Dance: Maya the Marvelous

Inexplicably, the authors of that arrogant nonbook The Best missed a chance to make a snap judgment that few would challenge—namely, that Maya Plisetskaya is the finest female classical dancer in the world. Last week the reigning ballerina of Russia's Bolshoi Ballet headed a group of touring stars from the company in a week-long engagement at Manhattan's Lincoln Center. Shrewdly, the management announced in advance that she would dance at every performance; otherwise, seeing this uneven cadre of Bolshoiviks —actually, they constitute less than one-third of the entire troupe—without her would be as...