Anna Pavlova: biography and photos. Great Russian ballerina

The great Russian ballerina Anna Pavlova was born on February 12, 1881 in St. Petersburg. The girl was illegitimate, her mother worked as a maid from the famous banker Lazar Polyakov, he is considered the father of the child. The financier himself did not recognize his involvement in her birth, but did not object to the fact that the girl was recorded as Anna Lazarevna.

Ani's mother left the house of Polyakov with a child in her arms and settled in a suburb of St. Petersburg. The girl grew and developed under the supervision of her mother, who in every possible way tried to instill a love of art for her daughter.

Creative biography of Anna Pavlova

One day my mother took Anya to the Mariinsky Theater. They gave "Sleeping Beauty" by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky. With the first sounds of the orchestra, Anya became quiet. Then the ballet watched without stopping, holding her breath, her heart trembling with delight, as from touching the beautiful.

In the second act, boys and girls danced the waltz on stage.

"Would you like to dance like that?" - Mother Anu asked during the intermission, referring to the dance of the corps de ballet.

"No ... I want to dance the way a sleeping beauty did," the girl answered.

After visiting the fabulous place called Mariinsky Theater, Anya began to dream about ballet. All conversations in the house were now only on the theme of choreographic art, the girl danced in front of the mirror from morning till night, lay down and got up with the thought of ballet. The hobby did not look childish at all, the dances became a part of her life.

Mother, seeing this, took Anya to the ballet school. At that time, the girl was barely eight years old. Teachers advised to come two years later, noting the undoubted abilities of Ani. In 1891, the future ballerina was admitted to the St. Petersburg School of Theater Arts at the ballet department.

The studies were of a Spartan character, everything was subordinated to the strictest discipline, the classes lasted eight hours a day. But in 1898 Anna graduated from the school with honors. The graduation performance was called "Imaginary Dryads", in which the girl danced the party of the butler's daughter.

Anna was immediately accepted into the Mariinsky Theater. Her debut took place in the ballet "Vain Precaution" in the pas de trois (dance of threesome). Two years later, Anna Pavlova danced the main part in the production of Caesar Puni's "Daughter of the Pharaoh". Then the beginning ballerina performed in the party of Nikiya in the "La Bayadere", which Marius Petipa himself, the patriarch of Russian ballet himself, put himself. In 1903 Pavlova has already appeared in the main role in the ballet "Giselle".

Development

In 1906 Anna was appointed the leading dancer of the ballet troupe of the Mariinsky Theater. Started a truly creative work to find new forms. The Russian ballet required updating, and Pavlova managed to create several images in the spirit of modernity, collaborating with the ballet-master innovator Alexander Gorsky, who sought to dramatize the plot and was a staunch supporter of some tragedy in the dance.

Anna Pavlova and Mikhail Fokin

At the beginning of the 20th century the Russian ballet was influenced by the reformist currents. One of the most ardent supporters of radical changes in the art of ballet was the choreographer Mikhail Fokin. He abandoned the traditional separation of dance from pantomime. The next goal of the reformer Fokine was the abolition of the use of ready-made forms, movements and combinations in the ballet. He offered improvisation in dance as the basis of all ballet art.

Anna Pavlova acted as the first performer of the main parties in the productions of Mikhail Fokin. These were "Egyptian Nights", "Berenice", "Chopiniana", "Grapevine", "Evnika", "Pavilion of Armida". But the main result of the collaboration was the ballet "The Dying Swan" for the music of Saint-Saens, which was destined to become one of the symbols of the Russian ballet of the 20th century. The history of the ballerina Pavlova is inseparably linked with this masterpiece of choreography. The ballet scene about the dying swan shocked the whole world.

In December 1907, at one of the charity concerts, Anna Pavlova sang the Dying Swan. Composer Camille Saint-Saëns, present at the same time, was shocked by the interpretation of his music and expressed his deep admiration for the talented performance of the miniature. He personally thanked the ballerina for the pleasure he had received, kneeling down with the words: "Thanks to you, I realized that I managed to write beautiful music."

The best ballerinas on all continents tried to perform the famous ballet miniature. After Anna Pavlova, Maya Plisetskaya fully succeeded in this.

Foreign tours

In 1907 the Imperial Mariinsky Theater went abroad. The speeches were held in Stockholm. Soon after returning to Russia, Anna Pavlova, a world-famous ballerina, left her native theater, significantly damaged financially, as she had to pay a huge penalty for breaking the contract. However, this did not stop the dancer.

Personal life

Anna Pavlova, a ballerina with extensive creative plans, left for Paris, where she began to participate in the "Russian Seasons" and soon became the star of the project. Then she met with Victor Dandra, a great connoisseur of ballet art, who immediately took a patronage over Anna, rented her apartments in the Paris suburbs, equipped a dance class. However, all this was quite expensive, and Dandra squandered official money, for which he was arrested and put on trial.

Then Pavlova Anna Pavlovna concluded a very expensive, but enslaving agreement with the London agency "Braff", under the terms of which she had to speak daily, twice a day. The money received helped to rescue Victor Dandra from prison, as his debts were repaid. Lovers were married in one of the Parisian Orthodox churches.

Swans in the life of a ballerina

After Pavlova partially worked under contract with the agency "Braff", she created her own ballet troupe and began to perform triumphantly in France and the UK. Completely settled with the agency, Anna Pavlova, whose personal life was already established, settled with Dundra in London. Their home was the Ivy-House mansion with a pond nearby, where beautiful white swans lived. Henceforth, the life of Anna Pavlova was inextricably linked with this wonderful house, and with noble birds. The ballerina found comfort, communicating with swans.

Further creativity

Pavlova Anna Pavlovna, an active nature, nurtured plans for her creative development. Her husband, fortunately, suddenly discovered the ability to produce and began to promote his wife's career. He became the official impresario of Anna Pavlova, and the great ballerina could no longer worry about her future, she was in good hands.

In 1913 and 1914, the dancer performed in Moscow and Petersburg, including the Mariinsky Theater, where she danced the party of Nikia for the last time. In Moscow, Anna Pavlova appeared on the stage of the Mirror Theater in the Hermitage Garden. After this performance, she left for a long tour of Europe. Then followed a multi-month tour in the US, Brazil, Chile and Argentina. Then, after a short break, Dandra organized a tour of Australia and the Asian countries.

Aspiration for reforms

Even in the first years of work at the Mariinsky Theater, after graduation, Anna Pavlova felt the potential for changing the established canons in ballet. A young ballerina experienced an acute need for change. It seemed to her that the choreography could be expanded and enriched by new forms. The classics of the genre seemed something out of date, requiring a radical renewal.

Rehearsing her party in "Vain precaution," Pavlova suggested Marius Petipa make a revolutionary step and replace the short skirt-crinoline with a long tight tunic, referring to the famous Maria Taglioni, a representative of the ballet of the Romantic era, who introduced the ballet tutu and pointe shoes, and Then she gave up a short skirt in favor of falling clothes.

The choreographer Petipa listened to Anna's opinion, she changed her clothes, and Marius watched the dance from beginning to end. After that, the ballet tutu became an attribute of performances such as "Swan Lake", where a short skirt is appropriate in the style of the production. Many considered the introduction of tunic as the main form of ballet clothing a violation of the canons, but nevertheless the long flowing clothes of the ballerina were later noted in the art of ballet costume as an indispensable part of the performance.

Creativity and controversy

Anna Pavlova herself called herself a pioneer and a reformer. She was proud of the fact that she managed to abandon the "tu-tu" (skirt-crinoline) and dress more appropriately. She had to argue with the connoisseurs of traditional ballet for a long time and prove that the ballet tutu does not suit all the performances. And that theatrical costumes should be selected in accordance with what is happening on stage, and not to please the classical canons.

Opponents Pavlova argued that open legs - is primarily a demonstration of dance techniques. Anna agreed, but at the same time spoke out for more freedom in choosing a suit. She believed that crinoline has long become an academic attribute and has absolutely no creativity. Formally, both sides were right, but they decided to leave the last word for the public.

Anna Pavlova regretted only one shortcoming of long clothes: the tunic deprived the ballerina of "flabbiness." This word was invented by herself, the term meant that the folds were hindered by the flying movements of the body, or rather, they hid the flight itself. But then Anna learned to use this flaw. The ballerina invited the partner to throw it a little higher than usual, and everything fell into place. In the dance appeared the required freedom of movement and grace.

Serge Lifar: impressions

"I have never met such divine lightness, weightless airiness and such graceful movements." So wrote the largest French choreographer Serge Lifar about his meeting with Russian ballerina Anna Pavlova.

"From the first minute he was subdued by the nature of her plasticity, she danced as easily as she could, without any desire for the correct ballet, fouette, virtuoso tricks, only the natural beauty of natural gestures and airiness, airiness ..."

"I saw in Pavlova not a ballerina, but a dance genius." She lifted me up from the earth, I could neither reason nor assess. "There were no shortcomings, just as the deity can not have them."

Touring and Statistics

Anna Pavlova led an active touring life for 22 years. During this period, she took part in nine thousand performances, two thirds of which were performed with the main roles. Moving from city to city, the ballerina overcame not less than 500 thousand kilometers by train. The Italian master for the manufacture of ballet shoes sewed for Anna Pavlova two thousand pairs of pointe shoes per year.

In the intervals between tours the ballerina rested with her husband in her house, among the hand-held swans, in the shade of the trees, near the still clean pond. In one of such visits, Dandra invited the famous photographer Lafayette, and he made a series of photographs of Anna Pavlova with her favorite swan. Today these photos are perceived as a memory of the great ballerina of the 20th century.

In Australia, in honor of the Russian ballerina Anna Pavlova came up with a dessert "Pavlova" of exotic fruits with meringue. By the way, New Zealanders say that they created a fruit delicacy.

One day Anna Pavlova danced the popular Mexican folk dance "harabe tapatio", which means "dance with a hat", in her interpretation. Enthusiastic Mexicans pelted the ballerina and the whole scene with hats. And in 1924 this dance was declared the national dance of the Mexican Republic.

In China, Anna Pavlova surprised the audience by dancing without stopping 37 fouettes on a small platform set on the back of an elephant walking across the field.

Dutch flower growers have grown a special grade of white tulips, which received the name of the great ballerina Anna Pavlova. Elegant flowers on thin stems, as it were, symbolize grace.

In London, erected several different monuments dedicated to the ballerina. Each of them refers to a certain period of her life. Three monuments are set near the house of Ivy-House, in which Pavlova lived most of her life.

Anna was noted for her rare philanthropy, she was engaged in charity, she opened several orphanages and lodging houses for homeless children. Girls and boys from the guests of these institutions, having the ability to dance, were selected and sent to the children's choreography school, opened in the house of Ivy House.

A separate charity act of Anna Pavlova was her help to the starving Volga region. In addition, on her behalf, parcels were sent regularly to the St. Petersburg Ballet School.

The death of a great dancer

Anna Pavlova died of pneumonia on January 23, 1931 in the city of The Hague, during her tour. The ballerina caught cold at the rehearsal in the cold hall. Its ashes are located in the columbarium "Golders Green", in London. The urn is located next to the remains of her husband Victor Dandra.

A film created in memory of Anna Pavlova

The life and fate of the world-famous ballerina was reflected in a five-part television movie, directed by Emil Lotyan.

The film story tells about a short but full life story of a great ballerina and a beautiful man named Anna Pavlova. 1983, the time of the release of the series on the screen, was the 102nd anniversary of the birth of a dancer. The film involves many characters, and the role of Pavlova was performed by actress Galina Belyaeva.