Азарий Плисецкий

Russian ballet dancer, choreographer, world-renowned teacher. A member of the famous ballet dynasty – the younger brother of Maya Plisetskaya. Born on July 13, 1937, in Moscow. Thanks to the influence of Sulamith and Asaf Messerer, his choice of profession was obvious – in 1956, Azary Plisetsky graduated from the Moscow Choreographic School, and a year later was accepted into the Bolshoi Theatre company, which he officially left in 1978; however, even during his years of service at the Bolshoi, he actively collaborated with other theatres. Thus, he worked for more than a decade with the National Ballet of Cuba, where he was the permanent partner of the founder and prima ballerina of Cuban ballet, Alicia Alonso; for many decades he collaborated with Maurice Béjart's company and school; he was a teacher of classical dance at the National Ballet of Marseille, led by Roland Petit. He was the choreographer of the television feature film "Mary Poppins, Goodbye!"; a member of the judging panel on the project "Big Ballet" on the "Kultura" television channel (2012).