On 2 April, at Harju County Theatre Day held at the Estonian National Opera, Tanel Ots, Chairman of the Board of the Association of Local Authorities of Harju County, presented the annual theatre award, which recognises excellence in Estonian opera and ballet theatre and honours outstanding opera and ballet artists, conductors and musicians. This year, the 2026-euro award was presented to Joel Calstar-Fisher, Principal Dancer of the Estonian National Ballet, for his performances at the highest level of artistic excellence at the Estonian National Opera.

Joel Calstar-Fisher studied dance at the English National Ballet School (2018–2021) and Elmhurst Ballet School (2014–2018). He is one of the founders of the International Ballet School Day (2020). In 2018, he won the Cecchetti Award and appeared in Birmingham Royal Ballet’s production of Cinderella (2021). He joined the Estonian National Ballet in autumn 2021, became a soloist in January 2024, and was promoted to Principal Dancer in June 2025. Joel Calstar-Fisher is the recipient of the MyFitness Dance Award 2024 and a nominee for the Estonian Ballet Award 2026.

From April to June, Joel can be seen dancing in La Fille mal gardée, Giselle and Swan Lake.

Since 1995, Harju County has had a tradition of recognising one outstanding creative employee of the Estonian National Opera on the occasion of Harju County Theatre Day, and the first recipient of the award was Helgi Sallo. This year, the theatre award was presented for the 31st time.

Traditionally, one of the national opera’s flagship productions is also reserved for the people of Harju County on this festive evening. This year, audiences enjoyed the Estonian National Opera’s newest ballet production, La Fille mal gardée.

Photo by Rain Jüristo