Maya Plisetskaya's memories of Agrippina Vaganova

Her first meeting with Vaganova made such a profound impression on her that she wrote this date down in her diary as one of the most important in her life: August 25, 1943. Her lessons with Vaganova lasted only four months, but, as she emphasized later, she learned more in these months than in years of previous study.

"I am grateful to Vaganova for many things. She revealed to me many secrets of classical dancing. But above all she taught me how to love your daily training. Prior to meeting her, I loved only dancing. Now I realized how interesting, exciting, and creative my work might be and how close this daily training could be to real dancing. Her system of training gave me the opportunity to dance without apparent effort, so that the dance seemed nonchalant. Like a first rate surgeon, she knew every muscle and knew how to work each one. And her explanation seemed so simple that I would wonder why I had never guessed it myself. But then, simplicity is a trait of genius."

"Maya Plisetskaya: Childhood, Youth, and First Triumphs, 1925-59" by Azary Messerer in Dance Chronicle, Vol 12, No 1, Pages 22-3.