Ballerina. She was a Russian Prime ballerina, who studied at the very authoritarian Imperial Ballet School starting in 1891 at the tender age of 10. Marius Petipa, the most influential of ballet masters, was her instructor. Although she and her mother lived in constant poverty, her mother provided her with an education and exposure to ballet at a young age. She made her debut in 1899 in the ballet "The Pharaoh's Daughter." By 1906 she had become a principal ballerina and touring abroad by 1908. On her second foreign tour, she joined Diaghilev's Ballet Russes. She created and made famous the solo "The Dying Swan." With her own company by 1910, she became the first ballerina to tour around the world, including performances in South America, India and Australia. In 1921 she and her beloved, Victor Dandre, obtained the English estate, the "Ivy House," which had a pond full of white swans. While Dandre became her manager, she opened her own School of Dance. Pavlova never had children, but fostered a couple Russian girls. She made her last Russian appearance a year later. From then on, she spent the rest of her career almost constantly on tour bringing ballet to millions for the first time through the drawing power of her legendary name. According to her husband's memoirs, her last words were "Bring me my Swan costume." She died from pneumonia while on tour in the Netherlands. The pneumonia was directly related to rib cage injuries obtained in an earlier train wreck. The Dutch had grown snow-white tulips, naming them in her honor "Anna Pavlova."

Ballerina. She was a Russian Prime ballerina, who studied at the very authoritarian Imperial Ballet School starting in 1891 at the tender age of 10. Marius Petipa, the most influential of ballet masters, was her instructor. Although she and her mother lived in constant poverty, her mother provided her with an education and exposure to ballet at a young age. She made her debut in 1899 in the ballet "The Pharaoh's Daughter." By 1906 she had become a principal ballerina and touring abroad by 1908. On her second foreign tour, she joined Diaghilev's Ballet Russes. She created and made famous the solo "The Dying Swan." With her own company by 1910, she became the first ballerina to tour around the world, including performances in South America, India and Australia. In 1921 she and her beloved, Victor Dandre, obtained the English estate, the "Ivy House," which had a pond full of white swans. While Dandre became her manager, she opened her own School of Dance. Pavlova never had children, but fostered a couple Russian girls. She made her last Russian appearance a year later. From then on, she spent the rest of her career almost constantly on tour bringing ballet to millions for the first time through the drawing power of her legendary name. According to her husband's memoirs, her last words were "Bring me my Swan costume." She died from pneumonia while on tour in the Netherlands. The pneumonia was directly related to rib cage injuries obtained in an earlier train wreck. The Dutch had grown snow-white tulips, naming them in her honor "Anna Pavlova."

Bio by: Medora