She was prima ballerina of the Stuttgart Ballet under John Cranko and succeeded him as the company's director, serving from 1976 to 1995.

[2] A frequent dance partner in Stuttgart was for 30 years Richard Cragun, beginning with Romeo and Juliet.

As she prepares to pounce (elbows going back, shoulders forward and knees slightly bending) the trepidation of her intended victim is understandable ... Haydée matches him in speed and brilliance, and the duet when they finally admit their love is full of incredibly difficult (but so smoothly done) Bolshoi-style lifts, throws and catches.

[3] John Neumeier created for her roles such as the Lady of the Camellias with music by Frédéric Chopin premiered in 1978,[5] and Blanche in A Streetcar Named Desire.

[7] She played in the 2000–02 German literary film Poem – Ich setzte den Fuß in die Luft und sie trug [de], directed by Ralf Schmerberg.

Jean Christophe Blavier, her partner in ballet for many years, produced in 2006 a documentary DVD M. for Marcia.

[8] She published John Cranko (with an introduction by Walter Erich Schäfer) in 1973[9] and Mein Leben für den Tanz (My life for the dance) in 1996.