Ülle-Valve-Oktavie Ulla (10 November 1934,

Tallinn Tallinn is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Estonia, most populous city of Estonia. Situated on a Tallinn Bay, bay in north Estonia, on the shore of the Gulf of Finland of the Baltic Sea, it has a population of (as of 2025) and ...

– 9 April 2016, Tallinn) was an

Estonian Estonian may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Estonia, a country in the Baltic region in northern Europe * Estonians, people from Estonia, or of Estonian descent * Estonian language * Estonian cuisine * Estonian culture See also

...

ballet dancer A ballet dancer is a person who practices the Art (skill), art of classical ballet. Both females and males can practice ballet. They rely on years of extensive training and proper technique to become a part of a professional ballet company. B ...

opera Opera is a form of History of theatre#European theatre, Western theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by Singing, singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera") is typically ...

and

operetta Operetta is a form of theatre and a genre of light opera. It includes spoken dialogue, songs and including dances. It is lighter than opera in terms of its music, orchestral size, and length of the work. Apart from its shorter length, the oper ...

singer,

actress An actor (masculine/gender-neutral), or actress (feminine), is a person who portrays a character in a production. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern media such as film, radio, and television. ...

and dance pedagogue. Her father was a

railway Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport using wheeled vehicles running in railway track, tracks, which usually consist of two parallel steel railway track, rails. Rail transport is one of the two primary means of ...

official while her mother is a stenographer-typist who was also an actress of ''Hommikteater''.

Career

In 1946, she enrolled at the Estonian State Choreographical School, graduating in 1953. From 1953 until 1966 and again from 1970 until 1973, she was a ballet soloist at

Estonia Theatre Estonia Theatre is an historic landmark building in central Tallinn, the capital city of Estonia Estonia, officially the Republic of Estonia, is a country in Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland across from Finl ...

. Ulla also performed in opera and operetta. After finishing her career as a ballet soloist, she performed in the Viru Variety Hall from 1972 until 1985. In the 1990s, she worked as a trainer and dance teacher at the

Estonian Academy of Music and Theatre The Estonian Academy of Music and Theatre (''Eesti Muusika- ja Teatriakadeemia'') began as a mixed choir of the Estonia Society Musical Department (EMD) on the eve of World War I. The assembly of the Estonia Society created the Tallinn Higher Musi ...

. She has also played in several films. In 1967, Ulla was the subject of the Leida Levald directed documentary film ''Ülle Ulla''.

Personal life

Ulla was married three times. Her first marriage was to dancer Eduard-Anatoli Hanson. From 1960 until 1971, she was married to actor

Ago-Endrik Kerge Ago-Endrik Kerge (also Endrik Kerge; 8 April 1939 Tallinn – 25 April 2021) was an Estonian dancer, ballet master, director and actor. In 1959 he graduated from Tallinn Choreographic School. In 1976 he graduated from the Tallinn State Conservato ...

, with whom she had a daughter. From 1972 until 1991, she was married to conductor

Eri Klas Eri Klas (7 June 1939 – 26 February 2016) was an Estonian conductor. He conducted or served as artistic director for the Estonian National Opera, the Finnish National Opera, the Danish Symphony Orchestra, the Netherlands Radio Symphony Orc ...

Acknowledgements

*Meritorious Artist of the Estonian SSR (1965)

Filmography

* 1962: ''Õhtust hommikuni'' (role: Karin) * 1985: ''Savoy ball'' (role: Bebe) * 1991: ''Vana mees tahab koju'' (role: Nurse Koidula)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ulla, Ulle 1934 births 2016 deaths Estonian ballet dancers Estonian film actresses Estonian stage actresses 20th-century Estonian actresses 20th-century Estonian women opera singers Estonian musical theatre actresses Academic staff of the Estonian Academy of Music and Theatre Actresses from Tallinn