Anna Pavlova Biography

FAMOUS WOMEN AND BEAUTY

FEATURING: Anna Pavlova Biography

February 12, 1881 – January 23, 1931

Prima ballerina

Anna Pavlova Biography – the dream and how it came to reality

Her life inspired and and changed lives of thousands of people. Those who saw her dancing. Those who were inspired to follow her path… And those who simply read her biography.

In the eyes of many people, Anna Pavlova was an exceptionally gifted ballerina, the person who lived in a fairy tale of public adoration and fame. Her own concept of herself was more simple. She always remembered the moment in her childhood when she made a dream to become a prima ballerina. At that moment she was her dream, she was that princess on stage… And she knew she would spend her whole life dancing…

Anna Pavlova was born on February 12, 1881 in a suburb of St. Petersburg, Russia. Her father died when Anna was 2 years old, and her mother worked as a laundress. Even though they were very poor, her mother used to make surprises for her daughter on some special occasions. It was her birthday when she was taken to the theater for the first time in her life. "You are going to enter fairyland," her mother said. That performance of the "Sleeping Beauty" by Tchaikovksy in the famous Mariinsky Theater changed her life.

"How would you like to dance thus?" asked Anna’s mother about waltz in the second act. The girl replied very seriously: "I should prefer to dance as the pretty lady does who plays the part of the princess. One day I shall be the princess, and dance upon the stage of this very theater." (Anna Pavlova. "I wish I was a ballerina.") Her mother smiled… She could not suspect that her daughter had discovered the idea that would guide her throughout her life.

The way to her dream was not easy. Anna was rejected on her first audition for Imperial Ballet School for her "sickly" appearance, but refused to accept her fate. She kept training and tried again, until she was finally accepted to the ballet school at the age of 10. But this was only beginning of her hardships.

At the time of athletic Italian ballerinas, Pavlova’s weak feet, thin ankles and scrawny body were not considered an asset. Pavlova had a lot of problems with ballet technique due to her severely arched feet. Her determination seemed unaffected by her difficulties and jokes of her fellow students. She decided that she would need to work more than others, and took extra lessons from the great masters. It took patience, hard work and time for Anna Pavlova to refine her own style which would later enchant the public. Her teachers helped her to see her assets and transfer her weaknesses into gifts. Her fragility, flexible body and her delicate manner to give her performances proved to be her great assets, and the public would value them higher than the acrobatic tricks. Gradually, Anna came to the idea to modify her ballet shoes. She strengthened her shoes with leather, adding them more support and curving. Today’s ballet shoes are similar to those invented by Anna Pavlova.

Eventually, Anna fulfilled her childhood dream and became the prima ballerina at Mariinsky Theater in St. Petersburg. She toured all over the world. It was said that she traveled to more than 4,000 cities in fifteen years, often performing "The Dying Swan", her signature piece.

After her English tour in 1930, Pavlova took a Christmas vacation. She was nearly 50 years old. On her way back to work in The Hague, her train stopped due to the accident. Pavlova walked through the snow the length of a train wearing a light coat above her silk pajamas, to see what had happened… Days later she was diagnosed with pneumonia. Her condition deteriorated rapidly. Dying, she asked her swan costume be brought to her.

The night after her death, at the theater where Pavlova had to perform "The Dying Swan", the orchestra played with an empty stage.

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