- Was romantically involved with Mikhail Baryshnikov.
- She was awarded the Laurence Olivier Theatre Award in 1985 (1984 season) for Best Actress in a Musical for "On Your Toes".
- Fell for famed Royal Ballet dancer Anthony Dowell. She danced with him and felt a romantic connection to him. Unfortunately, because of his sexual preference, he could only offer her friendship at best.
- When dancing at the Hamburg Ballet, she asked boy wonder Patrick Bissell from the ABT to be her partner. After the performance, he slashed his wrists.
- During a rehearsal she had with fellow dancing legend Rudolf Nureyev, he had gotten angry at her and during a particular pas de deux, he simply let her fall. Makarova was furious, "I will never dance with that man again.".
- Considered by all who saw her dance to be the best of the twentieth century. Because of her perfect body, her grace and charm, she was believed to the most idealized and envied ballerina in the world at that time.
- Gold Medal from Second International Ballet Competition in Varna, Bulgaria, 1965.
- Named honored artist of Russian Federation, 1969;
- She is a great admirer of the art of Botticelli and is a painter herself.
- Won a Tony as Best Actress in a Musical, for her performance as Vera in the 1983 Broadway revival of the Rodgers and Hart musical "On Your Toes".
- Many ballerinas have admired her thin svelte body so much, they had starved themselves in order to achieve her body type.
- Became the first ever Russian artistic exile to be invited back to dance in her native land.
- In 1980, she staged the first full-length U.S. production of "La Bayadere", making ABT the first western company to acquire this work.
- Her reunion with the Kirov Ballet took place in London on August 6, 1988 when she danced an excerpt from Swan Lake with the company.
- In her native homeland of Russia, her name was banned for many years.
- Her first public appearance (at age eleven) was somewhat diminished by her inability to maintain proper timing with the other members of the corps.
- When she was in London with the Kirov, Makarova was assigned the title role in "Giselle," a character she had already danced to acclaim during her commencement performance in Leningrad. Dance critics heaped praise like "the supreme test of the actress-dancer" (Arlene Croce) London's critics hailed her as "one of ballet's most promising new performers, and New York City's critics seconded that appraisal. The New York Times's John Martin was particularly impressed with Makarova's poise in the slow movement, or adagio, which he described as "breathtakingly beautiful."
- Despite all her talent she developed in the West, in all of her interviews, Makarova always said that it was thanks to the Russian school of ballet that she had become the ballerina she was. Limited range and political oppression aside, their dedication to the sport has always turned out the finest dancers.
- She has worked with such choreographic talents as George Balanchine, Jerome Robbins, Mikhail Baryshnikov and 'Maurice Bejart'.
- In 1980, she had her very own dancing troupe for a while called "Makarova and Company," following another stint with the ABT. She insisted that her company would provide dancers with "proper training" and present audiences with a sampling of Soviet-style ballet. She programmed works ranging from classical ballet by Petipa to modern ballet. But the critics more or less scathed it in publications. The New Yorker and Village Voice expressed displeasure with her self-manned artistic venture. New Yorker's Croce noted that the entire enterprise "had all the earmarks of a popular showcase," and the Voice's Deborah Jowitt contended that "rich trappings alone can't sustain [ballet]," adding that the works were simply "vehicles for the dancers." But like Baryshnikov, after her troupe folded, she continued dancing for herself.
- Recipient of the 2012 Kennedy Center Honors. Other recipient that year were Buddy Guy, Dustin Hoffman, David Letterman, and the rock band Led Zeppelin, comprising John Paul Jones, Jimmy Page, and Robert Plant.
- Her favorite dance partners were Anthony Dowell, Ivan Nagy and Erik Bruhn. Perhaps a little astoundingly, Mikhail Baryshnikov didn't make the list.
- American Prima Ballerina Gelsey Kirkland called her "The Greatest Ballerina in the Word".
- She remarked that Kevin McKenzie was a favorite dance partner of hers while dancing at The American Ballet Theatre.
- Mikhail Baryshnikov named her his favorite partner.
- While she and Mikhail Baryshnikov were both principal dancers at the American Ballet Theatre, they both applied for the position of Artistic Director in 1980. When Baryshnikov received it, she defected to the Royal Ballet of London.
- Her name literally means "Christmas Day".
- She danced in a revival of the 1936 ''Slaughter on 10th Avenue'' from Rodgers and Hart, choreographed by George Balanchine.
- She was married three times: Once to another dancer, once to a film director and once to an industrialist.
- She was one of the few to achieve the honor of "Prima Ballerina Assolutta".
- She remarked her favorite partners were Anthony Dowell, Ivan Nagy and Erik Bruhn. A bit surprisingly, Mikhail Baryshnikov didn't even make the list.
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