Ballet Archives

Photo Credit: Anna Pavlova and Mikale Mordkin from Bacchanale Ballet from Pavlova Portrait Of A Dancer Presented by Margot Fonteyn Anna Pavlova's first most famous dance partner was Mikale Mordkin. They were known to complement each other; Mordkin's masculinity complemented Pavlova's femininity and their blend of yin and yang reflected beautifully in their dancing and made them a household name in New York and eastern states in America and London.  Another known fact was before they were even paired up, Mordkin was in love with Pavlova, as described as head over heels in love. It seems at the time she shared those feelings for him, because of these feelings  a partnership was born.  There were rumors in the press that they intended to marry. When asked by the press on this topic, Anna Pavlova responded with this,  "We are too busy to think of marriage." Anna Pavlova   Mikail Mordkin was asked as well and he replied,  "Engaged?"- stammered Mordkin, blus...

Photo Credit: Anna Pavlova arriving in South America, 1928 from Anna Pavlova Her Life And Her Art by Keith Money Anna Pavlova although she traveled around the world she didn't like how she got there which was by ship. She never felt assured that the ship was ok and wouldn't sink. When she read the paper where the Titantic sake her opinions became stronger but even though she didn't like travel by sea after the Titanic sake she still went on the ship. It was more important to her to bring ballet to places that never heard of ballet and bring the beauty of ballet to the world despite her fears of the voyage.  Photo Credit: Anna Pavlova sailing to Japan on the Empress of Canada, September 1922 from Pavlova Portrait Of A Dancer Presented by Margot Fonteyn

Photo credit: Anna Pavlova wearing her Petite Danse Russe costume while feeding both her swans named Jack at the Ivy House from Anna Pavlova Her Life And Art By Keith Money Anna Pavlova had been gone from the Ivy House for more than five and half years because of being on a World Tour; she felt detached from her home but what hit her the hardest was her swans were standoffish to her because of her absence. They no longer would acknowledge her. Both swans' were named Jack and their rejection hurt Pavlova deeply. Why were Pavlova's Swans named both Jack, you ask?  It was because Anna Pavlova could not distinguish the males, which were the cobs, from the pens' females. She resolved this by calling both swans both Jack, even though one was a female since it had given birth to cygnets who also lived at the Ivy House. When Anna Pavlova disclosed in an interview how upset she was that her swans were not coming over to her, days after that interview she received a letter from a swa...

  Photo Credit: Anna Pavlova at the Ivy House feeding her Swans. Her other birds flamingos are seen in the pond as well from Anna Pavlova Her Life And Her Art by Keith Money Anna Pavlova's connection to the birds seems to start as far back as her childhood, where there is photo of a young Pavlova holding a birdcage with a bird. Pavlova was a student of the Imperial Ballet School in St. Petersburg when the photo was taken.  Photo Credit: Young Pavlova and her classmates at the Imperial Ballet School in St. Petersburg here she is on the left holding a bird cage with what looks like doves inside the cage from Anna Pavlova Her Life And Her Art by Keith Money When she performed the role of the dying swan, Anna Pavlova seemed so connected to swans. She of course loved other birds but Swans had a special place in her heart and it seemed that swans shared that connection to her.   Photo Credit: Anna Pavlova returning after a long tour back to the Ivy House she is seen here w...