Maya Plisetskaya, one of the greatest ballerinas of all time, passed away last Saturday, May 2, at the age of 89. I learned about her after watching some ballets in Russia and doing online searches later on about some of the most legendary Russian ballet artists. Maya is one of only 12 dancers to have been given the title prima ballerina assoluta.
One of Maya's most famous performances was The Dying Swan. This video shows her performance in Boston in the late 1980s when she was already 62 years old!!! (If you find that hard to believe, this other video shows her dancing when she was 61.) Take a look at her unbelievably fluid and graceful arms when she enters the stage, especially from around 0:28 to 0:38. It is just utterly astounding!
video uploaded in youtube by Esquire Jauchem
While she naturally was better technique-wise when she was younger (in her Dying Swan performance in 1959, she showcases the incredible flexibility of her back; of course, she was still in her mid-30s then), I think she had a much deeper emotional interpretation of this piece when she was older, making her latter performances more spellbinding. Maybe partly because she had done this innumerable times before and partly because she was starting to feel greater mortality - not just as a human being but as a dancer who could no longer do what she could when she was younger - thus providing her with a greater connection to the theme of death. I also think that her arm movement got even better as she aged.
While Maya Plisetskaya is no longer with us, she leaves behind an amazing legacy. She has given us countless treasures that will allow us to still marvel at and embrace her genius even as after her death. R.I.P., Maya Plisetskaya.
1 comment:
Amazing!! I wish to still be as flexible when I'm this old.
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