Legendary Russian ballerina Ekaterina Maximova dies at 70

PanARMENIAN.Net - Legendary Russian ballerina Ekaterina Maximova, who graced the stage of the Bolshoi Theater for 30 years, died Tuesday. She was 70.



The theater said Maximova died at home and no cause of death was immediately determined. She had been working as a ballet coach and was not known to be suffering from ill health.



Ballet directors and President Dmitry Medvedev praised Maximova's work as an artist and a teacher of young ballerinas, and mourned her death as a great loss to Russia.



Maximova's dancing career at the Bolshoi spanned three decades, from her debut as Masha in "The Nutcracker" in 1958 until 1988. Called "Ekaterina the Great," or Catherine the Great, for her impeccable technique and versatility, she danced most of the major female roles of classical ballet and also experimented with avant-garde dance.



Her partner on the stage and in life was her husband Vladimir Vasiliev, who following his dancing career served for five years as artistic director of the Bolshoi.



"This is an irretrievable loss," current artistic director Yuri Burlaka told reporters in the theater's atrium. "All Russians will mourn and remember this great ballerina," hre said, AP reported.