Anna Pavlova

By haddade

  • Anna Pavlova In Born.

    Anna was born in St. Petersburg, Russia. Her mother, Lyubov Feodorovna, was a washerwoman and her stepfather, Matvey Pavlov, was a solider. The real identity of her biological father is unknown.

  • Anna Pavlova Attends Her First Ballet.

    At the age of 8, Pavlova and her mother attended "The Sleeping Beauty" at the Mariinsky Theatre in St. Petersburg. The performance captivated her and she vowed to become a ballet dancer. Within two years of seeing the ballet, she was accepted into the Imperial Ballet School. The school was directed by ballet master, Marius Petipa.

  • Anna Pavlova graduates from Imperial Ballet School

    While at the dance school, her teachers Ekaterina Vazem and Ravel Gerdt quickly recognized her extraordinary dancing abilities. She graduated the dance school at age 18 and was able to jump right to the stage with her hard earned dancing talents. Pavlova was able to graduated as a corypee, which means she was able to skip the initiation rite of dancing in large groups and was able to dance in smaller groups.

  • Anna Pavlova Meets Her Husband, Victor Dandre.

    Victor Dandre was a French-Russian aristocrat who married Anna in 1911.

  • Anna Pavlova Gets The Lead Role In "The Dying Swan."

    This was Pavlova's breakthrough performance. The choreographer was Michael Fokine and music was by Camille Saint-Saens. This soon became Pavlova's signature role.

  • Anna Pavlova Takes On The Lead Role In "Giselle"

    Just seven years after her first performance, Pavlova became a prima ballerina, which is the lead ballerina.

  • Anna Pavlova Leaves For Her First Tour Abroad.

    Anna and a handful of dancers toured throughout cities in Europe. She stopped in cities like Berlin, Copenhagen, Prague, and many more.

  • Anna Pavlova Is Invited To Join Ballet Russe On Tour.

    Pavlova was invited to join Ballet Russe on tour directed by Sergei Diaghilev. She was accompanied by Laurent Novikoff, Thadee Slavinsky, Olga Spessivtzeva, Anatole Vilz, and Alexander Volinine. Sergei Diaghilev is pictured in the following picture.

  • Valentin Serov Paints Anna Pavlova.

    Serov paints a life-sized portrait of Pavlova.

  • "The Dying Sawn" Comes To The United States.

    Anna Pavlova first performed "They Dying Swan" in the United States at the Metropolitan Opera House In New York City.

  • Anna Pavlova Forms Her Own Ballet Company.

    Pavlova took a major step in her own career by opening her own ballet company called Pavlova Company. She took complete control over creative performances and even choreographed her own dancing roles. Pavlova had her husband, Victor Dandre, in charge of organizing her independent tours. For two decades of her dancing career, she toured with her company all over the world.

  • Anna Pavlova and Victor Dandre Get Married.

  • Anna and Victor Move To Ivy House.

    Ivy House is located in Golders Green, London. This was Pavlova's home for the rest of her life.

  • The Pavlova Company Tours Through Asia.

    Anna Pavlova and her company travelled to Japan, China, and India.

  • Anna Pavlova Goes On Vacation In Italy.

    While on vacation, Pavlova meets Alexandre Jacovleff and becomes friends with him. She also modeled for him.

  • Anna Pavlova's Dancing Career Comes To An End.

    When Pavlova was 50 years old, her 30 year dancing career physically wore her down. She decided to take a Christmas vacation after finishing a tour in England.

  • Anna Pavlova Passes Away.

    At the end of her Christmas Vacation, Pavlova boarded a train back to The Hague where she decided to resume her dancing. However, the train was in an accident. She did not die from the accident but she was forced to wait out the delay outside on the platform for 12 hours. Within days of her accident, she developed pneumonia and the illness quickly worsened. She passed away in the early morning on January 23, 1931. Her ashes were placed at the Golders Green Cemetery near her home.