Wednesday Woman: Anna Pavlova

Anna Pavlov

Russian Ballerina

1881-1931

Anna sees the ballet performance of The Sleeping Beauty at the age of 8 and knows immediately she wants to learn ballet.

Anna enrolled at the Imperieal Ballet School at the age of 10. During this time period ballerinas tended to be small and compact, but Anna was had long limbs. The other kids at the ballet school made fun of her because of her body shape.

Anna danced the lead solo in The Dying Swan at the age of 24. Her technique and long limbs were a perfect match to tell the story on the dying swan. The audience was completely captivated.

When Anna was 30 years old she set up her own dance company. Her ballet was one of the first to tour around the world. Anna was able to bring ballet audiences that had never had the opportunity to see it. She was an inspiration to children all over the world to try ballet and become a ballerina just as she had done as a young girl.