Ekaterina Maximova (1939–2009). Russian-born ballerina

Ekaterina Maximova was born in Moscow in 1939. She joined the Moscow Ballet Academy when she was ten years old and graduated into the Bolshoi Ballet in 1958. She was part of the first Bolshoi tour to the USA in 1959, which was led by Galina Ulanova, the great Soviet ballerina of the era. Ulanova was later to become Maximova’s teacher and coach, thus passing on the precious heritage of Russian technique and artistry.

In 1961 Maximova married the famous Russian male dancer, Vladimir Vasiliev, and together they appeared all over the world, both with the Bolshoi Ballet and as guest artists. She recovered from a debilitating spine injury in 1975 to continue her 40-year career. Maximova’s exceptional dancing life is well documented by film and television performances, as is her work with a range of world-renowned choreographers. She wrote her autobiography in 2003 and died at the age of 70 in 2009.