Elfrida Kochneva Ballet Studio

In September 1929, a private ballet studio opened in Narva under the direction of the talented ballerina Elfrida Kochneva (Purkin) (1899, Narva – 1985, Narva). The studio’s main goal was to develop the diverse abilities of children. Over the course of ten years, around 150 students were trained there, many of whom later gained significant recognition in Estonian theaters — including Estonia and Endla — as well as abroad.

The studio staged 20 major performances, such as The Green Flute, Revenge of the Flowers, Tales of the Vienna Woods, Memory of Chopin, and Eastern Fantasy. These productions were attended by approximately 22,000 people in Narva, Jõhvi, Rakvere, and other cities. Students also performed solo pieces at charity evenings, school events, and other celebrations.

In addition to running the ballet studio, Elfrida Kochneva choreographed dances for the Narva Theater and toured extensively abroad. In 1941, she was repressed under the charge of “anti-Soviet agitation” and deported to the Tomsk region of Russia, where she worked on a collective farm. She returned to Narva in 1956 and was rehabilitated in 1960.

Elfrida Kochneva and Artur Sommer (Talvik) in a scene from a play dated 1930–1940 NLM

Portrait of Elfrida Kochneva. Photo by Johannes Kärner. 1925–1930. NLM

Performance by Students of Kochneva’s Ballet Studio. 1930–1940. NLM

Performance by Students of Kochneva’s Ballet Studio. 1930–1940. NLM Performance by Students of Kochneva’s Ballet Studio. 1932. NLM

Portrait of Elfrida Kochneva. Photo by Johannes Kärner. 1937–1939. NLM

Invitation to the anniversary of E. Kochneva’s ballet studio. 1940. NLM

Elfrida Kochneva with her husband Alexander Kochnev in Nice. 1925–1935. NLM

Performance by students of Kochneva’s ballet studio. 1929–1939. NLM

Elfrida Kochneva with a friend during exile. Novosibirsk. 1947. NLM

Portrait of Elfrida Kochneva. 1958. NLM