Principal dancer Anna Roberta departs Estonian National Opera after 9 seasons for Dresden

Principal dancer Anna Roberta (27) is leaving the Estonian National Opera after nine seasons to join the Semperoper Dresden Ballet in Germany. Her final performance at Estonia will be on 19 June in "Swan Lake". The dancer shared an emotional farewell message on social media, reflecting on the joys and challenges of nine years.

Principal dancer Anna Roberta will take the stage at the Estonian National Opera for the last time on 19 June 2026, before moving to Germany to join the Semperoper Dresden Ballet. The 27-year-old dancer has spent nine seasons at Estonia and bid farewell to her home stage with a heartfelt social media post.

From school straight to the Estonia stage

Anna Roberta joined Estonia's company in 2017 immediately after graduating. "On the day we signed our contracts with our classmates, I scribbled excitedly in my notebook with a shaking hand: 'WE GOT THE JOB!'," she writes on Facebook. According to the dancer, that sentence held all the dreams of a professional dancer's life, and long working hours or leaving home did not frighten her at all back then.

Over nine years, she has thrown herself wholeheartedly into every role and challenge. "There were times when I spent six days a week at the theatre, nearly ten hours a day. There was always something to work on. It always could be better," Anna Roberta admits.

Swan Lake and Nutcracker records

She describes particularly memorably the season when she danced through an entire row at the back of the corps de ballet across six performances of "Swan Lake", in a different position each time. With colleagues, they kept track of who performed "The Nutcracker" most consecutively, and ended up tied as winners, participating in all of the season's performances. "We were young, ambitious, exhausted and so very proud of ourselves, our company, our work and the theatre," she recalls.

The dancer highlights that Anna Karenina has remained her heart's love. "They say your first love is never forgotten, and I admit that Anna Karenina is my first love, which found such a deep place in my heart that it can never be taken out again," writes Anna Roberta.

Thanks to the audience and theatre

In her post, the dancer warmly thanks the Estonian audience, who have sent her good wishes during her recovery periods and waited for her return to the stage. "During difficult moments, when rehabilitation was slow and the situation sometimes felt very dark, I reminded myself that I was being waited for. And I was always waited for. Oh, how wonderful you are, dear Estonian audience!" she writes.

As she heads to Dresden, Anna Roberta promises to continue with the same dedication and discipline. "Work, dedication, honesty and respect for your art is the formula that leads to victory everywhere," she says, and adds that she has no intention of disappearing without a trace—it is worth keeping an eye on future performance casts.