71 Times Maya Plisetskaya / Майя Плисецкая Made Me Say Wow

Maya Plisetskaya became Prima Ballerina Assoluta of the Bolshoi Theater in 1960, one of only 16 ballet dancers ever given this supreme title. The young ballerina was glorified by the role of Odette-Odile in Swan Lake, which she performed when she was only 22 years old. A unique feature of her performance was free, as if boneless, wing-like arms. These arms made iconic her performance of the The Dying Swan, in which Plisetskaya “floated out” from behind the curtains with her back to the audience. She was mesmerizing. Music: “Song For Johanna“ by Franz Gordon Born November 20, 1925, Maya Plisetskaya / Майя Плисецкая was a Russian ballet dancer, frequently cited as the greatest ballerina of the modern era. When she was very young, her family was ravaged by the Stalinist purges. However, Maya was encouraged by her artistic family to pursue dance and ballet. She was admitted to the Moscow Choreographic School, which produces most of the Bolshoi Ballet dancers, a year earlier than her cl