacMillan (11 December 192929 October 1992) was a British ballet dancer and choreographer who was artistic director of the Royal Ballet in London between 1970 and 1977, and its principal choreographer from 1977 until his death. Ea ...

's ''

Manon ''Manon'' () is an ''opéra comique'' in five acts by Jules Massenet to a French libretto by Henri Meilhac and Philippe Gille, based on the 1731 novel '' L'histoire du chevalier des Grieux et de Manon Lescaut'' by the Abbé Prévost. It was first ...

''. She then relocated to

Tallinn Tallinn () is the most populous and capital city of Estonia. Situated on a bay in north Estonia, on the shore of the Gulf of Finland of the Baltic Sea, Tallinn has a population of 437,811 (as of 2022) and administratively lies in the Harju ' ...

, as Edur was named artistic director of the Estonian National Ballet. Oaks is a recipient Order of the White Star, 3rd Class. In 2010, she was awarded

Commander of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...

Personal life

Oaks was married to Thomas Edur, a fellow Estonian principal at ENB and later the artistic director of Estonian National Ballet. They have a daughter, born in 2010.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Oaks, Agnes 1970 births Living people Estonian ballet dancers Estonian female dancers Prima ballerinas English National Ballet principal dancers Birmingham Royal Ballet dancers Moscow State Academy of Choreography alumni People from Vändra 20th-century ballet dancers 21st-century ballet dancers Estonian expatriates in the United Kingdom Estonian people of Russian descent Recipients of the Order of the White Star, 3rd Class Commanders of the Order of the British Empire Laurence Olivier Award winners