RIP: Maya Plisetskaya
[Hat tip: commenter “Alifa.”]
I just received the news that Russian dancer Maya Plisetskaya (whose full name should have been “the great Maya Plisetskaya”) has died at the age of 89 in Germany. Death appears to have come suddenly, of a massive heart attack, although she had seemed in excellent health.
You may not be familiar with the name; after all, it’s hardly a household word. That’s in part because her heyday was a long time ago, and it’s in part because as a politically suspect person (i.e. Jew, free spirit, and daughter of a man who was offed by the Gulag) she was not allowed to leave as often as she, and the dance world, would have preferred.
When I was a child I saw Plisetskaya in person on one of her rare visits, and it was a thrilling experience. That word “thrilling” is often overused, but it is a correct description of what it was like to watch her passionate performances. Most dancers are known for their feet, their extensions, and their long lines. She was known for her steely strength, her fiery personality (to match her red hair), her enormous and powerful jump, and her sinuous, otherworldly arms.
I have written many posts about Plisetskaya (this one is probably the most comprehensive). But I offer the following videos in an effort to capture just a small, small glimpse of two of her quintessential roles. Enjoy.
Pay particular attention to her solo in the last minute or so or of this one:
And this is the role in which I first saw her. I’ve previously described it this way:
There was no one like her. There never will be. RIP, Maya Plisetskaya.my favorite role of hers by far was in an obscure and very funky old warhorse that is rarely, if ever, performed in this country. This was the ballet “Walpurgis Nacht” from the opera “Faust.” It featured revels in which Bacchantes and satyrs cavorted in what was meant, I suppose, to be an orgy (although I didn’t know it at the time).
Plisetskaya as head Bacchante wore a flaming red dress of flowing chiffon to match her flaming red hair. She seemed the very personification of lighthearted fun combined with wild and sensual abandon. Quite a heady mix for the times.
And as luck would have it, by the magic of You Tube, someone has posted part of a grainy old film of Plisetskaya performing this very dance, and so I’m able to reproduce it here and let you see at least a tiny bit of what I’m talking about. Remember that those were simpler times, and we were more easily impressed. Remember also that the film cannot even begin to give you a sense of the rare power and scope of Plisetskaya’s dancing. Remember that this film is in black and white, hardly a showcase for the vivid colors involved, and is a chopped-up excerpt from a longer work.
But, as I said, it’s all we’ve got at this point””and I, for one, was very glad to find it (note especially her leap at :56, her hops on pointe at 1:03, her languid and sensual pose at 1:10, and her hurling herself at her partner at 2:14-2:18):
Wow. Incredibly athletic, powerful and yet graceful at once, with a simply perfect figure. Plus the natural charisma of one born to perform. A pure distillation of classic female beauty. Thanks for posting.
It is infinitely challenging to appreciate the power, the grace, the athleticism of this art form.
Nearly impossible to derive any joy in the lifetime of discipline and sacrifice which produces this performance.
Why?
Because, it is RACIST. Nary a black person in the mix. Just as the sport of ice hockey flaunts its racism towards blacks, ballet prances around like a proud peacock in all of its, whiteness.
The choice of showing old videos of past performances is so apropos. This art form, by all present-day social standards, is so, yesterday.
It deserves to be ridiculed for what it represents.
Shunned and shamed for the sheer sham it shows.
After the political performances laid bare in Baltimore this week, this is the (socio) path this country is seemingly taking.
Pardon the satirical perspective. There is a time when I would not have even attempted such a dim view. Not now. Not after this week. Not after witnessing the ignorance of politicians in Baltimore in all of their political correctness, and all of their misdirected energies.
Ballet racist?
Pose the question to those such as, Cornell West Brown and his ilk, and see where it goes.
What a thoroughly depressing week, this past one. Not unlike the past 6 years…
1,000 pardons for that post. I’ll now silence myself…
Can’t we get away from politics for, like, five minutes?
Clarity seeker:
Actually, you might be surprised to hear that these days there are quite a few black classical ballet dancers in the US. Maybe I’ll write a post on them someday.
Death appears to have come suddenly, of a massive heart attack, although she had seemed in excellent health.
It happened to a friend of mine. The first indication that he had heart problems was a massive heart attack that killed him. He had a physical a few months earlier that found nothing wrong.
You’ve got to go sometime, and that’s how I want to go.
When it comes to ballet dancing I feel like Jed Clampett on the old Beverly Hillbillies TV show. I appreciate Neo explaining ballet dancing and introducing some of the greats.
Thank you, Neo, for your posts on Plisetskaya and Ulanova, and your many exquisite and informed looks inside the world of ballet over the years. I have never seen a live ballet in my life, but I have always appreciated it and come to appreciate it even more through your writing, which has opened to me a greater understanding of how discipline — mental and physical — enhances even the most natural grace. You write from inside the art with a humble honesty that makes me better understand the pain, elation, tedium, exhilaration, courage, body and, yes, spiritual awareness (and much more) that is part of the pursuit of the dancer. And isn’t it wonderful that we live in the age when your insights can be illustrated with film or video of actual performances! Thank you!
neo,
Even I, as far from an aficionado of ballet as is possible… can see the beauty and athletic grace.
Regarding ballet’s decline, might today’s Olympic ice skating be a modern substitute?
Ray,
The exact same thing happened to my closest childhood friend, our friendship never lessened. While grieving for him, my wise father (a doer!) offered helpful words. Years before, a former Jewish boss of his with whom he had been close, passed away suddenly. At the funeral, the rabbi related that, in the Jewish tradition, a very sudden death is referred to as being touched by ‘the finger of God”, the idea being that because the deceased suffers little or not at all, it is a profound blessing.
In my friend’s case, his wife saw him rise to come to lunch, witnessed his eyes roll up into his head as he stood and is adamant that she knew he was dead before he hit the floor. He was in excellent shape, ate and exercised right but his DNA (family history, father and older brother both died of heart attacks) did him in.
‘Don’t take life too seriously folks, you’re never going to get out of it alive…’ (comedian Steven Wright).
She didn’t simply leap. She flew.