Бивши колеги отдават почит на Мая Плисецкая

Former colleagues of Maya Plisetskaya paid their respects to the late ballerina in Moscow, Sunday, after her husband, pianist and composer Rodion Shchedrin, announced on Saturday that the dancer had died from a heart attack aged 89. People’s Artist of the USSR Mikhail Lavrovskiy described Plisetskaya as having "unique talents", saying "this ballet dancer possessed everything which happens rarely". Former ballet dancer Marina Kondratieva said that Plisetskaya "will be remembered by everyone who has seen her for at least one time for their whole lifetime. Therefore the memory of her will remain forever". Plisetskaya was a former prima ballerina assoluta of the Bolshoi Theatre who retired as a soloist in 1990, at the age of 65. Her definitive role was in The Dying Swan, but she also had lead parts in Swan Lake , Carmen, and The Sleeping Beauty. From the 1990s she split her time between Russia and Europe, working as a choreographer and hosting master classes.