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Creator
Plise︠t︡ska︠i︡a, Maĭ︠i︡a, 1926-
Call number
(S) *MGZMD 153
Physical description
3 linear feet (8 boxes)
Language
The Correspondence series is in Russian
Preferred Citation

Maya Plisetskaya Papers, (S)*MGZMD 153. Jerome Robbins Dance Division, The New York Public Library for the Performing Arts.

Repository
Jerome Robbins Dance Division
Access to materials
Request an in-person research appointment.Restrictions apply

This collection documents the career of Maya Plisetskaya, Prima Ballerina Assoluta. The collection spans the years 1956-1990. It consists of correspondence, clippings, photographs, slides and negatives.

Biographical/historical information

Maya Plisetskaya was born in Moscow in 1925, the oldest in a family of three children.

In 1932 the family was sent to Spitzbergen off the coast of Norway, in the Artic Circle, where her father worked for Arktikugal (Arctic Coal). Plisetskaya returned to Moscow by herself in ca. 1934, so that she could study ballet. The rest of her family returned to Moscow in the summer of 1935. On April 30, 1937 her father was arrested. This was the last time she saw him, and in 1989 she learned that he had been executed by firing squad January 7, 1938. Her mother was considered an enemy of the state because of her husband and was arrested in 1937 while pregnant with their youngest child. She was finally released and returned to Moscow in April 1941.

Plisetskaya graduated from school June 21, 1941. She began her professional life in ballet the next day, the same day that Germany invaded its former ally the Soviet Union. The family evacuated to Sverdlovsk in September that same year. At some point Plisetskaya left (without permission) and returned to Moscow and her ballet studies. A second set of examinations and graduation were held in March 1943. She passed. But admission into the Bolshoi contained endless petty harassments from envious colleagues and party officials.

She was refused permission to tour with the company for six years, but in 1959 was finally permitted to tour in the United States of America. She eventually performed all over the world.

Plisetskaya married the Russian composer, Rodin Shchedrin, on October 2, 1958. The couple have no children.

Plisetskaya travels the world extensively lecturing and performing. She was director of the Theatro Lirico National de Espana. In 1991, King Juan Carlos of Spain awarded her the Gold Medal of Fine Arts. In 2000 at the Bolshois gala celebrating her 75th birthday, President Vladimir Putin presented her with Russias highest civilian honor, the medal for service to the Russian state, second degree.

She and Shchedrin currently live in Herradura, Spain.

Scope and arrangement

The Maya Plisetskaya papers span the years 1956-1990 and consist of correspondence, clippings, photographs, slides and negatives.

Alice Vrbsky, a fan of Maya Plisteskaya, created the collection. Vrbsky made scrapbooks of Plisetskayas career. The correspondence is from Plisetskaya to Vrbsky and is all in Russian as Plisetskaya did not learn English. The clippings are mostly from North American publications, although there are foreign language clippings also included. There are equal amounts of publicity photographs and candid shots of both ballet productions and Plisetskaya playing the part of a tourist. Vrbsky also took the slides and negatives.

The collection is important in its documentation of the Cold War era career of Maya Plisetskaya, who danced in several tours with the Bolshoi Ballet. The collection does not have any personal anecdotes from either Vrbsky or Plisetskaya.

The Maya Plisetskaya papers are arranged in five series:

  • Series I: Correspondence
    1968 - 1972
    1 Folder

    This series consists of correspondence from Maya Plisetskaya to Alice Vrbsky. There are letters, postcards and greeting cards. All correspondence is in Russian.

  • Series II: Photographs, 1958 - ca.
    1988
    4 Boxes

    This series consists of photographs, slides and negatives. The majority of this series consists of ballet performances, with limited photographs about life off stage.

  • Series III: Programs
    1956 - 1990
    1 Box

    This series contains programs from performances of Maya Plisetskaya and the Bolshoi Ballet. Some are in languages other than English.

  • Series IV: Clippings, ca.
    1962 - 1966
    1 Box

    This series contains clippings. There are reviews of performances of Maya Plisetskaya and the Bolshoi Ballet. There are also human interest stories about Plisetskayas life away from the ballet.

  • Series IV: Oversized Material
    1970 - 1979
    1 box

    This series contains clippings, photographs and programs.

Administrative information

Source of acquisition

Helen Atlas

Processing information

Processed by Leslie Reyman; Machine-readable finding aid created by Leslie Reyman.

Using the collection

Location

Jerome Robbins Dance Division
New York Public Library for the Performing Arts, Dorothy and Lewis B. Cullman Center
40 Lincoln Center Plaza, New York, NY 10023-7498
Third Floor

Conditions Governing Use

For permission to publish, contact the Curator, Jerome Robbins Dance Division.

Access restrictions

Photocopying prohibited.