Alicia Markova

Dame Alicia Markova, DBE ( born December 1, 1910 in London, † December 2, 2004 in Bath ) was an English prima ballerina of classical ballet.

Life

Markova was born as Lillian Alicia Marks as Irish- Jewish parents on December 1, 1910 in London. From the age of eight, she was due to problems with her legs on medical advice ballet lessons. Among her classmates were also Serafima Astafieva and Enrico Cecchetti.

She was discovered a few years later by Diaghilev. He hired the 14 -year-old for his Ballets Russes and went with her across Europe on tour. She was the youngest member in his ballet company. It was he who changed its name to Markova changed without their consent, as they are considered non- Russian needed a Russian name.

After Diaghilev's death in 1929 she returned to England. In the following years she danced with the Ballet Rambert and the Vic Wells Ballet. Later she founded together with Anton Dolin, with whom she had already collaborated with the Ballets Russes and the Vic Wells Ballet, Markova - Dolin Ballet. Her performances in Giselle, Swan Lake and Romeo and Juliet were celebrated.

Between 1938 and 1946 she danced with a few brief interruptions, the American Ballet Theatre. After the Second World War she was a co-founder of the Festival Ballet.

1963 Queen Elizabeth II awarded her the title of Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire. In the same year she sat down to rest as a dancer. Until then, she had danced all the major roles of a ballet dancer. The 1.58 meter tall dancer never weighed more than 44 kilos of during its active period.

Despite her retirement she continued to work as a ballet teacher. From 1963 to 1970 she worked at the Metropolitan Opera in New York. Her autobiography titled Markova with the heading " Giselle and I".

Markova died one day after her 94th birthday of a cerebral hemorrhage.

• Ballet Dancers
• Autobiography
• Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire
• Briton
• Born 1910
• Died in 2004
• Woman