Maya Plisetskaya
- Published in print:
- 2001
- Published Online:
- October 2013
- ISBN:
- 9780300088571
- eISBN:
- 9780300130713
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Yale University Press
- DOI:
- 10.12987/yale/9780300088571.001.0001
- Subject:
- Music, Dance
Maya Plisetskaya, one of the world's foremost dancers, rose to become a prima ballerina of Moscow's Bolshoi Ballet after an early life filled with tragedy and loss. In this memoir, Plisetskaya ...
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Maya Plisetskaya, one of the world's foremost dancers, rose to become a prima ballerina of Moscow's Bolshoi Ballet after an early life filled with tragedy and loss. In this memoir, Plisetskaya reflects on her personal and professional odyssey, presenting a unique view of the life of a Soviet artist during the troubled period from the late 1930s to the 1990s. Plisetskaya recounts the execution of her father in the Great Terror and her mother's exile to the Gulag. She describes her admission to the Bolshoi in 1943, the roles she performed there, and the endless petty harassments she endured, from both envious colleagues and Party officials. Refused permission for six years to tour with the company, Plisetskaya eventually performed all over the world, working with such noted choreographers as Roland Petit and Maurice Béjart. She recounts the tumultuous events she lived through and the fascinating people she met—among them the legendary ballet teacher Agrippina Vaganova, George Balanchine, Frank Sinatra, Rudolf Nureyev, and Dmitri Shostakovich. She also provides fascinating details about testy cocktail-party encounters with Nikita Khrushchev, tours abroad when her meager per diem allowance brought her close to starvation, and KGB plots to capitalize on her friendship with Robert Kennedy.Less
Maya Plisetskaya, one of the world's foremost dancers, rose to become a prima ballerina of Moscow's Bolshoi Ballet after an early life filled with tragedy and loss. In this memoir, Plisetskaya reflects on her personal and professional odyssey, presenting a unique view of the life of a Soviet artist during the troubled period from the late 1930s to the 1990s. Plisetskaya recounts the execution of her father in the Great Terror and her mother's exile to the Gulag. She describes her admission to the Bolshoi in 1943, the roles she performed there, and the endless petty harassments she endured, from both envious colleagues and Party officials. Refused permission for six years to tour with the company, Plisetskaya eventually performed all over the world, working with such noted choreographers as Roland Petit and Maurice Béjart. She recounts the tumultuous events she lived through and the fascinating people she met—among them the legendary ballet teacher Agrippina Vaganova, George Balanchine, Frank Sinatra, Rudolf Nureyev, and Dmitri Shostakovich. She also provides fascinating details about testy cocktail-party encounters with Nikita Khrushchev, tours abroad when her meager per diem allowance brought her close to starvation, and KGB plots to capitalize on her friendship with Robert Kennedy.
Maya Plisetskaya
- Published in print:
- 2001
- Published Online:
- October 2013
- ISBN:
- 9780300088571
- eISBN:
- 9780300130713
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Yale University Press
- DOI:
- 10.12987/yale/9780300088571.003.0036
- Subject:
- Music, Dance
In this chapter, Maya Plisetskaya explains why she would not seek political asylum in the West even if she had the chance and chose to remain in Russia. She witnessed how Americans enjoyed freedom ...
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In this chapter, Maya Plisetskaya explains why she would not seek political asylum in the West even if she had the chance and chose to remain in Russia. She witnessed how Americans enjoyed freedom and lived in abundance, while Russians like Maya did not. Yet she stayed in Russia for fear that the Soviet authorities would have her killed. In 1961, Rudolf Nureyev reportedly asked for political asylum in a Paris airport when he was separated from the Kirov Ballet troupe leaving for London. There was an attempt to force him to fly back to the Soviet Union, which practically ended his ballet life. Maya had her chances to do the same, first during her second American tour in 1962 and second during a trip to England in 1963. But Maya believed that her life was only beginning, having become the prima ballerina of the Bolshoi Ballet following Galina Sergeyevna Ulanova's retirement. Two other reasons she did not stay in the West was her husband Rodion Shchedrin, without whom she could not imagine life, and her conscience.Less
In this chapter, Maya Plisetskaya explains why she would not seek political asylum in the West even if she had the chance and chose to remain in Russia. She witnessed how Americans enjoyed freedom and lived in abundance, while Russians like Maya did not. Yet she stayed in Russia for fear that the Soviet authorities would have her killed. In 1961, Rudolf Nureyev reportedly asked for political asylum in a Paris airport when he was separated from the Kirov Ballet troupe leaving for London. There was an attempt to force him to fly back to the Soviet Union, which practically ended his ballet life. Maya had her chances to do the same, first during her second American tour in 1962 and second during a trip to England in 1963. But Maya believed that her life was only beginning, having become the prima ballerina of the Bolshoi Ballet following Galina Sergeyevna Ulanova's retirement. Two other reasons she did not stay in the West was her husband Rodion Shchedrin, without whom she could not imagine life, and her conscience.
Maya Plisetskaya
- Published in print:
- 2001
- Published Online:
- October 2013
- ISBN:
- 9780300088571
- eISBN:
- 9780300130713
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Yale University Press
- DOI:
- 10.12987/yale/9780300088571.003.0021
- Subject:
- Music, Dance
In this chapter, Maya Plisetskaya reflects on her performances in Don Quixote and Khovanshchina. She also recalls the time she asked for a pay raise as a ballerina for the Bolshoi Theater but her ...
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In this chapter, Maya Plisetskaya reflects on her performances in Don Quixote and Khovanshchina. She also recalls the time she asked for a pay raise as a ballerina for the Bolshoi Theater but her request was denied. This caused her to focus on her rehearsal as Kitri in Don Quixote under Elena Ilyushchenko as coach. One of the spectators during her performance was Rudolf Nureyev. Maya then turned to Khovanshchina, an opera by Nikolai Semyonovich Golovanov, who was once the principal conductor at the Bolshoi Theater. The dances in Khovanshchina were choreographed by Sergei Gavrilovich Koren.Less
In this chapter, Maya Plisetskaya reflects on her performances in Don Quixote and Khovanshchina. She also recalls the time she asked for a pay raise as a ballerina for the Bolshoi Theater but her request was denied. This caused her to focus on her rehearsal as Kitri in Don Quixote under Elena Ilyushchenko as coach. One of the spectators during her performance was Rudolf Nureyev. Maya then turned to Khovanshchina, an opera by Nikolai Semyonovich Golovanov, who was once the principal conductor at the Bolshoi Theater. The dances in Khovanshchina were choreographed by Sergei Gavrilovich Koren.
Toba Singer
- Published in print:
- 2013
- Published Online:
- September 2013
- ISBN:
- 9780813044026
- eISBN:
- 9780813046259
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University Press of Florida
- DOI:
- 10.5744/florida/9780813044026.003.0028
- Subject:
- Music, Dance
Having had most of her training via scholarship at the Vaganova Institute, Martínez returned to Cuba to work on special programs there including in theater and television. She emphasizes the ...
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Having had most of her training via scholarship at the Vaganova Institute, Martínez returned to Cuba to work on special programs there including in theater and television. She emphasizes the dedication to intellectual development that Fernando Alonso brought to his students and shares a bit of Cuban history and the overlap between the arts and the guerrilla movement in the mountains and workers’ organizations in Havana, ending with the hope that Fernando Alonso’s role in the development of ballet in Cuba will finally get the recognition it deserves.Less
Having had most of her training via scholarship at the Vaganova Institute, Martínez returned to Cuba to work on special programs there including in theater and television. She emphasizes the dedication to intellectual development that Fernando Alonso brought to his students and shares a bit of Cuban history and the overlap between the arts and the guerrilla movement in the mountains and workers’ organizations in Havana, ending with the hope that Fernando Alonso’s role in the development of ballet in Cuba will finally get the recognition it deserves.
