One of only 13 ballerinas in all the world to be given the title "Prima Ballerina Assoluta." Music: "Song For Johanna" by Franz Gordon and "Spring Morning" by Peter Sandberg (https://www.epidemicsound.com/track/khPAswiDtn/) (https://www.epidemicsound.com/track/PvNojXBeeO/) Born November 20, 1925, Maya Plisetskaya 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 classmates. She excelled in her studies and when accepted to the Bolshoi Theater ballet company as a soloist, completely bypassing the corps. This was highly unusual but very indicative of the enormous talent Plisetskaya possessed. Maya chaffed against the oppressive regime of the Soviet Union. During the 1950s, she was not allowed to travel abroad with the Bolshoi company, due to her strong will and individualist attitude. Yet her talent was undeniable. She rose to the top of the ballet world with her dancing. After a career which spanned six decades, she retired as a soloist and focused her attention towards teaching the next generation of ballet dancers. Maya Plisetskaya died May 2, 2015 at the age of 90. If you enjoyed this, please subscribe to my YouTube channel by clicking on this link: http://www.youtube.com/c/pamboehmesimon?sub_confirmation=1 Thank you kindly for watching, Pam Boehme Simon for Sergei Polunin Graceful Beast #ballerinaonpointes #pamboehmesimon #gracefulbeast