MeMoMu_PSW_008 ANNA MATVEYEVNA CAME INTO THE WORLD ON A COLD AND SNOWY DAY OF 12TH FEBRUARY 1881

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It was a snowy evening, and Anna was only wearing a thin jacket over her flimsy silk pajamas..."
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6 h
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Anna Pavlova with 'Jack' the swan.
By Lafayette c.1927
© National Portrait Gallery, London
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12. veebruar 2026 kell 19:44
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Mait Vigriste with 'Endel' the playbunny.
By Kumari Vaim c.2026
© ELFH Portrait Gallery, Kürbla
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The Tudor Intruders -and more
6 h
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🩰 On this day - 12th February 1881 🩰
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🩰 Birth of Russian Ballerina Anna Pavlova 🩰
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🩰 Anna Matveyevna came into the world on a cold and snowy day of 12th February 1881
Born in St. Petersburg to washerwoman Lyubov Feodorovna, Anna's father was 'unknown'.
Although they were poor, her mother saved to take eight year old Anna to see a performance of 'The Sleeping Beauty', at the Mariinsky Theatre in St. Petersburg.
🩰 Entranced by what she saw, the wide-eyed little Anna declared she was going to become a ballet dancer.
Within just two years, Anna was accepted at the St. Petersburg Imperial Ballet School - after passing the entrance exam with flying colours!
🩰 Anna was a dedicated and ambitious student.
She knew it took more than just talent to have a successful ballet career.
Anna's natural gift for dance, combined with her tireless work ethic, was summarised in her own words:
"No one can arrive from being talented alone.
God gives you talent, work transforms talent
into genius."
🩰 In 1899, at the age of eighteen, Anna graduated from the St. Petersburg Imperial Dance School.
The gifted young ballerina then made her company debut, dancing in La Fille Mal Gardée.
The performance took place at the Mariinsky Theatre in St. Petersburg - the same theatre where Anna had first decided to become a dancer!
🩰 Anna's career soon blossomed.
With every performance, she gained acclaim and adoration.
However, it was in 1905 that Anna made her breakthrough performance.
She danced the lead solo in 'The Dying Swan'....
🩰 'The Dying Swan' was a four minute ballet, following the last moments in the life of a swan.
'The Dying Swan' was to become Anna's signature role - she ended up performing the ballet about 4,000 times over her career!
🩰 Seven years into her ballet career, Anna was promoted to prima ballerina.
In 1907, Anna went on her first tour abroad.
The tour stopped at capital cities throughout Europe - including Berlin, Copenhagen and Prague, among others.
In 1911, Anna took a major step in her career, by forming her own ballet company.
As a result, Anna was able to retain complete creative control over performances, and even choreograph her own roles.
🩰 Anna put her husband Victor Dandré, in charge of organising her tours.
For the final two decades of her ballet career, Anna toured with her company all over the world.
Little girls watched in awe and were inspired to become dancers - the same way she had been inspired at the Mariinsky Theatre all those years ago.
🩰 In 1930, when Anna was fifty years old, she decided to take a Christmas vacation.
She had just finished a particularly arduous tour in England.
At the end of her vacation, she boarded a train back to The Hague, where she planned to resume dancing.
On its way from Cannes to Paris, the train was in an accident.
🩰 Although Anna was unharmed in the accident, she was forced to wait on the train platform for twelve hours.
It was a snowy evening, and Anna was only wearing a thin jacket over her flimsy silk pajamas.
When she arrived in Holland, she developed double pneumonia, and her illness quickly worsened....
🩰 On her deathbed, Anna - still passionate about dance until her final breath, asked to see her swan costume one last time.
Anna Pavlova died in The Hague, Netherlands, in the early hours of the morning of 23rd January 1931.
Her ashes were interred at Golders Green Cemetery in London, near the Ivy House where she had lived with her manager and husband.
🩰 Fun fact:
In 1926, while Anna was touring Australia and New Zealand, the chef of a Wellington hotel created 'The Pavlova'.
Claiming inspiration from her tutu, 'The Pavlova' was a billowy meringue dessert, created in her honour.
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🩰 Source - Biography .com/anna-pavlova
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