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514 Elo-Hanna Seljamaa all supposed to evolve along a predetermined path towards “high culture” (see, e.g. Kuutma 2008, 2009: 305). In the field of folk dancing, this was to be achieved by means of performances that mimicked classical ballet: Estonian and other folk dances were to be “ennobled” by means of applying to them body discipline, graceful movements, complicated patterns, and synchronicity “specific to Russian and other Slavic stage folk dance since the beginning of twentieth century” (Kapper 2016: 99). Curiously enough, these representations of ethnic diversity at dance festivals were gradually invested with greater attention to authenticity as Others came to represent themselves. It sufficed in the 1950s if Estonian dancers performed the folk dances of their Soviet and socialist neighbours. Next came the stage when Estonian dancers performing the folk dances of Others would dress for the occasion: for a Russian dance, they would put on Russian folk dresses. From 1963 onward, dance celebrations would feature performances by guests from other Soviet republics and socialist countries and by Russian ensembles from Estonia (Arraste et al. 2009). Consequently, ethnic otherness became gradually more pronounced in visual representations of dance festivals. ‘The distinctiveness of the dances, costumes, and tunes of Others testified to the particularity of Estonian national culture and vice versa. The ideological requirement to display diversity forced, or enabled, Estonians to see themselves through the eyes of Others and to spell out what they thought was characteristic of them— what made them unique. Kapper has shown how Estonian dance instructors, dancers, and spectators adapted to this particular understanding of folk dance provided by the Soviet Other and, moreover, how the ballet-based standardised movement style has remained unchanged after the end of the Soviet era." It is now perceived “as a representation of ‘Estonianness” and “as a valuable national tradition” that reinforces national feelings (Kapper 2016: 101-102). Conclusion Visual representations discussed in this chapter elucidate how the form of Estonian song and dance celebrations was filled in the Soviet era with contents that spoke of and to the surrounding political and cultural conditions and, moreover, came to shape Estonians’ notions of the Estonian national form. While Soviet authorities led the way in the 1940s-50s, co-opting a festival tradition that Estonians knew and identified with, their orders were carried out by artists, performers, and various other actors on the ground. Over the years, it became increasingly difficult to tell the difference between visual representations of the national/Estonian Self and Soviet Other as one would feed on the other. Diverse representational strategies 5 In the 1960s, an opposite folklore movement also emerged in Estonia that promoted indigenous dance and an individually variable performance style (see Kapper 2016: 103-104 and Kuutma 2009: 306). “While the first post-Soviet dance celebrations featured only Estonian dances and dancers, since 2004 they have again included performances by guests from neighbouring countries.
