Anna pavlova biography agnesin

(1881-1931)

Who Was Anna Pavlova?

Anna Pavlova was a Russian prima ballerina during the late 19th and early 20th centuries.

After attending the Imperial Ballet School, she made her company debut in 1899 and quickly became a prima ballerina. Her breakthrough performance was in The Dying Swan in 1905, which became her signature role.

Anna pavlova ballerina

She joined the Ballet Russe in 1909 and formed her own company in 1911.

Early Life

Anna Matveyevna Pavlovna Pavlova was born on February 12, 1881 — a cold and snowy winter's day — in St. Petersburg, Russia. 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, though some speculate that her mother had an affair with a banker named Lazar Poliakoff. As a child, Pavlova preferred to believe she was a product of an earlier marriage.

She told people her mother had once been married to a man named Pavel, who died when she was just