Famous Ballerinas

Janet was totally floored by this dance form called ballet. She used to take classes for it and her ideal was Anna Pavlova. She did not know much about her except for the fact that Pavlova was a fantastic ballet dancer. Janet considered Pavlova as her mentor and her strength.

This could be true of a number of girls who are pursuing ballet. Ballet is a performance dance, though formalized, performed in tandem with classical music. It is tremendously technical and has its own jargon. It needs a lot of practice and hard work to excel in ballet dancing. Here are a few ballerinas who made it big!

Famous Ballerinas of all Times

Anna Pavlova
What can one say about this queen of ballet from yesteryears? Talk about famous Russian ballet dancers and hers is the name which comes to the fore. Born on 12 February 1881, undoubtedly, she was one of the most popular ballet artists. She was almost the 'be all and end all' of ballet in the late 19th and early 20th century. Widely regarded as Principal artist of the Russian Imperial Ballet, Pavlova is most famous for her role creation of 'The dying swan'. Further, with her own company, she was the first ballerina who toured the world! Anna had the first tryst with ballet at the age of 8, when she was taken by her mother to watch a ballet. Later on, at the age of 10, Pavlova was taken in as a student in Imperial Ballet School. Incidentally, Marius Petipa was the producer of the first ballet she saw and performed for. She was awarded with premiere danseuse in 1905, and finally prima ballerina in 1906 after a resounding performance in Giselle. In the latter years, she shifted to England and had a profound influence on English ballet.

Alicia Markova
Born in 1910, Alicia Markova can be said to be Pavlova's contemporary. Markova has been touted as one of the greatest ballerinas of the west in her time. She was known as Dame Alicia Markova and she was the second British dancer, to be awarded theprima ballerina assoluta. No wonder then, she was one of the best there was in 20th century. Another feather in her cap was that she was the first British dancer who became the principal dancer of a ballet company. Rambert Dance Company was established by her, in addition to The Royal Ballet and American Ballet theater. After she retired from the professional ballet scene, she imparted her awesome dancing skills to her students. She died of a stroke in 2004.

Margot Fonteyn
Another British ballerina to have graced the ballet horizon is Margot Fonteyn. Born in 1919, she got through Vic Wells ballet in the year 1934. The next year, due to her phenomenal skills and hard work, she had become a part of Giselle, Odette-Odile and Aurora ballets. She had a great dancing camaraderie first with Robert Helpmann, Michael Somes and Rudolf Nureyev was a partner for Fonteyn for many ballets. There were also speculations about their relationship beyond dance. She was deserving and so awarded with prima ballerina assoluta title.

Beryl Grey
Beryl Grey was born in England and came on the dancing scene a tad later than Fonteyn. Born in 1927, she joined Sadler Wells ballet in the year 1941. Consequently, on her 15th birthday, performed a full length Swan Lake in 1942. A Dame of the British Empire in 1988, Vice President of the Royal Academy of Dancing since 1980 and President of the Imperial Society of Dancing and a Director of The Birmingham Royal Ballet are the titles she has held. Grey has also got an Order of the British Empire (O.B.E.) on account of her contribution to ballet in her illustrious career. Queen Elizabeth Coronation Award by Dame Antoinette Sibley in September 1997 was another addition to the list of her numerous achievements.

Alicia Alonso
This Cuban dancer, born in 1920 carved a distinct niche for herself in the field of ballet by being intensely dramatic and a technician to the core. American school of ballet was where she honed her ballet skills and went to England in between. Then in 1940, Alicia Alonso joined the American Ballet Theater and was a part of it till 1960. She had a fabulous partnership with Youskevithc and even she is most known for her role in Gisele! (Gisele seems to be the word for Ballerinas!). 1950 was the year she came up with her own ballet school. Aprima ballerina, Alonso toured China, the then USSR and Europe a lot.

These were the most famous ballerinas of yesteryears. Marie Camargo, Svetlana Lunkina, Evelyn Hart, Peggy Hookham, Phyllis Spira, Galina Ulanova are some of the other stars who shone bright in the sky of ballet.