Maya Mikhailovna Plisetskaya (Russian: Майя Михайловна Плисецкая; born November 20, 1925) is a Russian ballet dancer, frequently cited as the greatest ballerina of modern times. November 20 is the 324th day of the year (325th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar. ... 1925 (MCMXXV) was a common year starting on Thursday (link will take you to calendar). ... The Waltz of the Snowflakes from Tchaikovskys The Nutcracker. ... Maya Plisetskaya, prima ballerina of the Bolshoi Ballet from 1943 to 1960 and prima ballerina assoluta from 1960 to 1990. ...

Early life

Maya Plisetskaya was born in Moscow into a prominent family of Jewish artists. She went to school in Spitzbergen, where her father worked as an engineer. In 1938, he was executed during the Stalinist purges, while her mother, a silent-film actress, was deported to Kazakhstan. Thereupon Maya was adopted by her maternal aunt, the ballerina Sulamith Messerer. Location Position of Moscow in Europe Government Country District Subdivision Russia Central Federal District Federal City Mayor Yuriy Luzhkov Geographical characteristics Area  - City 1,081 km² Population  - City (2005)    - Density 10,415,400   8537. ... Spitsbergen is the largest island in the Svalbard archipelago, which is situated in the Arctic Ocean and administered by Norway. ... Sulamith Messerer Sulamith Mikhailovna Messerer (Russian: , August 27, 1908 - June 3, 2004) was a Russian ballerina and choreographer who laid the foundations for the classical ballet in Japan. ...

Maya studied under the great ballerina of imperial school, Elizaveta Gerdt. She first performed at the Bolshoi Theatre when she had just turned 11 years of age. In 1943, she graduated from the choreographic school and joined the Bolshoi Ballet, where she would perform until 1990. Elizaveta Gerdt in the Bolshoi ballet school, 1960s Elizaveta Pavlovna Gerdt (1891-1975) was a Russian dancer and teacher whose career links the Russian imperial and Soviet schools of classical dance. ... Bolshoi Theatre The Bolshoi Theatre is a theatre and opera company in Moscow, Russia, which gives performances of ballet, opera, and plays. ...

Career

Maya Plisetskaya in the 1964 production of Don Quixote.

From the beginning, Maya was a different kind of ballerina. Unlike many ballerinas, she did not spend any time in the corps de ballet. She was named principal ballerina immediately after graduation. Her red hair and striking looks made her a glamorous figure on and off the stage. Her long arms had a fluidity that to this day remains unmatched; her interpretation of The Dying Swan, a short showcase piece made famous by Anna Pavlova, became Maya's calling card. Maya was known for the height of her jumps, her extremely flexible back, the technical strength of her dancing, and her charisma. Image File history File links Maya Plisetskaya in Don Quixote (1964). ... Image File history File links Maya Plisetskaya in Don Quixote (1964). ... A Ballet company is group of dancers who perform ballets. ... Le Cygne captures the idea of a swimming swan. ... Photographic postcard of Anna Pavlova as Aspicia in The Pharoahs Daughter, circa 1910 Anna Pavlova as Nikiya in the Grand Pas Classique of the Shades from Act III of La Bayadere, circa 1902 Anna Pavlova is also the name of an Olympic gymnast. ...

Despite her acclaim, Maya was not treated well by the Bolshoi management. She was Jewish in an anti-Semitic climate, and not allowed to tour with the company in 1956. It wasn't until 1959 that the world got to see Maya Plisetskaya, and she changed the world of ballet forever. Maya Plisetskaya set the bar higher for ballerinas everywhere, both in terms of technical brilliance and dramatic presence. The word Jew ( Hebrew: יהודי) is used in a wide number of ways, but generally refers to a follower of the Jewish faith, a child of a Jewish mother, or someone of Jewish descent with a connection to Jewish culture or ethnicity and often a combination... Wikipedia does not have an article with this exact name. ...

Maya's most acclaimed roles included Odette-Odilia in Swan Lake (1947) and Aurora in Sleeping Beauty (1961). In 1958, she was honoured with the title of the People's Artist of the USSR and married the young composer Rodion Shchedrin, in whose subsequent fame she shared. // Swan Lake (Russian: Лебединое Озеро) is one of the most famous and critically-acclaimed ballets, with music by Tchaikovsky (opus 20). ... Sleeping Beauty (Russian: Спящая красавица) is one of the classical repertoires famous ballets, with the musical score composed by Tchaikovsky. ... Maria Yermolova, first Peoples Artist of the Republic (1920). ... Rodion Konstantinovich Shchedrin (born December 16, 1932) is a Russian composer. ...

After Galina Ulanova left the stage in 1960, Maya Plisetskaya was proclaimed the prima ballerina assoluta of the Bolshoi Theatre. In the Soviet screen version of Anna Karenina, she played Princess Tverskaya. In 1971, her husband wrote a ballet on the same subject, where she would play the leading role. Anna Karenina was also her first attempt at choreography. Other choreographers who created ballets for her include Yury Grigorovich, Roland Petit, Alberto Alonso, and Maurice Bejart. Galina Sergeyevna Ulanova (Russian: ; 8 January 1910 (O.S. 26 December 1909} - 21 March 1998) has the reputation of the greatest Soviet ballerina. ... Bolshoi Theatre The Bolshoi Theatre is a theatre and opera company in Moscow, Russia, which gives performances of ballet, opera, and plays. ... Anna Karenina (Анна Каренина) is a novel by the Russian writer Leo Tolstoy first published in periodical installments from 1875 to 1877 . ... Choreography (also known as dance composition) is the art of making structures in which movement occurs, the term composition may also refer to the navigation or connection of these movement structures. ... Yury Grigorovich Yury Nikolayevich Grigorovich (born January 2, 1927 in Leningrad) is a Russian dancer and choreographer who dominated the Russian ballet for 30 years. ... Roland Petit (January 13, 1924) is a French choreographer and dancer born in Villemomble near Paris, France. ... Maurice Béjart (born January 1, 1927) is the French choreographer who runs the Béjart Ballet. ...

In the 1980s, Plisetskaya and Shchedrin spent much time abroad, where she worked as the artistic director of the Rome Opera Ballet and the Spanish National Ballet of Madrid. At the age of 65, she finally retired from the Bolshoi as a soloist. On her 70th birthday, she debuted in Bejart's number choreographed for her and entitled "Ave Maya". Since 1994, she has been presiding over the annual international ballet competitions called Maya. Location Location of Madrid in Europe Coordinates : 40° 23’N , 3°43′0″W Time Zone : CET (GMT +1) - summer: CEST (GMT +2) General information Native name Villa de Madrid (Spanish) Spanish name Villa de Madrid Founded 9th century Postal code 28001-28080 Area code 34 (Spain) + 91 (Villa de...

On the date of her 80th birthday, the Financial Times summed up current opinion about Maya in the following words: "She was, and still is, a star, ballet's monstre sacre, the final statement about theatrical glamour, a flaring, flaming beacon in a world of dimly twinkling talents, a beauty in the world of prettiness" [1]. The following year, Emperor Akihito presented to her the Premium Imperiale, informally considered a Nobel Prize for Art. The Financial Times (FT) is an international business newspaper printed on distinctive salmon pink broadsheet paper. ... Emperor Akihito of Japan (Japanese: 明仁) (born December 23, 1933) is the current Emperor (天皇, tennō) of Japan and the 125th according to the traditional order of succession. ... Nobel Prize medal. ...

External links

• Official site of the Plisetskaya-Shchedrin Foundation
• The Washington Post's tribute to Maya's 80th birthday
• The Ballerina Gallery - Maya Plisetskaya
• le Gala des étoiles - Maya Plisetskaya
• A national treasure - Maya Plisetskaya