By Miglena Stoicheva
This night, the Sofia Opera greets Maia Makhateli: the Netherlands national ballet star. The world-famous Georgian ballerina will perform the role of Aurora in “Sleeping Beauty” for the Bulgarian audience: one of the roles that is most dear to her.
Makhateli is gentle but not because ballet cliches demand this of her but because you immediately feel her warm heart which pulses with the strive for art. She puts the barricade of uncompromising professionalism between herself and others. The first thing she told us about herself was she hates giving interviews. To her, ballet is family fate: her father, mother and brother are all ballet dancers. She too falls in love with ballet but not because of the tutus, pointes and tiaras but because of the process of focused work which precedes going out on stage.
Maia Makhateli, prima ballerina of the Netherlands national ballet: “Back when I was three, I already knew I would become a ballerina. This was nobody’s choice but it was my goal. I grew up in a theater and I saw my parents and brother perform on stage when I was little: the latter was my biggest inspiration. When you grow up in a certain environment, you become more and more intrigued by it.”
Maia has performed the role of princess Aurora for many years. In fact, it is with this role that she became a prima ballerina at the age of 19. However, she hasn’t gotten bored of performing the role despite the dozens of “Sleeping Beauty” performances she has starred in.
Every role can become boring after playing it long enough.
Maia Makhateli, prima ballerina of the Netherlands national ballet: “You can imagine how many demi-pliés and battement tendus we all have to perform in the span of our career. For me, however, this role is still a challenge so it can never get boring. Aurora is something I need to keep working on and things don’t get easier with time.”
She shares she doesn’t like people treating her like she’s a creature from a different universe. She considers herself a completely ordinary woman, just like any other; she just has a special profession which demands a special level of discipline from her.