Anna Pavlova

Anna PavlovaUnknown author / Public domainAnna Pavlova was born on January 31st, 1881 in Russia. She wanted to be a ballerina after her mom took her to see Sleeping Beauty when she was eight years old. Anna's training started at St. Petersburg's Imperial Ballet at the age of ten. She became a prima ballerina in 1906. In 1909, she traveled to Paris on the exciting trip of the Ballet's Russes. Anna's mother was poor and her father died just when she was at a very young age. Anna learned her beautiful art skills from her teachers. Almost very fast, in 1907, her ballerina life took a huge step. That year, with some other dancers, she went on a European tour to Riga, Stockholm, Copenhagen, Berlin, and Prague. She was a walking guide for her art, and she gave a vast number of people their intro to ballet. Anna's tours, which began in 1914, took her to many places around the globe. These tours were managed by her husband, Victor Dandre. Her visits to Japan and India led her to a serious study of their dances. She studies these hard and danced with Uday Shankar, later to become one of the best performers of Indian dance. Anna and Victor never had children, but in 1920, she found a home for Russian orphans in Paris. She loved animals, and her home in London became famous for its lake with swans with reminded her about her most famous solo piece, The Dying Swan the choreographer Michael Fokine made for her. She died January 23rd, 1931. She was 49 when she passed away.