Maya Plisetskaya

This name uses Eastern Slavic naming customs; the tions, called Maya, and in 1996 she was named President
patronymic is Mikhaylovna and the family name is of the Imperial Russian Ballet.
Plisetskaya.
Plisetskaya was a naturalized citizen of Lithuania[4] and
Spain.[5]
Maya Mikhaylovna Plisetskaya (Russian: ; 20 November 1925 2 May
2015) was a Soviet-born ballet dancer, choreographer,
ballet director, and actress, who held Spanish and Lithua- 1 Early life
nian citizenship.[1] She danced during the Soviet era at
the same time as Galina Ulanova, another famed Russian Maya Plisetskaya was born on 20 November 1925, in
ballerina. In 1960 she ascended to Ulanovas former title Moscow,[6] into a prominent family of Lithuanian Jewas prima ballerina assoluta of the Bolshoi.
ish descent,[7] most of whom were involved in the theater
or lm. Her mother, Rachel Messerer-Plisetskaya, was a
silent-lm actress. Dancer Asaf Messerer was a maternal
uncle and Bolshoi ballerina Sulamith Messerer was a maternal aunt. Her father, Mikhail Plisetski (Misha), was a
diplomat, engineer and mine director, and not involved
in the arts, although he was a fan of ballet.[8] Her brother
Alexander Plisetski became a famous choreographer, and
her niece Anna Plisetskaya would also become a famous
ballerina.

Plisetskaya studied ballet from age nine and rst performed at the Bolshoi Theatre when she was eleven. She
joined the Bolshoi Ballet company when she was eighteen, quickly rising to become their leading soloist. Her
early years were also marked by political repression, however, partly because her family was Jewish.[2] She was not
allowed to tour outside the country for sixteen years after joining the Bolshoi. During those years, her fame
as a national ballerina was used to project the Soviet
Unions achievements during the Cold War. Premier
Nikita Khrushchev, who lifted her travel ban in 1959,
considered her not only the best ballerina in the Soviet
Union, but the best in the world.[3]

In 1938, her father was arrested and later executed during the Stalinist purges, during which tens of thousands
of people were murdered.[2] According to ballet scholar
Jennifer Homans, her father was a committed Communist, and had earlier been proclaimed a national hero for
his work on behalf of the Soviet coal industry.[9] Soviet leader Vyacheslav Molotov presented him with one
of the Soviet Unions rst manufactured cars. Her mother
was arrested soon after and sent to a labor camp (Gulag)
in Kazakhstan for the next three years.[10][11] Maya and
her seven-month-old baby brother were taken in by their
maternal aunt, ballerina Sulamith Messerer, until their
mother was released in 1941.[12]

As a member of the Bolshoi until 1990, her skill as a

dancer changed the world of ballet, setting a higher standard for ballerinas both in terms of technical brilliance
and dramatic presence. As a soloist, Plisetskaya created a
number of leading roles, including Moiseyevs Spartacus
(1958); Grigorovichs The Stone Flower (1959); Aurora
in Grigorovichs The Sleeping Beauty (1963); Alberto
Alonsos Carmen Suite (1967), written especially for her;
and Maurice Bejarts Isadora (1976). Among her most
acclaimed roles was Odette-Odile in Swan Lake (1947).
A fellow dancer stated that her dramatic portrayal of Carmen, reportedly her favorite role, helped conrm her as a
legend, and the ballet soon took its place as a landmark in
the Bolshoi repertoire. Her husband, composer Rodion
Shchedrin, wrote the scores to a number of her ballets.

During the years without her parents, and barely a

teenager, Plisetskaya faced terror, war, and dislocation,
writes Homans. As a result, Maya took refuge in ballet and the Bolshoi Theater.[9] She went to school in
Spitzbergen, and next studied under the great ballerina of
imperial school, Elizaveta Gerdt. She rst performed at
the Bolshoi Theatre when she was eleven. In 1943, at the
age of eighteen, Plisetskaya graduated from the choreographic school. She joined the Bolshoi Ballet, where she
performed until 1990.[12]

Having become an international superstar and a continuous box oce hit throughout the world, Plisetskaya
was treated by the Soviet Union as a favored cultural
emissary. Although she toured extensively during the
same years that other dancers defected, including Rudolf
Nureyev, Natalia Makarova and Mikhail Baryshnikov,
Plisetskaya always refused to defect. Beginning in 1994,
she presided over the annual international ballet competi-

2 Career
1

2.1

Performing in the Soviet Union

From the beginning, Plisetskaya was a dierent kind of

ballerina. She spent a very short time in the corps de ballet after graduation and was quickly named a soloist. Her
bright red hair and striking looks made her a glamorous
gure on and o the stage. She was a remarkably uid
dancer but also a very powerful one, according to The
Oxford Dictionary of Dance.[13] The robust theatricality
and passion she brought to her roles made her an ideal
Soviet ballerina. Her interpretation of The Dying Swan,
a short showcase piece made famous by Anna Pavlova,
became her calling card. Plisetskaya was known for the
height of her jumps, her extremely exible back, the technical strength of her dancing, and her charisma. She excelled both in adagio and allegro, which is very unusual
in dancers.[13]

CAREER

was always with the high guests in the loge, including

Mao Zedong and Stalin.[2][14]
Ezrahi writes, the intrinsic paranoia of the Soviet regime
made it ban Plisetskaya, one of the most celebrated
dancers, from the Bolshoi Ballets rst major international tour, as she was considered politically suspect
and was non-exportable.[9] In 1948 the Zhdanov Doctrine took eect, and with her family history, and being Jewish, she became a natural target . . . publicly humiliated and excoriated for not attending political meetings.[9] As a result, dancing roles were continually denied her and for sixteen years she could tour only
within the Soviet bloc. She became a provincial artist,
consigned to grimy, unrewarding bus tours, exclusively
for local consumption, writes Homans.[9]
In 1958 Plisetskaya received the title of the Peoples
Artist of the USSR. That same year she married the
young composer Rodion Shchedrin, whose subsequent
fame she shared. Wanting to dance internationally, she
rebelled and deed Soviet expectations. On one occasion, to gain the attention and respect from some of the
countrys leaders, she gave one of the most powerful performances of her career, in Swan Lake, for her 1956 concert in Moscow. Homans describes that extraordinary
performance:
"
We can feel the steely contempt and deance taking hold of her dancing. When the
curtain came down on the rst act, the crowd
exploded. KGB toughs mued the audiences
applauding hands and dragged people out of
the theater kicking, screaming, and scratching.
By the end of the evening the government thugs
had retreated, unable (or unwilling) to contain
the public enthusiasm. Plisetskaya had won.[9]

2.2 International tours

Plisetskaya performing in Carmen (1974)

Plisetskaya was not only the best ballerina in the Soviet

Union, but the best in the world.
Despite her acclaim, Plisetskaya was not treated well by
[3]
the Bolshoi management. She was Jewish at a time of Nikita Khrushchev
Soviet anti-Zionist campaigns combined with other op- Soviet leader Khrushchev was still concerned, writes hispression of suspected dissidents.[7] Her family had been torian David Caute, that her defection would have been
purged during the Stalinist era and she had a deant per- useful for the West as anti-Soviet propaganda. She wrote
sonality. As a result, Plisetskaya was not allowed to tour him a long and forthright expression of her patriotism
outside the country for sixteen years after she had become and her indignation that it should be doubted.[3] Subsea member of the Bolshoi.[10]
quently the travel ban was lifted in 1959 on Khrushchevs
The Soviet Unions used the artistry of such dancers as personal intercession, as it became clear to him that strikhave
Plisetskaya to project its achievements during the Cold ing Plisetskaya from the Bolshois participants could
[14]
In
his
serious
consequences
for
the
tours
success.
War period with United States. Historian Christina
memoirs,
Khrushchev
writes
that
Plisetskaya
was
not
Ezrahi notes, In a quest for cultural legitimacy, the Soballerina in the Soviet Union, but the best in
viet ballet was shown o to foreign leaders and nations. only the best
[3][15]
the
world.
Plisetskaya recalls that foreigners were all taken to the
ballet. And almost always, Swan Lake ... Khrushchev Able to travel the world as a member of the Bolshoi,

2.3

Style

In Romeo and Juliet, 1961

in Swan Lake with the Bolshoi Ballet, 1966

2.3 Style

Although she lacked the rst-rate training and coaching of

her contemporaries, Plisetskaya compensated by developing an individual, iconoclastic style that capitalized
on her electrifying stage presence, writes historian Tim
Scholl, adding that it amounted to a daring rarely seen
on ballet stages today, and a jump of almost masculine
Plisetskaya changed the world of ballet by her skills and power.[12]
technique, setting a higher standard for ballerinas both
in terms of technical brilliance and dramatic presence.
Her very personal style was angular, draHaving allowed her to tour in New York, Kruschev was
matic, and theatrical, exploiting the gifts that
immensely satised upon reading the reviews of her pereveryone in her mothers family seemed to posformances. He embraced her upon her return: Good
sess.... Those who saw Plisetskayas rst pergirl, coming back. Not making me look like a fool. You
formances in the West still speak of her ability
didnt let me down.[9]
to wrap the theater in her gaze, to convey powWithin a few years, Plisetskaya was recognized as an
international superstar and a continuous box oce hit
throughout the world.[9] The Soviet Union treated her
as a favored cultural emissary, as the dancer who did
not defect.[9] Although she toured extensively during the
same years that other dancers defected, including Rudolf
Nureyev, Natalia Makarova and Mikhail Baryshnikov,
Plisetskaya always returned to Russia, wrote historian
Tim Scholl.[12]:xiii

erful emotions in terse gestures.[12]:xii

Critic and dance historian Vadim Gaevsky said of her inuence on ballet that she began by creating her own style
and ended up creating her own theater.[16] Among her
most notable performances was a 1975 free-form dance,
in a modern style, set to Ravels Bolro. In it, she dances
a solo piece on an elevated round stage, surrounded and
accompanied by 40 male dancers. One reviewer wrote,
Plisetskaya explains that for her generation, and her fam- Words cannot compare to the majesty and raw beauty of
[17]
ily in particular, defecting was a moral issue: He who Plisetskayas performance:
runs to the enemys side is a traitor. She had once asked
her mother why their family didn't leave the Soviet Union
What makes the piece so compelling is that
when they had the chance, at the time living in Norway.
although Plisetskaya may be accompanied by
Her mother said that her father would have abandoned
dozens of other dancers mirroring her moveme with the children instantly for even asking. Misha
ment, the rst and only focus is on the prima
would never have been a traitor.[12]:239
ballerina herself. Her continual rocking and

2
swaying at certain points, rhythmically timed to
the syncopation of the orchestra, create a mesmerizing eect that demonstrated an absolute
control over every nuance of her body, from
the smallest toe to her ngertips, to the top of
her head.[17]

2.4

Performances

She burst like a ame on the American scene in 1959.

Instantly she became a darling to the public and a miracle
to the critics. She was compared to Maria Callas, Theda
Bara and Greta Garbo.
Sarah Montague[18]
She created a number of leading roles, including ones
in Lavrovskys Stone Flower (1954), Moiseyevs Spartacus (1958), Grigorovichs Moscow version of The Stone
Flower (1959), Aurora in Grigorovichs staging The
Sleeping Beauty (1963), Grigorovichs Moscow version
of The Legend of Love (1965), the title role in Alberto
Alonsos Carmen Suite (1967), Petits La Rose malade
(Paris, 1973), Bejarts Isadora (Monte Carlo, 1976) and
his Moscow staging of Leda (1979), Graneros Maria Estuardo (Madrid, 1988), and Lopezs El Renedero (Buenos
Aires, 1990).[13]

CAREER

skaya as ballerina, that dened the Bolshoi.[9] During

her travels she also appeared as guest artist with the Paris
Opera Ballet, Ballet National de Marseilles, and Ballet of
the 20th Century in Brussels.[13]
By 1962, following Ulanovas retirement, Plisetskaya embarked on another three-month world tour. As a performer, notes Homans, she excelled in the hard-edged,
technically demanding roles that Ulanova eschewed, including Raymonda, the black swan in Swan Lake, and
Kitri in Don Quixote."[9] In her performances, Plisetskaya was unpretentious, refreshing, direct. She did not
hold back.[9] Ulanova added that Plisetskayas artistic
temperament, bubbling optimism of youth reveal themselves in this ballet with full force.[18] World-famous
impresario Sol Hurok said that Plisetskaya was the only
ballerina after Pavlova who gave him a shock of electricity when she came on stage.[18] Rudolf Nureyev watched
her debut as Kitri in Don Quixote and told her afterwards,
I sobbed from happiness. You set the stage on re.[2][20]
At the conclusion of one performance at the Metropolitan
Opera, she received a half-hour ovation. Choreographer
Jerome Robbins, who had just nished the Broadway
play, West Side Story, told her that he wanted to create a
ballet especially for her.[3]
Plisetskayas most acclaimed roles included Odette-Odile
in Swan Lake (1947) and Aurora in Sleeping Beauty
(1961). Her dancing partner in Swan Lake states that
for twenty years, he and Plisetskaya shared the world
stage with that ballet, with her performance consistently producing the most powerful impression on the
audience.[21]
Equally notable were her ballets as The Dying Swan.
Critic Walter Terry described one performance: What
she did was to discard her own identity as a ballerina and
even as a human and to assume the characteristics of a
magical creature. The audience became hysterical, and
she had to perform an encore.[18]
Novelist Truman Capote remembered a similar performance in Moscow, seeing grown men crying in the aisles
and worshiping girls holding crumpled bouquets for her.
He saw her as a white spectre leaping in smooth rainbow
arcs, with a royal head. She said of her style that the
secret of the ballerina is to make the audience say, 'Yes,
I believe.'"[18]

Performing in Don Quixote in 1974

After performing in Spartacus during her 1959 U.S. debut tour, Life magazine, in its issue featuring the Bolshoi,
rated her second only to Galina Ulanova.[19] Spartacus became a signicant ballet for the Bolshoi, with one critic
describing their rage to perform, personied by Pliset-

In 1967, she performed as Carmen in the Carmen Suite,

choreographed specically for her by Cuban choreographer Alberto Alonso. The music was re-scored from
Bizets original by her husband, Rodion Shchedrin, and
its themes were re-worked into a modernist and almost
abstract narrative.[22] Dancer Olympia Dowd, who performed alongside her, writes that Plisetskayas dramatic
portrayal of Carmen, her favorite role, made her a legend, and soon became a landmark in the Bolshois
repertoire.[23] Her Carmen, however, at rst rattled the
Soviet establishment, which was shaken with her Latin
sensuality.[24] She was aware that her dance style was

2.6

Death

radical and new, saying that every gesture, every look,

every movement had meaning, was dierent from all
other ballets... The Soviet Union was not ready for this
sort of choreography. It was war, they accused me of betraying classical dance.[25]
Some critics outside of Russia saw her departure from
classical styles as necessary to the Bolshois success in the
West. New York Times critic Anna Kisselgo observed,
Without her presence, their poverty of movement invention would make them untenable in performance. It is a
tragedy of Soviet ballet that a dancer of her singular genius was never extended creatively.[16] A Russian news
commentator wrote, she was never afraid to bring ardor
and vehemence onto the stage, contributing to her becoming a true queen of the Bolshoi.[24]

2.5

Acting and choreography

5
son with the Martha Graham Dance Company in New
York.[28]
Plisetskayas husband, composer Rodion Shchedrin,
wrote the score to a number of her ballets, including
Anna Karenina, The Sea Gull, Carmen, and Lady with
a Small Dog. In the 1980s, he was considered the successor to Shostakovich, and became the Soviet Unions leading composer.[29] Plisetskaya and Shchedrin spent time
abroad, where she worked as the artistic director of the
Rome Opera Ballet in 198485, then the Spanish National Ballet of Madrid from 198789. She retired as a
soloist for the Bolshoi at age 65, and on her 70th birthday,
she debuted in Maurice Bjart's piece choreographed for
her, Ave Maya. Since 1994, she has presided over
the annual international ballet competitions, called Maya.
And in 1996 she was named President of the Imperial
Russian Ballet.[30]
She was ballet director of the Rome Opera (198384),
and artistic director of Ballet del Teatro Lirico Nacional
in Madrid (198790). She was awarded the Prince of
Asturias Award for the Arts in 2005 with the ballerina Tamara Rojo also. She was awarded the Spanish
Gold Medal of Fine Art. In 1996 she danced the Dying Swan, her signature role, at a gala in her honor in St.
Petersburg.[13]

After Galina Ulanova left the stage in 1960, Maya Plisetskaya was proclaimed the prima ballerina assoluta of the
Bolshoi Theatre. In 1971, her husband Shchedrin wrote
a ballet on the same subject, where she would play the
leading role. Anna Karenina was also her rst attempt
at choreography.[26] Other choreographers who created
ballets for her include Yury Grigorovich, Roland Petit,
Alberto Alonso, and Maurice Bjart with Isadora. She On her 80th birthday, the Financial Times wrote:
created The Seagull and Lady with a Lapdog. She starred
She was, and still is, a star, ballets monin the 1961 lm, The Humpbacked Horse, and appeared
stre sacre, the nal statement about theatrical
as a straight actress in several lms, including the Soviet
glamour, a aring, aming beacon in a world of
version of Anna Karenina (1968). Her own ballet of the
dimly twinkling talents, a beauty in the world
same name was lmed in 1974.
of prettiness.[31]

In 2006, Emperor Akihito of Japan presented her with

the Praemium Imperiale, informally considered a Nobel
Prize for Art.

2.6 Death
Plisetskaya died in Munich, Germany, on 2 May 2015
from a heart attack, despite high medical care.[16][32] She
was interred in Russia, according to General Director of
the Bolshoi Theater Vladimir Urin [33] and is survived by
her husband, and a brother, former dancer Azari Plisetsky, a teacher of choreography at the Bejart Ballet in
Lausanne, Switzerland.[16]
Plisetskaya with her husband, Rodion Shchedrin, in 2009

While on tour in the United States in 1987, Plisetskaya

gave master classes at the David Howard Dance Center.
A review in New York magazine noted that although she
was 61 when giving the classes, she displayed the suppleness and power of a performer in her physical prime.[27]
In October that year she performed with Rudolf Nureyev
and Mikhail Baryshnikov for the opening night of the sea-

Russian President Vladimir Putin expressed his deep and

sincere condolences to the family, friends and all fans
of the great Russian ballerina, and Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev said that a whole era of ballet was gone with Plisetskaya.[33] Belarusian President
Alexander Lukashenko extended condolences to her family and friends:
The passing of great Maya Mikhailovna
[Plisetskaya] whose creative work embodied

3 PERSONAL LIFE
the whole cultural era is an irretrievable loss
for Russian and world art. Her brilliant choreography and wonderful grace, fantastic power
of dramatic identication and outstanding mastery dazzled the audience. Thanks to her selfless service to art and commitment to the stage,
she was respected all over the world.[34]

3
3.1

Personal life
Career friendships

Plisetskayas tour manager, Maxim Gershuno, who also

helped promote the Soviet/American Cultural Exchange
Program, describes her as not only a great artist, but also
very realistic and earthy ... with a very open and honest
outlook on life.[35]
During Plisetskayas tours abroad she became friends
with a number of other theater and music artists, including composer and pianist Leonard Bernstein, with whom
she remained friends until his death. Pianist Arthur
Rubenstein, also a friend, was able to converse with her in
Russian. She visited him after his concert performance
in Russia.[12]:202 Novelist John Steinbeck, while at their
home in Moscow, listened to her stories of the hardship of
becoming a ballerina, and told her that the backstage side
of ballet could make for a most interesting novel.[12]:203
In 1962, the Bolshoi was invited to perform at the White
House by president John F. Kennedy, and Plisetskaya recalled that rst lady Jacqueline Kennedy greeted her by
saying Youre just like Anna Karenina.[12]:222
While in France in 1965, Plisetskaya was invited to the
home of Russian artist Marc Chagall and his wife. Chagall had moved to France to study art in 1910. He asked
her if she wouldn't mind creating some ballet poses to
help him with his current project, a mural for the new
Metropolitan Opera House in New York, which would
show various images representing the arts. She danced
and posed in various positions as he sketched, and her
images were used on the mural, at the top left corner, a
colorful ock of ballerinas.[12]:250

had to dance on a vaudeville stage in South America to

make ends meet.[36] Dancer Daniel Nagrin noted that
she was a dancer who went on to perform to the joy of
audiences everywhere while simultaneously defying the
myth of early retirement.[37]
MacLaines brother, actor Warren Beatty is said to have
been inspired by their friendship, which led him to write
and produce his 1981 lm Reds, about the Russian Revolution. He directed the lm and costarred with Diane
Keaton. He rst met Plisetskaya at a reception in Beverly
Hills, and, notes Beattys biographer Peter Biskind, he
was smitten by her classic dancers beauty.[38]
Plisetskaya became friends with lm star Natalie Wood
and her sister, actress Lana Wood. Wood, whose parents
immigrated from Russia, greatly admired Plisetskaya,
and once had an expensive custom wig made for her to
use in the Spartacus ballet. They enjoyed socializing together on Woods yacht.[35]

3.2 Friendship with Robert F. Kennedy

U.S. Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy, the younger
brother to president John F. Kennedy, befriended Plisetskaya, with whom he coincidentally shared exactly the
same birth date (20 November 1925). She was invited
to gatherings with Kennedy and his family at their estate
on Cape Cod in 1962. They later named their sailboat
Maya, in her honor.[35]
As the Cuban Missile Crisis had ended a few weeks earlier, at the end of October, 1962, U.S. and Soviet relations were at a low point. Diplomats of both countries
considered her friendship with Kennedy to be a great benet to warmer relations, after weeks of worrisome military confrontation. Years later, when they met in 1968,
he was then campaigning for the presidency, and diplomats again suggested that their friendship would continue
to help relations between the two countries. Plisetskaya
summarizes Soviet thoughts on the matter:
Maya Plisetskaya should bring the candidate presents worthy of the great moment.
Stun the future president with Russian generosity to continue and deepen contacts and
friendship.[12]:265

Plisetskaya also made friends with a number of celebrities

and notable politicians who greatly admired and followed
her work. She met Swedish actress Ingrid Bergman, then Of their friendship, Plisetskaya writes in her autobiograliving in the U.S., after a performance of Anna Karen- phy:
ina, Bergman told her that both their photographs, taken
by noted photographer Richard Avedon, appeared on the
With me Robert Kennedy was romantic, elsame page in Vogue magazine. Bergman suggested she
evated, noble, and completely pure. No seducee Communism, recalls Plisetskaya, telling her I will
tions, no passes.[12]:265
help you.[12]:222
Actress Shirley MacLaine once held a party for her and
the other members of the Bolshoi. She remembered seeing her perform in Argentina when Plisetskaya was sixtyve, and writes how humiliating it was that Plisetskaya

Robert Kennedy was assassinated just days before he

was to see Plisetskaya again in New York. Gershuno,
Plisetskayas manager at the time, recalls that on the day
of the funeral, most of the theaters and concert halls in

4.2

Soviet Union

New York City went dark, closed in mourning and respect. The Bolshoi likewise planned to cancel their performance, but they decided instead to do a dierent ballet
than planned, one dedicated to Kennedy. Gershuno describes that evening:
The most appropriate way to open such
an evening would be for the great Plisetskaya
to perform The Dying Swan, which normally
would close an evenings program to thunderous applause with stamping feet, and clamors
for an encore. . . . This assignment created an emotional burden for Maya. She really did not want to dance that work that night.
. . I thought it was best for me to remain
backstage in the wings. That turned out to
be one of the most poignant moments I have
ever experienced. Replacing the usual thunderous audience applause at the conclusion,
there was complete silence betokening the feelings of a mourning nation in the packed, cavernous Metropolitan Opera House. Maya came
o the stage in tears, looked at me, raised her
beautiful arms and looked upward. Then disappeared into her dressing room.[35]

7
2nd class (18 November 2000) for outstanding contribution to the development of choreographic art
3rd class (21 November 1995) for outstanding contributions to national culture and a signicant contribution to contemporary choreographic art
4th class (9 November 2010) for outstanding
contribution to the development of national
culture and choreography, many years of creative activity
Made an honorary professor at Moscow State University in 1993[39]

4.2 Soviet Union

Hero of Socialist Labour (1985)
Three Orders of Lenin (1967, 1976, 1985)
Lenin Prize (1964)
Peoples Artist of USSR (1959)
Peoples Artist of RSFSR (1956)
Honoured Artist of the RSFSR (1951)

Awards and honors

4.3 Other decorations
Commander of the Order of Arts and Letters
(France, 1984)[39]
Commander of the Order of Isabella the Catholic
(Spain)
Commander of the Order of the Lithuanian Grand
Duke Gediminas
Great Commanders Cross of the Order for Merits
to Lithuania (2003)
Gold Medal of Gloria Artis (Poland, 2008)[40]

Plisetskaya receives a governmental award from President of

Russia Vladimir Putin on 20 November 2000.

Plisetskaya was honored on numerous occasions for her

skills:[30]

Order of the Rising Sun, 3rd class (Japan, 2011)

Ocer of the Lgion d'honneur (France, 2012;
Knight: 1986)

4.4 Awards
4.1

Russia

Order of Merit for the Fatherland

1st class (20 November 2005) for outstanding contribution to the development of domestic and international choreographic art, many
years of creative activity

First prize, Budapest International Competition

(1949)
Anna Pavlova Prize, Paris Academy of Dance
(1962)
Doctor of the Sorbonne in 1985[39]
Gold Medal of Fine Arts of Spain (1991)[39]

6
Triumph Prize, 2000.
Premium Russian National Olympus (2000)
Prince of Asturias Award (2005, Spain)
Imperial Prize of Japan (2006)[39]

See also
List of Russian ballet dancers

References

[1] Maya Plisetskaya prolke, viola.bz; accessed 2 May 2015.

[2] Maya Plisetskaya: Ballerina whose charisma and talent
helped her ght the Soviet authorities and achieve international fame, The Independent, U.K. 5 May 2015
[3] Caute, David. The Dancer Defects: The Struggle for Cultural Supremacy During the Cold War, Oxford Univ. Press
(2003) p. 489
[4] Plisetskaya and Shchedrin settle in Lithuania, upi.com; accessed 4 May 2015.
[5] Two greats of world ballet win Spanish Nobels, expatica.com; accessed 4 May 2015.

REFERENCES

[16] Maya Plisetskaya, Ballerina Who Embodied Bolshoi,

Dies at 89, New York Times, 2 May 2015.
[17] Master Class: Maya Plisetskayas 'Bolero', Artful Intel,
25 October 2011.
[18] Montague, Sarah. The Ballerina, Universe Books, N.Y.
(1980) pp. 46-49
[19] Life magazine, 23 February 1959.
[20] Maya Plisetskaya in Don Quixote ca 1959 on YouTube
[21] Plisetskaya-AVE MAYA-documentary
YouTube, translated from Russian

lm

on

[22] Hutcheon, Linda. A Theory of Adaptation, Routledge

(2006) p. 164
[23] Dowd, Olympia. A Young Dancers Apprenticeship: On
Tour with the Moscow City Ballet, Twenty-rst Century
Books (2003) p. 71
[24] Moscow Honors Bolshois 'True Queen'", Washington
Post, 20 November 2005.
[25] Russian ballet great Maya Plisetskaya dies Bolshoi,
GMG News, Agence France-Presse, 2 May 2015
[26] Tolstoy, Leo (2003). Anna Karenina. Mandelker, Amy;
Garnett, Constance. Spark Educational Publishing. ISBN
1-59308-027-1.
[27] New York magazine, 22 June 1987, p. 65
[28] New York magazine, 21 September 1987, p. 100

[6] Current Biography Yearbook, H. W. Wilson Co., 1964, p.

331.

[29] New York magazine, 28 March 1988, p. 99

[7] Miller, Jack (1984). Jews in Soviet Culture. Transaction

Publishers. p. 15. ISBN 0-87855-495-5.

[30] Sleeman, Elizabeth (2001). The International Whos Who

of Women (3rd edition ed.). Routledge. ISBN 1-85743122-7.

[8] Popovich, Irina. Maya Plisetskaya: A Balletic Lethal

Weapon, The Russia Journal, Issue 10, May 1999.

[31] Crisp, Clement (18 November 2005). Mayan goddess.

Financial Times. Retrieved 25 June 2008.

[9] Homans, Jennifer. Apollos Angels: A History of Ballet,

Random House (2010) pp. 383-386

[32] " " (in Russian).

ITAR TASS. 2 May 2015. Retrieved 2 May 2015.

[10] Eaton, Katherine Bliss (2004). Daily Life in the Soviet

Union. Greenwood Publishing Group. ISBN 0-31331628-7.

[33] Ballerina Maya Plisetskaya dies of heart attack at 89,

Pravda, May 2, 2015

[11] They were sent to ALZHIR camp, a Russian acronym for

the Akmolinskii Camp for Wives of Traitors of the Motherland, "enemies of the people" near Akmolinsk
[12] Plisetskaya, Maya (2001). I, Maya Plisetskaya. Yale University Press. ISBN 0-300-08857-4.
[13] Craine, Debra & Mackrell, Judith. The Oxford Dictionary
of Dance, Oxford: Oxford Univ. Press, 2010; pp. 352353
[14] Ezrahi, Christina. Swans of the Kremlin, Univ. of Pittsburgh Press (2012) p. 68, 142
[15] Taubman, William; Khrushchev, Sergei; Gleason, Abbott; Gehrenbeck, David; Kane, Eileen; Bashenko, Alla
(2000). Nikita Khrushchev. Yale University Press. ISBN
0-300-07635-5.

[34] Lukashenko extends condolences over passing of Maya

Plisetskaya, Belarusian News, 5 May 2015
[35] Gershuno, Maxim. Its Not All Song and Dance: A Life
Behind the Scenes in the Performing Arts, Hal Leonard
Corp. (2005) pp. 61,65,74
[36] MacLaine, Shirley. Out on a Leash: Exploring the Nature
of Reality and Love, Simon & Schuster (2003) p. 126
[37] Nagrin, Daniel. How to Dance Forever: Surviving Against
the Odds, HarperCollins (1988) p. 15
[38] Biskind, Peter. Star: How Warren Beatty Seduced America, Simon & Schuster (2010) p. 90
[39] Died ballerina Maya Plisetskaya, TASS, May 2, 2015
[40] Warszawa. Urodziny primadonny at the www.e-teatr.pl
(Polish)

External links
Maya Plisetskaya Dances Ballet, biographical documentary, 1964 on YouTube, 1 hr. 11 min.
Legendary performances: Maya Plisetskaya on
YouTube, documentary biography, 1 hr. 20 min.
Maya Plisetskaya in 'Swan Lake' on YouTube, 3 1/2
min.
Alexander Godunov, Maya Plisetskaya, Carmensuite on YouTube, 3 min.
Maya Plisetskaya in 'Spartacus" on YouTube, 2 1/2
min.
Maya Plisetskaya - Bolero, by Ravel, video, 20
min.
Video: Excerpt from Mayas Dance Studies on
YouTube
Stellar ballerinas birthday 20 November 2010
The Ballerina Gallery Maya Plisetskaya
le Gala des toiles Maya Plisetskaya
A national treasure Maya Plisetskaya

10

8 TEXT AND IMAGE SOURCES, CONTRIBUTORS, AND LICENSES

Text and image sources, contributors, and licenses

8.1

Text

Maya Plisetskaya Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maya%20Plisetskaya?oldid=661259493 Contributors: Andres, Topbanana, JackofOz, Folks at 137, Explendido Rocha, TiMike, Marcus2, D6, Mapple, YUL89YYZ, Bender235, BACbKA, RJHall, Ghirlandajo, Emerson7,
Rjwilmsi, The wub, Kmorozov, Russavia, Raymond Cruise, The Rambling Man, YurikBot, Wavelength, Joel7687, Rms125a@hotmail.com,
Wallie, Paul Pieniezny, SmackBot, Iopq, Mgreenbe, Kintetsubualo, ERcheck, Bazonka, Colonies Chris, Hgrosser, Mike hayes, Sumahoy,
OrphanBot, Aotake, Ohconfucius, SashatoBot, BrownHairedGirl, iga, Ckatz, Growsonwalls, Jetman, Icarus of old, David Warner, Cydebot, Peripitus, Galassi, DumbBOT, Editor at Large, Thijs!bot, IamSyber, Vanjagenije, Superzohar, Yellowdesk, Gcm, MER-C, Avaya1,
Magioladitis, Connormah, Parsecboy, QuizzicalBee, Hullaballoo Wolfowitz, Waacstats, CommonsDelinker, Hodja Nasreddin, Antopi,
Robertgreer, Xyl 54, Idioma-bot, Kelapstick, TXiKiBoT, A4bot, Sk741~enwiki, Snowbot, Seneca91, AlleborgoBot, Macdonald-ross,
Pare Mo, SieBot, WereSpielChequers, Jonas Poole, PolarBot, Aumnamahashiva, Gorrrillla5, ImageRemovalBot, All Hallows Wraith,
Icarusgeek, IceUnshattered, Parkwells, P. S. Burton, Light show, Deerstop, SilvonenBot, Addbot, Alevtina27, LaaknorBot, Greyhood,
Luckas-bot, Ptbotgourou, AnomieBOT, Xqbot, Erud, TechBot, Omnipaedista, RibotBOT, Zumalabe, Schekinov Alexey Victorovich, Ikan
Kekek, Panikowsky, RedBot, Christina Bedina, My very best wishes, Gerda Arendt, Lightlowemon, Badger M., RjwilmsiBot, EmausBot,
Javandy, 4meter4, IBO, SporkBot, Brandmeister, ChuispastonBot, BabbaQ, Manytexts, ClueBot NG, Frietjes, OhSoHeartless, Braincricket, Viniclassic, Asalrifai, Helpful Pixie Bot, Lawrentia, Ymblanter, Wp fekula, The Almightey Drill, Fatimah M, Sarunas.a, ,
Aymankamelwiki, TDKR Chicago 101, Lexidrow, Ruby Murray, Jjj1238, Beo34, Entelian, Vycl1994, Monkbot, Johnsoniensis, Radyanskysoldativ, Czyz1, AGGAF and Anonymous: 56

8.2

Images

File:Commons-logo.svg Source: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/4/4a/Commons-logo.svg License: ? Contributors: ? Original

artist: ?
File:Maya_Plisetskaya-Romeo_and_Juliet-1961.jpg
Source:
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/07/Maya_
Plisetskaya-Romeo_and_Juliet-1961.jpg License: CC BY 3.0 Contributors: Commons: File:RIAN archive 855342 Maya Plisetskaya in
Sergei Prokofyevs Romeo and Juliet ballet.jpg Original artist: Mikhail Ozerskiy /
File:Maya_Plisetskaya_-_1966.jpg Source:
PD-Pre1978 Contributors:
ebay Original artist:
Photofest

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/5/55/Maya_Plisetskaya_-_1966.jpg License:

File:Maya_Plisetskaya_-_1974.jpg Source: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/ca/Maya_Plisetskaya_-_1974.jpg License: Public domain Contributors: ebay Original artist: Unknown
File:Maya_Plisetskaya_-_Quixote.jpg Source: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/8/80/Maya_Plisetskaya_-_Quixote.jpg License: PD-Pre1978 Contributors:
ebay Original artist:
Judy Cameron for Tempo magazine
File:Scedrin-Plisecka1.JPG Source: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d8/Scedrin-Plisecka1.JPG License: CC BY-SA
3.0 Contributors: Own work Original artist: Sl-Ziga
File:Tamara_Toumanova_&_Serge_Lifar.jpg Source: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/ba/Tamara_Toumanova_
%26_Serge_Lifar.jpg License: Public domain Contributors: State Library of New South Wales - Manuscripts, Oral History and Pictures
Search[#cite_note-aus-1 [1]] Original artist: Max Dupain
File:Vladimir_Putin_20_November_2000-3.jpg Source: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/8c/Vladimir_Putin_20_
November_2000-3.jpg License: CC BY 3.0 Contributors: http://www.kremlin.ru/sdocs/news.shtml?day=20&month=11&year=2000&
Submit.x=0&Submit.y=0&value_from=&value_to=&date=&stype=&dayRequired=no&day_enable=true# Original artist: Presidential
Press and Information Oce

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