I've just learned the very sad news that, Maximova, one of the most
beloved Prima Ballerinas, and soubrette-ingenues ever, has died.
May she rest in peace, and may God bless and comfort her husband
Vladimir Vasiliev in this time of sorrow.

http://www.ilmessaggero.it/articolo.php ... SPETTACOLO

Her untimely passing is quite stunning, to say the least. Maximova was probably one the best-known ballerinas of the Bolshoi troupe post 1950 after one Maya Plisetskaya--and was enormously beloved by audiences on both sides of the Iron Curtain.

She was such a beautiful dancer and such a beauty...oh, those gorgeous legs and feet! I love the photos of her being coached in Giselle by Galina Ulanova in "Days With Ulanova" by Albert E. Kahn. The chapter is called, "Precious Heritage." I am stunned and saddened at her passing. She will be so missed...

Here is an obituary written by Lynn Berry of the Associated Press, published in the Boston Globe: Ekaterina Maximova, famous Russian ballerina and teacher

The obituaries are starting to appear in London. Here is Mary Clarke's in The Guardian:

http://www.guardian.co.uk/stage/2009/ap ... -ballerina

And an anonymous offering from The Telegraph:
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/obituar ... imova.html

I have taken issue with obituaries in The Telegraph before and here I have to question the statement that she left the Bolshoi in 1988. If she left that year how come I saw her dance Anyuta there in the early 90's?


This is such a tragic loss and so soon after the death of her contemporary Natalia Bessmertnova too. I last saw Maximova dance in 1994 at the Kremlin Palace in a pas de deux to Prokofiev's Overture on Hebrew Themes choreographed by Vasiliev and she was as spellbinding in her mid fifties as she had been as a young woman. I shall miss her terribly.

Two more obituaries

From the Moscow Times:

http://www.themoscowtimes.com/article/1 ... 376680.htm

From the London Times:

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/commen ... 193850.ece

I hope it is appropriate to post this link, but here is the lying in state of Maximova in Moscow.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H0nvOKC9Lhs

Another obituary, this time from The Independent.

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/obitu ... 79027.html