Introduction Origins of Ballet Dance in the 18th Century  18th Century Satire Romantic Ballet  The Cult of the Ballerina The Pas de Quatre Marie Taglioni Classical Ballet 20th Century Revolution  Diaghilev Ballet Diaghilev Ballet after 1918 Nijinsky Anna Pavlova The Establishment of British Ballet  Ballet Rambert The Royal Ballet The Royal Ballet post 1945

Anna Pavlova in Egypt

Anna Pavlova was one of the most famous ballerinas of all time. Dance was her vocation and no other dancer in the days before air travel toured so widely – Australia, the Far East, the United States, South America and India. She danced for audiences who had never heard of ballet and inspired a generation of children to take up dancing, including Alicia Markova, and the choreographer, Frederick Ashton who first saw her in Peru.

Born in St Petersburg, Pavlova was inspired to dance after seeing a production of the ballet The Sleeping Beauty. She trained at the Imperial Theatre School but by 1906 she was associated with the revolutionary ideas of Michael Fokine, who choreographed the famous Dying Swan for her.

Pavlova: The Dying Swan

Anna Pavlova as the Swan

In 1909 Pavlova danced with Diaghilev’s group in Paris, featuring on the poster advertising the season, but she could never be happy in a company where the ballerina was not supreme. Her first appearance in London was a year later and in 1912 she appeared in the first Royal Variety Performance.

Pavlova was very competitive and during a curtain call slapped the face of her partner, Michael Mordkin, because she thought he was getting more applause. By 1913 she had formed her own company, of which she could be the undisputed star. If Diaghilev made ballet a serious art, she made it a world-wide popular entertainment.

Pavlova and Mordkin

Pavlova & Cecchetti at Ivy House

The feud between Pavlova and Mordkin was much reported in the press.

Read Cutting

Pavlova was interested in local and national dances, and created works based on Japanese and Indian dance, in which she appeared with the young Uday Shankar. Pavlova, more than any other dancer, symbolised the ballerina for the 20th century - the dark expressive eyes, the pale oval face surrounded by severely dressed dark hair, the elegant, almost emaciated figure and the almost religious dedication to dance.

Worn out by touring and the stress of performing she died of pneumonia in 1931, aged just 51. According to legend, her last words were to her dresser telling her to get her Dying Swan costume ready.

Pavlova in 'Autumn Bacchanal'

Autumn Baccanal