Maya Plisetskaya

Maya Plisetskaya, born in 1925, Russian dancer, choreographer, and dance teacher of exceptional virtuosity. As the leading ballerina of the Bolshoi Ballet, she was known for her technical skill; dramatic insight and vivid theatrical personality; and the supple, expressive use of her body, especially her arms and hands.

Born into a family of dancers in Moscow, Maya Mikhaylovna Plisetskaya entered the Bolshoi ballet school at the age of nine. She joined the Bolshoi company in 1943, immediately dancing solo roles. She became the company’s prima ballerina after Galina Ulanova retired in 1962. Plisetskaya’s greatest portrayal is considered to be Odette-Odile in Swan Lake. Other major roles included Masha in The Nutcracker; Myrtha, Queen of the Wilis, in Giselle; and the title role in Raymonda. In addition to classical roles, she performed in modern Soviet ballets such as The Stone Flower (1954).

As a choreographer, Plisetskaya focused mainly on works composed by her husband, Rodion Shchedrin. In 1972 she choreographed and danced the title role in Anna Karenina, a full-length ballet version of the novel by Leo Tolstoy set to a score by Shchedrin. She later choreographed his Seagull (1980) and Lady with a Lapdog (1985), ballets based on a play and a short story by Anton Chekhov.

Plisetskaya also appeared in a number of ballet films, and late in her career became involved in ballet outside the Soviet Union. She served as guest director of the Opera Ballet in Rome, Italy, from 1984 to 1986 and of the Spanish National Ballet from 1987 to 1990. She officially retired from dancing in 1990. Among the awards Plisetskaya received were the People’s Artist of the USSR (1959) and the Lenin Prize (1964). Her autobiography, I, Maya Plisetskaya, was published in Russia in 1994 and in English translation in 2001.