Arbatova Maya Arbatova (1911, Dribin, Mogilev Governorate, Belarus – 1990, Tel Aviv, Israel) - ballerina, choreographer, and ballet teacher.

Maya Arbatova had lived in Riga since 1925, where she studied at A. Fedorova’s ballet studio. In the late 1920s, she became a dancer in the ballet company of the Latvian National Opera before later joining the ballet troupe of the Odessa Opera Theatre.

From 1936, she lived in Tel Aviv, where she and her husband, Iosif Goland, founded the Af-Al-Pi Ballet and Humour Studio. She also danced at the People’s Opera, becoming prima ballerina in 1940.

Maya Arbatova later established a classical ballet studio, where she trained multiple generations of students. For her contribution to the development of classical ballet in Israel, she was awarded the title of Honorary Citizen of Tel Aviv.

Since 1990, her students have established a scholarship for young ballet artists and an international competition in her name (“Maya Arbatova” Ballet Foundation ).