I, Maya Plisetskaya
by Maya Plisetskaya
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Book Summary Information
Author: Maya PlisetskayaTranslator: Antonina W. Bouis
Edition: Hardcover
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language); English (Published)
Published: 2001-10-01
ISBN: 0300088574
Number of pages: 386
Publisher: Yale University Press
Book Reviews of I, Maya Plisetskaya
Book Review: A common man's point of view.
Summary: 5 Stars
You will be able to relate to the dancer more closely, I believe, when you know more about his/her life from the beginning. In this case, Maya tells us in her own words what her life was like from her beginning in 1925, and she ends it more or less abruptly, during her Jubilee Celebration. Remember when the Russian White House was attact and set on fire by cannon fire from Russian tanks? There was a coup attempt taking place in the government offices. Every news channel in the US of A showed it on TV, in 1993. While that was happening, right across the street almost, Maya was preparing for her celebration of 50 years on the stage of the Bolshoi Theater. At the age of 68, Maya plisetskaya would be on stage, dancing at her own Jubilee Celebration. You can see what she would have looked like if you get a copy of "Esential Ballet" in which she dances "The Dying Swan" at the age of 68. So, that means her debut was October 1943, while WWII was still raging. A lot of history takes place between those dates, and her recording of it is very interesting. She maintained a journal of her activities from early on, so in effect she has her own written account of nearly everything that happened to her. She does not have to rely on memory alone. Naturally, she reminisces outside of her notes many times, and sometimes the chronology is hard to understand. It is not the easiest book to follow because her memory wonders, so I found myself having to reread many passages to follow her story.
This is not just a history of Maya Plisetskaya, but a history of the Soviet Union and the horrible things that happened to her family and herself from 1925 to 1993. Thank God she outlived the Soviets. I think she is still alive, and the last I heard she was living (and teaching) in Spain. It is obvious she loved Spain.
Get this book, read it, learn from it what it takes to become a Prima Ballerina Assoluta in spite of a repressive Soviet government that killed her father and imprisoned her mother, but also the good, kindhearted, salt of the earth people who lived in the Russia she never betrayed. Why? Because more than anything, she loved Rodion Shchedrin and the stage of the Bolshoi Theater.....Richard.
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