Anna Pavlova (1881 - 1931 )

A gentleman who in his youth had the privilege of watching Pavlova dance said when she showed up on stage his first reaction was "How plain she is!" Minutes later he was in love. He said, "She created her own beauty".


N. & C. Hess, Anna Pavlova, 1920s. Click image for 424 x 614 size.

N. & C. Hess, Anna Pavlova, 1920s, originally uploaded by Gatochy.

"Anna Pavlova was born in St Petersburg in 1881. She studied with the Imperial Ballet School attached to the Mariinsky Theatre. Her main teacher was Marius Petipa. She made her debut at 17, and by 1906 she had become the Mariinsky's principal ballerina. In 1907 she made her first foreign tour, and in 1908, on her second, joined Diaghilev's Ballets Russes.

In 1912 she purchased Ivy House in Hampstead, England, where she established her own school of dance. She made her last appearance in St. Petersburg in 1913 and spent the rest of her career almost constantly on tour, bringing ballet to millions for the first time through the drawing power of her legendary name."

E.O. Hoppé, Anna Pavlova, Laurent Novikoff, Egyptian dance. Click image for 425 x 606 size.




Ernst Schneider, Anna Pavlova, Garden