Ekaterina Maksimova

Ekaterina Sergeevna Maximova (Russian: Екатерина Сергеевна Максимова; 1 February 1939 – 28 April 2009) was a Soviet and Russian ballerina of the second part of the 20th century who was internationally recognised. She was a prima ballerina of the Bolshoi Theatre for 30 years, a ballet pedagogue, People's Artist of the USSR and Russian Federation, winner of international ballet competitions, Laureate of many prestigious International and Russian awards, a professor in GITIS, Honorary professor at the Moscow State University, Academician of the Russian Academy of Arts, and an Executive Committee member of the Russian Center of Counseil International De La Danse, UNESCO.

Maximova was born in Moscow on 1 February 1939 to a highly educated family. Her maternal grandfather was Gustav Shpet, a Russian philosopher, historian of philosophy, psychologist, art theoretician, and interpreter (he knew 17 languages) of German-Polish descent. Her mother Tatiana Maximova (née Shpet) was a journalist and publishing house editor and her father Sergey Maximov was an engineer.

She was admitted to Moscow Ballet School (now Moscow Ballet Academy) and the age of 10 and the same year as her future partner and husband Vladimir Vasiliev. Their ballet partnership started at school. Former ballerina of Mariinsky Ballet Elizaveta Gerdt was Maximova's instructor at the ballet school. Maximova graduated from Moscow ballet school in 1958 and joined Bolshoi Ballet the same year.

She won first prize at the National Ballet competition in 1957 while still a ballet student. Maximova's first ballet as a Bolshoi ballet dancer was The Stone Flower (in the leading role of Katerina). Her performance was so impressive that she was chosen to go on the first Bolshoi tour in the US in 1959. The American press called her "a little elf" and complemented her technique, grace and artistic style even though legendary Galina Ulanova was the real sensation of that tour.

Later Ulanova became Maximova's ballet coach in the Bolshoi for many years. In 1961, as a young ballerina Maximova starred along with Vladimir Vasiliev in the film for European and American viewers The USSR with an Open Heart, where they played ballet dancers. The premiere took place in Paris, France where Maximova and Vasiliev arrived as newlyweds.

According to ballet professionals, Maximova possessed ideal ballet body lines, effortless jumps and spins and flawless technical clarity. She started as a lyrical ballerina dancing title roles in classical ballets Giselle, Nutcracker (Marie), Fountain of Bakhchisarai (Maria), Cinderella and Sleeping Beauty (Aurora), but extended her breathtaking artistic talent and technical virtuosity through her hard work and devotion to her art.

This enabled her to widen her artistic range with playful Kitri (Don Quixote), comic Eliza Doolittle (Galatea) and dramatic roles of Juliet, Phrigia (Spartacus), Anyuta (Chekov's story "Anna on the neck") Tatiana (Onegin) that tested her dramatic skills as an actress most completely. Maximova seriously injured her spine during a rehearsal in 1975 and some doctors did not believe that she would walk again, but she returned on the stage in 1976.

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