Ballerina: Anna Pavlova
Anna Pavlova
Ballerina
Born on February 21, 1881 in St. Petersburg Russia was Anna Pavlova, one of the most celebrated dancers in Russian ballet history. Although her mother was very poor and her father had passed away when she was young, Pvlova was accepted as a student at the Imperial Ballet School at the Marinksy Theater in 1891 because of the innate talent that she possessed. she joined the Imperial Ballet in 1899 and became a prima ballerina in 1906. One of her most remembered ballets as a prima ballerina with the Imperial Ballet was Giselle. While she was with the company, she took a short leave to tour with Sergei Diaghilev and his company throughout Europe, but she never became a member of his company, the Ballet Russes. She left the Imperial Ballet in 1913 and started her own tours which were managed by her husband in 1914. Pavlova started her own company at this time and they danced excerpts from such ballets as Don Quixote and Giselle. Pavlova also took interest in various types of ethnic dances such as those from Poland, Mexico and Japan, and her company also danced ballets with these influences. Before she died, her technique was failing and she was experiencing much of the burden of running her own company. Nevertheless, her performances left a lasting impression on all those who were lucky enough to get the chance to watch. She always danced with such grace and beauty. Anna Pavlovna Pavlova died on January 23, 1931.
The History of the Russian Ballet, The Vaganova Academy, The Bolshoi Theater, The Marinsky Theater, Galina Sergeyevna Ulanova, Natalya Dudinskaya, Vaslav Nijinsky, Mikhail Baryshnikov, Marius Petipa, Michel Fokine, George Balanchine, Swan Lake, The Nutcracker, The Music of Piotr Ilych Tchaikovsky, Image Sources, Works Consulted
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