"Anna Pavlova was born on January 31, 1881, in St. Petersburg, Russia, the daughter of Lyubov Feodorovna, a washerwoman. Her father's identity is not known. When Anna was very small, her mother married reserve soldier Matvey Pavlov, who died when Anna was two years old. She and her mother were very poor, and they spent the summers with Anna's grandmother.

According to Pavlova, she wanted to be a dancer from the age of eight, when she attended a performance of The Sleeping Beauty at the Maryinsky Theatre. Two years later she was accepted as a student at St. Petersburg's Imperial Ballet School. This school for classical dancers offered its students lifelong material protection; the czar (the ruler of Russia) Alexander III (1845--1894) was its main supporter.

In return, the school demanded complete physical dedication. Her talents impressed ballet master Marius Petipa, who was to become her favorite teacher. Pavlova also learned from other famous Maryinsky teachers and choreographers (those who create and arrange dance performances) such as Christian Johanssen, Pavel Gerdt, and Enrico Cecchetti, who provided her with a classical foundation based on ballet tradition. Pavlova made her company debut at the Maryinsky in September 1899.

Although Pavlova's performances changed and were influenced by exposure to foreign cultures and new methods of dancing, she remained a somewhat conservative (not trying many new things) performer.

Her company continued to perform several of the great ballet classics, such as Giselle and The Sleeping Beauty; her own popular signature pieces were the Bacchanale, a duet created by her former fellow-student Mikhail Fokine, and her eerily beautiful The Swan. Pavlova died in The Hague, Netherlands, on January 22, 1931.

She had performed constantly until her death; her final words were to ask for her Swan costume to be prepared and, finally, "Play that last measure softly." Watch all my channels:

http://youtube.com/hollywoodclassics
http://youtube.com/classicanimation
http://youtube.com/dancefrenzy
http://youtube.com/classicdocumentaries
http://youtube.com/vintagecommercials
http://youtube.com/classicsoundbox
http://youtube.com/videomiscellany "

Music: Cluster & Eno -