Birth of Anna Pavlova ~ Russian Ballerina

Birth of Anna Pavlova ~ Russian Ballerina

On 12th February 1881, on a cold and snowy winter’s day in St. Petersburg, Anna Matveyevna Pavlovna Pavlova, was born.

Her mother, Lyubov Feodorovna was a washerwoman, and her stepfather Matvey Pavlov, was a reserve soldier.
The identity of Pavlova’s biological father is unknown.

Although they were poor, an 8 year old Pavlova and her mother, were able to see a performance of The Sleeping Beauty at the Mariinsky Theatre in St. Petersburg.

Entranced by what she saw, the wide-eyed little girl declared she was going to become a ballet dancer.

Within just two years, Pavlova was accepted at the St. Petersburg Imperial Ballet School, after passing the entrance exam with flying colors.

A dedicated and ambitious student, Pavlova knew a successful ballet career would require a lot more than just talent.

Her natural gift for dance, combined with her tireless work ethic, was summarized in her own words:

“No one can arrive from being talented alone.
God gives you talent, work transforms talent into genius.”

In 1899, at the age of 18, Pavlova graduated from the St. Petersburg Imperial Dance School.

Fresh out of dance school, the gifted young ballerina made her company debut, dancing in a group of three in La Fille Mal Gardée.

The performance took place at the Mariinsky Theatre in St. Petersburg ~ the same theatre where, as a child, Pavlova had first decided to become a dancer.

Pavlova’s career soon blossomed.
With every performance, she gained increasing critical acclaim and subsequent fame.

But it was in 1905 that Pavlova made her breakthrough performance, when she danced the lead solo in ‘The Dying Swan’.

The 4 minute ballet follows the last moments in the life of a swan, and was first presented in St. Petersburg.

Anna Pavlova, performed the ballet about 4,000 times over her career, and ‘The Dying Swan’ was to become Pavlova’s signature role.

Just seven years into her ballet career, Pavlova was promoted to prima ballerina.

In 1907, Pavlova took leave on her first tour abroad.
The tour stopped at capital cities throughout Europe ~ including Berlin, Copenhagen and Prague, among others.

In 1911, Pavlova took a major step in her career by forming her own ballet company.
As a result, Pavlova was able to retain complete creative control over performances and even choreograph her own roles.

Pavlova put her husband Victor Dandré, in charge of organizing her independent tours.

For the final two decades of her ballet career, she toured with her company all over the world.
Little girls watched in awe and were inspired to become dancers ~ the same way she had been at the Mariinsky Theatre all those years ago.

In 1926, Anna toured Australia and New Zealand.
As the New Zealand story goes, the chef of a Wellington hotel at the time created ‘The Pavlova’ ~ a billowy dessert in her honour, claiming inspiration from her tutu.

In 1930, when Pavlova was 50 years old, she decided to take a Christmas vacation after wrapping up a particularly arduous tour in England.

At the end of her vacation, she boarded a train back to The Hague, where she planned to resume dancing.

On its way from Cannes to Paris, the train was in an accident.
Although Pavlova was unharmed in the accident, she was forced to wait out the delay outside on the train platform for 12 hours.

It was a snowy evening, and Pavlova was only wearing only a thin jacket and flimsy silk pajamas.

Once in Holland, within days of the accident, she developed double pneumonia, and her illness quickly worsened.

On her deathbed, Pavlova, still passionate about dance until her final breath, asked to see her swan costume one last time.

She died in The Hague, Netherlands, in the early hours of the morning, on 23rd January 1931.

Her ashes were interred at Golders Green Cemetery in London, near the Ivy House where she had lived with her manager and husband.