Maya Mikhailovna Plisetskaya (1925-2015) was a Soviet and Russian prima ballerina who spent nearly five decades as the leading dancer of the Bolshoi Ballet in Moscow. She was admired for her technical virtuosity, expressive arms, and ability to fuse dancing with acting - her most celebrated roles were Odette-Odile in Swan Lake, Carmen in Carmen Suite, and the title role in Anna Karenina. The Soviet authorities barred her from touring abroad for years due to her Jewish background and family history in the Stalinist purges; Khrushchev finally permitted her to travel in 1959, and she quickly became an international star. She was married to composer Rodion Shchedrin, who wrote several ballets specifically for her.
The Bakhtin Theater Museum opened an exhibition dedicated to Plissetskaya in Tula - the final stage of a large-scale international exhibition project for her 100th anniversary.
The Bolshoi Theater held a gala evening on the Historical Stage for the 100th anniversary of Plissetskaya's birth as part of the Maya and Rodion festival.
A photo exhibition Great Maya opened on Strastnoy Boulevard in Moscow with approximately 50 archival photographs from the ballerina's career.
Composer Rodion Shchedrin, husband and artistic partner of Plissetskaya, author of Carmen Suite and the ballet Anna Karenina, died in Munich at the age of 92.
The premiere of the national choreographic project My Maya took place in Moscow and other Russian cities, featuring leading soloists from the Bolshoi and Mariinsky theaters.
