ESTO 84 was very memorable for me as it gave me my first and (so far) only taste of show business, as a neophyte entertainer in a large arena. No, I wasn’t a rock star or concert pianist, but rather a mere folk dancer in a cast of hundreds who performed in the gala ESTO VISIOON that was held in the old Maple Leaf Gardens. This was on the same floor that the famous Maple Leafs skated on, before a full house that may have held some 14,000 people.
This enormous spectacle entailed choreographed folk dancers, musicians, choirs and rhythmic gymnasts weaving separately and jointly to multi-coloured lights and music. To have been able to contribute in a tiny way to the ultimate success of this event, and to soak in the applause, was unforgettable to this day. Once show business gets in your veins it never leaves.
But as with all successful shows, this was not an overnight happening and some background is useful. Being from a small city in Eastern Canada, I had never been immersed in Estonian group culture and didn’t know Estonian folk dancing from American square dancing. After moving to Montreal in 1980, I participated in a few local Estonian community organizations, one of which was a nascent Estonian folk dancing group. A Montreal dance group was originally started in 1951 but had become defunct. It began again in 1981 as Kuppari, and included mostly university-age students who met every Sunday evening in the Estonian church with our dedicated accordionist, Innar Teose and teacher Kaia Sunne and later, Helle Leitham (Miss Esto 80 in Stockholm). A good time was enjoyed by this rambunctious crew.
Of course, as would inevitably happen, there were differences in the way dances had been learned in the various groups, commonalities had to be developed and dance steps relearned.
However, at one point we were told about the upcoming ESTO in Toronto and of the opportunity for folk dancers to participate. We began diligently trying to learn the dances that had been chosen for our event. For a while, it may have been easier herding cats, but eventually things began to hang together and Kuppari performed in 1982 for the public at Man and his World (former EXPO 67 site), and danced at the Estonian House during the Karavan Days over 1982-83.
By the time of ESTO 84, I couldn’t say we were overconfident with ourselves, but while we were beginning to feel like veterans, we were still nervous about the big event. Our group of sixteen arrived in Toronto for the rehearsals for ESTO VISIOON, held in a practice stadium, along with similar groups from across Canada, the U.S.A., Sweden and other countries. They had all been learning the same dances and had their own unique stories to tell. Of course, as would inevitably happen, there were differences in the way dances had been learned in the various groups, commonalities had to be developed and dance steps relearned. It was not only a matter of revising steps, but of learning additional choreography needed for continuity and joining or spacing the various groups physically on a huge arena floor.
We also had to learn the tricky but spectacular effect of physically spelling out words (such as Eesti Elab), on the floor. Ultimately, knowing our individual folk dance steps became the least of our worries. Practice was a full week of daily rehearsal, and for many of us the only other ESTO event we were able to take in was the madness of the Salakõrts bar in the evenings.
However, when the going got tough, the tough got going and perseverance paid off.
Towards the end of the practice week, my understanding was that things were not going well and that the overall coordinator, Härnald Toomsalu, along with stage captains, were visibly upset and unhappy with the progress of the unified program. However, when the going got tough, the tough got going and perseverance paid off. The final rehearsal left a more confident feeling, even though to my recollection, the full show with all participating entities with effects had never had a full trial run together. However, the live show at Maple Leaf Gardens was a great success for the public and for us. This miracle had definitely been backed up by a lot of sweat and diligent practice. For me, it was a shame there were no other performances of that wonderful show. As for the Kuppari dancers, that was our last hurrah, as many of the group graduated from university that year and went on their separate ways to greener pastures.
Kuppari Esto ’84 was: Toomas Altosaar, Linda Kukk, Valmar Kurol, Allan Langvee, Helle Leitham, Ülle Leitham, Lisa Lepa, Epp Luik, Ingrid Mikk, Debbie Must, Markus Pedriks, Toomas Puhvel, Peeter Rammus, Susan Sillaots, Ain Vaus.
