Dancing Ballerina Transforms into Commanding Conductor: Meet Maria Seletskaja
English National Ballet appoints Estonian conductor Maria Seletskaja as its new music director
Get ready to meet Estonia's Maria Seletskaja, the breathtaking former ballerina who has traded her pointe shoes for a baton. This remarkable woman, hailing from Narva-Jõesuu, has been chosen as the latest music director for the English National Ballet!
Seletskaja, known for her enchanting performances as a soloist with prestigious ballet companies like the Estonian National Ballet, Staatsballett Berlin, Zurich Ballet, and the Royal Ballet of Flanders, is about to embark on an exciting new chapter. She'll be teaming up with Aaron S. Watkin, the artistic director of the English National Ballet, to steer the creative direction and quality of music at the English National Ballet and the English National Ballet Philharmonic.
From humble beginnings as a dancer, Seletskaja's passion for music burned brightly. Simultaneously climbing the ballet ladder, she also nurtured her musical talents, diligently studying piano, violin, music theory, harmony, and orchestration.
Her conducting career took off at Stuttgart Ballet, where she made her debut back in April 2017, and since 2018, she's been solely dedicated to conducting. Impressively, she's worked with some of the world's most renowned ballet companies, including the National Ballet of Canada, the San Francisco Ballet, the Royal Danish Ballet, and the Paris Opera Ballet.
Seletskaja spoke of her new position, saying, "Taking up the position of music director at the English National Ballet marks the beginning of an exciting chapter in my professional life, which I am thrilled about."
Born in 2002 from the Tallinn Ballet School, Seletskaja continued her studies at St Petersburg Vaganova Ballet Academy. In her academic pursuits, she also explored choreography at Tallinn University and music theory, harmony, and orchestration at the Berklee College of Music in Boston. During her final years as a dancer, she served as an assistant conductor at Stuttgart Ballet.
Seletskaja's educational journey culminated in 2022 with a master's degree in orchestral conducting, under the tutelage of conductor Arvo Volmer, at the Estonian Academy of Music and Theatre.
While the search results don't delve deeply into Maria's appointment with the English National Ballet, her journey from ballet to conducting is a remarkable testament to her versatility and passion. This shift from a physical performance role to a leadership position in music presents its own set of challenges, but Seletskaja's talent, dedication, and resilience promise an exciting future for the English National Ballet.
In her early years, Maria Seletskaja, a native of Narva-Jõesuu in Estonia, nurtured both her dance and musical talents at the Tallinn Ballet School and furthered her ballet studies at the St Petersburg Vaganova Ballet Academy. Later, she pursued music theory, harmony, and orchestration at the Berklee College of Music in Boston. Despite her successful career as a soloist with ballet companies like the Estonian National Ballet, Seletskaja's future in Tallinn, the cultural heart of Estonia, is set to be marked by her role as music director for the English National Ballet, bringing her unique blend of dance and music to the world of entertainment.
