Maya Mikhailovna Plisetskaya

Maya Mikhailovna Plisetskaya is a world-wide famous and recognized ballet dancer, choreograph, writer, actress, People’s Artist of the USSR.

Maya Mikhailovna was born on November 20 of 1925 in Moscow in a Jewish family of a Soviet administrative worker Michael Emmanuilovich Plisetski and a silent film actress Rachel Mikhailovna Messerer.

Since 1932 till 1936, M. M. Plisetskaya lived in Spitsbergen where her father first worked as the chief manager of “Arctic-carbon” and then as the General Consul of the USSR.

On the night of April 30 to May 1 of 1938 Mikhail Plisetski was arrested, condemned and executed that same year; during the Kruschev’s thaw he was vindicated. Plisetskaya’s mother was exiled to Kazakhstan to a camp of wives of “traitors of Motherland” in Akmolinsk. To save the girl from an orphanage Maya’s aunt on the mother’s side – a soloist of Bolshoi Theater, ballet dancer Sulamith Messerer – adopted her.

In 1943, Maya Plisetskaya graduated from Moscow choreography school (class of E. Gerdt and M. Leontiev) and was accepted to the Bolshoi Theater troupe. She began from corps-de-ballet and soon started to dance solo parts. In 1948, she first danced the part of Giselle in the eponymous ballet. Since that time Plisetskaya established herself in the status of Prima Ballerina.

In 1958, she married composer Rodion Shchedrin.

In Maya Mikhailovna Plisetskaya’s plastique the dancing art reaches its highest harmony.

The most famous performances are: Odette – Odile in “Swan Lake”, Aurora in “Sleeping Beauty”, the Mistress of the Copper Mountain in “Stone Flower” by Prokofiev, Raymonda in the eponymous ballet by Glazunov.

In 1959, Plisetskaya was awarded the title of the People’s Artist of the USSR.

After Galina Ulanova left the stage in 1960, Plisetskaya became the Prima Ballerina of the Bolshoi Theater. In Soviet movie “Anna Karenina” she played the part of Duchess Tverskaya. In 1971, Rodion Shchedrin wrote a ballet based upon the same plot where Plisetskaya danced the first part and for the first time explored her capacity as a choreograph.

In 1961, in Baku Maya Plisetskaya took part in “Legend of Love” ballet written by famous Azeri composer Arif Malikov.

Specifically for Maya Plisetskaya Cuban ballet master Alberto Alonso staged Carmen Suite Ballet. Other choreographs who produced choreographic parts for her were Yury Grigorovich, Roland Petit and Maurice Bejart.

Since 1980s, Plisetskaya and Shchedrin spent a lot of time abroad where Maya Mikhailovna worked as an art director of the Roman Opera and Ballet Theater as well as of Spanish National Ballet in Madrid. At the age of 65 Maya Plisetskaya left the stage. On her 70-th birthday she made a debut appearance in composition “Ave Maya” specifically written for her by Bejart. Since 1994, Plisetskaya has been the chairman of the annual international ballet contest called “Maya”. She is awarded with the Emperor’s Prize of Japan.

Maya Plisetskaya has been acknowledged by domestic and international audiences. She is a Chevalier of the French Order of the Legion of Honour; she is awarded with the Order of Arts and Letters (France); Grand Commander’s Cross of the Order “For Merits to Lithuania;” Order of Isabella the Catholic (Spain); she is a Commander of the Order of Lithuanian Grand Duke Gediminas; she is a winner of the Prize of Anna Pavlova of the Parisian Academy of Dance; she is the winner of the Triumph Prize; a winner of the Russian National Olympus Prize; a winner of the Prince of Asturias Award (Spain); a winner of the International Emperor’s Prize (Japan).

In my collection there is a unique piece – an envelope with an autograph and a greeting inscription by Maya Plisetskaya and Rodion Shchedrin.