Maya Plisetskaya

Boléro is a one-movement orchestral piece by French composer Maurice Ravel. It was inspired by Spanish dance bolero and was originally conceived as a ballet, commissioned by Russian actress and ballet dancer Ida Rubinstein. It premiered on November 22, 1928 in Paris "Grand Opera”. As noted by Alexander Maikapar, Boléro has become very popular due to the "hypnotic effect of a steady, continuously repeating rhythmic figure, against the backdrop of which two themes get repeatedly interwoven, introducing more and more new instruments, and culminating in a climactic emotional tension."

The duration of Boléro is approximately 15 minutes, although if performed at a steady pace, without rushing the tempo, as originally required by the composer, it can lastup to 18 minutes.

I would like to borrow the words of Helen Kolodiy, published in an online statement, as they most accurately convey the description:

"For me, ballet Boléro is the most brilliant piece that Maya Plisetskaya ever danced, although how can one highlight just one brilliant performance when her entire creative life was altogether so brilliant! I don’t even want to describe my own impressions so that the viewers can savor it in its pure form, without side interference. It was performed so hypnotically and so superbly, not to mention Ravel’s music. Impressionism in music affects the same way as impressionism in painting does – it imprisons our senses and does not release them till the very end. Furthermore, Maya Plisetskaya’s facial expressions in that ballet deserve its own separate film. This performance isolates me from the external world and immerses me in pure emotion. Indescribable feelings… And each viewer is going to have their own… "

In 1960, French choreographer Maurice Béjart choreographed a masterpiece dance set to Boléro. Erotic, yet absolutely mundane dance, performed as a kind of a ritual ceremony, possessed Maya Plisetskaya the minute she saw it. She considered it to be among the highest achievements of choreographic art of the past century. Plisetskaya immediately wrote to Béjart expressing her desire to dance that ballet, and soon after, she was invited to Brussels to The Théâtre de la Monnaie to participate in the filming of Bolérofor television.

Maya Plisetskaya remembering this work:

"No, I couldn’t do it. I had to give up. It is nearly impossible to learn one thousand movements in the repetitive dizzying rhythm in just one week. I had to give up. Angela Albrecht came to comfort me, and told me that she learned Boléro in three months! Imagine…! Wish I had three extra days! But the premiere is tomorrow…. Béjart said “I'll be in a white sweater, standing in the back of the room. They will direct the spotlight at me. I will prompt you.”

Maurice Béjarthad banned the performance of his dance sets without his permission. His choreographic style was known only to the artists who had personally worked with him. Plisetskaya’s performance was at the highest level, but it was absolutely "hers", and Béjart said "This had nothing in common with my choreography" (Ca n'arien a voir avec ma choreographie).