World Ballet Day

Former prima ballerina Maya Plisetskaya, defies those who criticized her reluctance to give up the spotlight by dancing at a gala performance aged 70, on Nov. 28, 1995 at the Bolshoi Theater in Moscow.



"She is an idol," said one fan.



The first World Ballet Day on Oct. 1 will have five dance companies — the Bolshoi Ballet, Royal Ballet, Australian Ballet, National Ballet of Canada and San Francisco Ballet — stream footage live from their rehearsal rooms.

Ballerina Uliana Lopatkina's interpretation of "The Dying Swan" at the Pushkin Theater on Apr. 30, 1996, proved her a worthy successor to Russia's greatest ballerina, Anna Pavlova, for whom "The Dying Swan" was originally choreographed.

Ballerina Uliana Lopatkina's interpretation of "The Dying Swan" at the Pushkin Theater on Apr. 30, 1996, proved her a worthy successor to Russia's greatest ballerina, Anna Pavlova, for whom "The Dying Swan" was originally choreographed.

Ballerina Lyubov Kunakova performs with other international stars and Mariinsky Ballet soloists (not pictured) in a performance at the Vakhtaganov Theater on May 8, 1996.

Ballerina Mariana Ryzhkina, age 25 in this picture, prepares to perform as the heroine in "The Taming of the Shrew" at the Bolshoi Theater in May 1996.

Prima ballerina assoluta Galina Mezentseva, who had returned home after five years abroad to dance in the same theater that had catapulted her to international stardom 30 years ago, performs with the stars of the St. Petersburg ballet scene at the Hermitage Theater, in August 1995.

Prima ballerina assoluta Galina Mezentseva, who had returned home after five years abroad to dance in the same theater that had catapulted her to international stardom 30 years ago, performs with the stars of the St. Petersburg ballet scene at the Hermitage Theater, in August 1995.