An “Ave Maya” Gala at the Coliseum, London on Sunday 6 March 2016 will pay a tribute to the life and work of Maya Plisetskaya, one of the 20th century's foremost prima ballerinas, who died aged 89 on 2 May 2015 in Germany.
The gala will feature excerpts from Plisetskaya's favourite roles performed by leading ballet dancers from around the world including Evgenia Obraztsova, Kristina Shapran, Xander Parish, Vadim Muntagirov, Olga Smirnova, Marianela Núñez and Thiago Soares and companies including the Bolshoi, Mariinsky, Royal Ballet, Paris Opera Ballet, Berlin State Ballet, American Ballet Theatre and La Scala in the biggest celebration of Plisetskaya’s life outside Russia.
The English National Ballet Philharmonic Orchestra will accompany works by Alberto Alonso, Maurice Béjart and Roland Petit, who created roles for Maya Plisetskaya. Plisetskaya's husband, composer Rodion Shchedrin, will also attend the London Gala.
The evening was originally planned by Plisetskaya to celebrate five decades of ballet and inspire future generations of ballerinas.
Artistic director and choreographer Andris Liepa, who will direct, said, “we were working together on the programming for this gala which was supposed to celebrate Maya’s 90th anniversary. It will be our honour and responsibility to carry out her wishes in this evening”.