Alicia Markova photo taken by Carl Van Vechten, 1940

Dame Alicia Markova (1 December 1910 – 2 December 2004) was an English prima ballerina. Image File history File links Alicia_Markova. ... Image File history File links Alicia_Markova. ... Photographic self-portrait by Carl Van Vechten, 1934 Carl Van Vechten (June 17, 1880 – December 21, 1964) was an American writer and photographer who was a patron of the Harlem Renaissance and the literary executor of Gertrude Stein. ... December 1 is the 335th (in leap years the 336th) day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... 1910 (MCMX) was a common year starting on Saturday (see link for calendar). ... December 2 is the 336th day (337th in leap years) of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... 2004 (MMIV) was a leap year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Wikimedia Commons has media related to: England Travel guide to England from Wikitravel English language English law English (people) List of monarchs of England – Kings of England family tree List of English people Angeln (region in northern Germany, presumably the origin of the Angles for whom England is named) UK... A ballerina is a female ballet dancer. ...

She was born Lillian Alicia Marks to well-off parents in the Finsbury Park district of London. At the age of eight, Marks was given ballet lessons to correct supposed problems with her legs and feet. She was soon spotted by Russian impresario Sergei Diaghilev, who wanted her to dance in his Ballets Russes. Marks joined Diaghilev in Monte Carlo at the age of 14, and toured all over Europe. It was Diaghilev who "Russified" her name to Alicia Markova to avoid a then current prejudice that only Russians could be good ballerinas. Finsbury Park is a place in London, England, at the junction of the London Boroughs of Islington, Haringey and Hackney. ... Part of the London skyline viewed from the South Bank London is the most populous city in the European Union, with an estimated population on 1 January 2005 of 7,500,000 and a metropolitan area population of between 12 and 14 million. ... The Waltz of the Snowflakes from Tchaikovskys The Nutcracker Ballet is the name given to a specific dance form and technique. ... An impresario is a manager or producer in one of the entertainment industries, usually music or theatre. ... Sergei Pavlovich Diaghilev (Сергей Павлович Дягилев) (March 19, 1872 – August 19, 1929), often known as Serge, was a Russian ballet impresario and founder of the Ballets Russes from which many famous dancers and choreographers would later arise. ... The ballet company Ballets Russes created a sensation in Western Europe in the early years of the 20th century, due to the great vitality of Russian ballet, as compared with what was current in France at the time. ... Monte Carlo is a very wealthy section of the city-state of Monaco known for its casino, gambling, beaches, glamour, and sightings of famous people. ... A satellite composite image of Europe Europe is the worlds second-smallest continent in terms of area, covering around 10,790,000 km² (4,170,000 sq mi) or 2. ...

Following the death of Diaghilev in 1929, Markova returned to England where she helped launch The Ballet Club (later Ballet Rambert), the Vic Wells Ballet (which ultimately became the Royal Ballet) and the Markova-Dolin Ballet (with Anton Dolin). 1929 (MCMXXIX) was a common year starting on Tuesday (link will take you to calendar). ... The Ballet Rambert, now Rambert Dance Company, is a dance company founded in 1926 by Dame Marie Rambert at the Mercury Theatre in London, later moving to a base in Chiswick, West London. ... The Royal Ballet, which is based at the Royal Opera House in Covent Garden, London, is the leading ballet company in the United Kingdom. ... Anton Dolin was the stage name of Sydney Francis Patrick Healey-Kay (1904–1983), an English ballet dancer and choreographer. ...

Markova appeared in ballets around the world, but is remembered mostly for her Giselle, as well as for The Dying Swan and Les Sylphides. During the Second World War she re-formed Les Ballets Russes in the United States and also appeared in Hollywood movies. Giselle, danced to familiar music by the French ballet and opera composer Adolphe Adam, and choreographed by Jean Coralli and Jules Perrot, is a Romantic-era ballet first danced in Paris in 1841. ... Les Sylphides is a short, non-narrative ballet choreographed by Michel Fokine to music by Frédéric Chopin. ... Mushroom cloud from the nuclear explosion over Nagasaki rising 18 km into the air. ... ...

Markova founded her own company, Festival Ballet (now English National Ballet), in 1950. She retired from active dancing in 1963. After being created a Dame, she became a teacher and travelled the world directing ballet companies. English National Ballet is one of the leading ballet companies in the United Kingdom. ... 1950 (MCML) was a common year starting on Sunday (link will take you to calendar). ... 1963 (MCMLXIII) was a common year starting on Tuesday (link will take you to calendar). ... The British honours system is a means of rewarding individuals personal bravery, achievement or service to the United Kingdom. ...

Some time after suffering a stroke, Dame Alicia died on 2 December 2004 in a hospital in Bath, Somerset, one day after her 94th birthday. A stroke or cerebrovascular accident (CVA) occurs when the blood supply to a part of the brain is suddenly interrupted. ... December 2 is the 336th day (337th in leap years) of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... 2004 (MMIV) was a leap year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ... The Palladian-style Pulteney Bridge and the weir at Bath Bath is a city in South West England most famous for its baths fed by three hot springs. ... Somerset is a county in the south-west of England. ...

See also: List of British Jews Although the first Jews may have arrived in Britain with the Romans, it wasnt until the arrival of William the Conqueror in 1066 that organized Jewish communities first appeared. ...

References

• Alicia Markova and Anton Dolin: a legend of British ballet : a collection of portraits / with foreword by Peter Williams
• Alicia Markova / Hugh Fisher
• Markova: a collection of photographic studies by Gordon Anthony / foreword by Ninette de Valois
• Markova: her life and art / Anton Dolin

External links

• Images of Alicia Markova
• ballet.co - Legend
• Dame Alicia Markova Obituary

Pictures

• The Ballerina Gallery - Alicia Markova