Anna Pavlovna Pavlova. Biographical note. Anna Pavlova is an amazing ballerina - history in photos

Russian ballerina, teacher, stage director Anna Pavlovna (according to other sources, Matveevna) Pavlova was born on February 12 (January 31 according to the old style), 1881 in St. Petersburg in the family of a soldier and a laundress. According to some sources, she was illegitimate daughter Jewish banker.

In 1891 she entered the ballet department of the St. Petersburg Theater School (now the Vaganova Academy of Russian Ballet), where she studied with Ekaterina Vazem and Pavel Gerdt.

In 1899, after graduating from the Pavlova College, she was accepted into the corps de ballet troupe of the Imperial Ballet. Mariinsky Theater.

She made her debut in a small role in the ballet " A futile precaution", then in "La Bayadère" by Ludwig Minkus. In 1903, she was entrusted with the part of Giselle in the ballet of the same name by Adolphe Adam, where the young ballerina was able to amaze the audience with the depth of the psychological interpretation of the image and the beauty of the dance. Following this success, Pavlova received the main roles in "Naiad and fisherman" by Caesar Pugni, "Paquita" by Edouard Deldevez, "Corsair" by Adana, "Don Quixote" by Ludwig Minkus.

In 1906, Anna Pavlova became a ballerina on the Imperial Stage.

The individuality of the ballerina, the style of her dance, the soaring jump prompted her partner, the future famous choreographer Mikhail Fokin, to create Chopiniana (1907) to the music of Fryderyk Chopin - a stylization in the spirit of the engraving of the Romantic era that came to life. In this ballet she danced the Mazurka and the Seventh Waltz with Vaslav Nijinsky. The artist Valentin Serov immortalized Pavlova's flying arabesque on a poster for the first "Russian Seasons" in Paris (1909).

All-Russian fame was brought to the ballerina by a tour with the Fokine troupe in Moscow in 1907. For her, Fokine staged a concert (later "The Dying Swan") to the music of Camille Saint-Saens, which later became poetic symbol Russian choreography and the ballerina herself.

Pavlova also in 1907 danced Fokine's productions of The Pavilions of Armida to music by Nikolai Tcherepnin and Egyptian Nights to music by Anton Arensky.

On January 23, 1931, Anna Pavlova died in The Hague (Netherlands). Her ashes were buried at Golders Green Cemetery near her Ivy House in London.

For a long time, Anna Pavlova had a personal relationship with the mining engineer Viktor Dandre, who in 1910 was accused by the authorities of St. Petersburg of embezzlement of funds allocated for the construction of the Okhtinsky bridge. Anna Pavlova had to pay bail to be released from prison. Despite a written undertaking not to leave, Dandre fled Russia and lived without a passport for many years. Abroad, Dandre became an impresario and administrator of a ballerina troupe. In 1932, Dandre's book "Anna Pavlova. Life and Legend" was published in London.

The ballerina is dedicated to artistic and documentaries"Anna Pavlova" (1983 and 1985). French choreographer Roland Petit staged the ballet "My Pavlova".

At the Ivy House, which currently houses the London Jewish Cultural Center, the hall of the first floor has been turned into a memorial museum of the ballerina. Two monuments to Anna Pavlova have been erected on the territory of Ivy House - one is located by the lake, the other, representing a ballerina in the guise of a dragonfly, is near the terrace of her house.

The prize of the St. Petersburg International Ballet Prize Dance Open - a crystal pointe, created in 1913 by the artist Boris Fredman-Kluzel from the ballerina Anna Pavlova, is one of the respected awards of ballet art.

The material was prepared on the basis of information from RIA Novosti and open sources

Biography and episodes of life Anna Pavlova. When born and died Anna Pavlova, memorable places and dates important events her life. ballerina quotes, Photo and video.

Years of life of Anna Pavlova:

born January 31, 1881, died January 23, 1931

Epitaph

"Wait a minute,
Running relentlessly
To bow to the one
What was called Anna.
From a poem by Eric Willis in memory of Anna Pavlova (translated by T. Yufit)

Biography

She devoted her life to ballet and became famous all over the world. Surprisingly, her first teachers were sure that the girl was not made for a difficult ballet school, but Anna managed to prove to everyone that if you work hard and live what you love, success is inevitable. Biography of Anna Pavlova - life story great woman, whose name is known to any ballet fan.

As a child, Pavlova's life was not easy - she did not even know who her father was, and her mother could barely make ends meet. But despite the difficult situation, once, in order to please her daughter, Pavlova's mother took her to the Sleeping Beauty at the Mariinsky Theater. Later, in her autobiography, Pavlova recalled that she froze from the very first notes - the ballet fascinated her. That evening, she realized what she wanted to do for the rest of her life. The first who saw talent in Pavlova was the great choreographer Marius Petipa: "A fluff in the wind - it will fly on stage." Immediately after graduating from college, Pavlova was accepted into the Mariinsky Theater, which once decided her fate, and soon became its leading dancer. When she first performed the miniature "Swan" ("The Dying Swan") at a charity evening, she could not even guess that these 130 seconds of dance would later become a symbol of Russian ballet. The composer Camille Saint-Saens himself, the author of the Carnival of the Animals suite, the play from which The Swan was staged, wished to meet Pavlova in order to make a confession: “Madame, thanks to you I realized that I wrote wonderful music!”. World fame Pavlova came to life with her participation in the Russian Seasons, which was staged in Paris by Sergei Diaghilev, a Russian theater figure. Soon Anna went on tour around the world with her own troupe. When did a revolution take place in Russia, and then began Civil War, Pavlova decided not to return to her homeland.

By the time Pavlova finally moved abroad, she already had a loved one, Victor Dandre. Pavlova had loved him for a long time, but the rich man and aristocrat did not reciprocate her love. When Dandre got into trouble and lost all his money, Pavlova, according to rumors, decided to sign a contract with the New York theater. She rescued her beloved from prison, and he finally saw in her loving woman and also sincerely loved her. Pavlova and Dandre bought a house in the suburbs of London, in the pond of which white swans swam, one of which, named Jack, was always waiting for his mistress from her long tour.

The Russian ballerina toured tirelessly. During her life, Anna Pavlova traveled almost the whole world, visiting America, China, Japan, India, the Philippines and even Australia. The costumes for her performances were created by the most famous artists, women imitated her manner of dressing, and her fees were fabulous. And she continued to yearn for Russia. And although she could not return there, she constantly sent money to troupes Russian theaters and food for starving compatriots.

Pavlova's death came during her next tour - in The Hague. Pavlova's cause of death was pneumonia. The funeral of Anna Pavlova took place in London - first, the funeral of Pavlova's body took place in the Russian church, then it was burned in the London crematorium. Pavlova's grave, in accordance with her will, was to be in Russia. But the husband prevented the execution of the will of the ballerina, stating, however, that he was not against the burial of Pavlova in his homeland, if he was promised to create the proper conditions for this. One way or another, but the urn with the ashes of Pavlova is still kept in the columbarium of the English crematorium.

Miniature "The Dying Swan" performed by Pavlova has become a classic of world ballet

life line

January 31, 1881 Date of birth of Anna Pavlovna (Matveevna) Pavlova.
1889 Graduated from the Imperial Theater School, joined the troupe of the Mariinsky Theatre.
1906 Lead dancer of the troupe.
1907 The first performance of Pavlova's miniature "Swan", which later became one of the symbols of Russian ballet.
1909 Participation of Pavlova in the "Russian Seasons" in Paris.
1910 Pavlova's tours abroad with her own troupe.
1913 Last performance Pavlova at the Mariinsky Theatre.
1914 Pavlova's last performance in Russia.
1921-1925 US tour, performance in India.
January 23, 1931 Date of Pavlova's death.
January 29, 1931 Pavlova's funeral.

Memorable places

1. Ligovo, where Pavlova was born.
2. Pavlova's house in St. Petersburg, where she lived in 1910 and where Pavlova's memorial plaque is installed today. Italian street, 5.
3. Pavlova's house in London (Ive House), where she lived in 1912-1931.
4. Academy of Russian Ballet named after A. Ya. Vaganova (former Imperial Theater School), where Pavlova studied.
5. Mariinsky Theatre, in whose troupe Pavlova danced.
6. The Metropolitan Opera in New York, with which Pavlova worked under a contract.
7. Theater Chatelet in Paris, where Pavlova performed while participating in the Russian Seasons.
8. Golders Green Crematorium in London, where Pavlova is buried (the urn with the ashes is kept in the columbarium of the crematorium).

Episodes of life

Anna Pavlova was friends with Charlie Chaplin. It was rumored that the great comedian and director was in love with a ballerina and dreamed of proposing to her, but did not dare. When they met, Chaplin booked an entire restaurant for Pavlova. He also acted as a consultant to the ballerina when she needed to have her numbers recorded on film.

Dying, Pavlova asked everyone to leave the room, only the maid remained with her. The ballerina nodded to the girl at the dress she had recently bought from a fashionable Parisian couturier and said: “I wish I had spent this money on my children.” Pavlova never had children, she talked about Russian orphaned girls, whom she had taken for a long time. She organized a women's shelter in Saint-Cloud, placing the children in a mansion. Since most of her earnings went to give the girls not just shelter and food, but also education. She also made sure that each of her pupils could get a decent job after leaving the orphanage.

When Anna Pavlova's death became known on January 23, the Apollo Theater in London decided to honor her honor during the performance. The lights were turned off in the hall, and the spotlight beam in the dark to the music of Saint-Saens drew the path that the ballerina was making in her miniature "The Dying Swan". The whole hall silently stood up - the whole world already knew about the death of the great ballerina.

Covenant

"If you pursue the same goal, you are sure to discover the secret of success."

Documentary film in memory of Anna Pavlova from the cycle "Life and Legends"

condolences

“If we watch her famous recording of The Dying Swan, we can, of course, notice that now the ballerinas are more technical, perhaps even more beautiful, they look different ... But the awe that was inherent in Anna Pavlova, I think , today there is not a single ballerina. Even among the greatest and most famous. She managed to convey both the era and some kind of spiritual internal state in your dance. And I am sure that any ballerina, having looked at her recordings today and comparing them with her dance, will understand that something is still missing. And this “something” is something elusive, some inner strength, which was inherent only to this ballerina. So, despite all the progress, there is something inexplicable in the dance of the people of the past, which, unfortunately, we may no longer find ... "
Evgenia Obraztsova, ballerina

"The art of Anna Pavlova was born and died with her - to dance like Pavlova, you had to be Pavlova."
Andrei Levinson, ballet critic

"Pavlova managed to raise the live dance to a height where only the spirit usually soars."
Marina Tsvetaeva, poetess

Ballerina, posters for which were drawn by Valentin Serov himself. The main face of the Russian Seasons in Paris. The most mysterious dancer of the twentieth century.

Biography, the authenticity of which was known only to the ballerina herself. Matveevna or Pavlovna? The daughter of a retired soldier of the Preobrazhensky regiment, Matvey Pavlov, or a major Moscow banker, Lazar Polyakov? The great dancer wrote an autobiography, but more and more not about the fact that she was born in the holiday village of Ligovo near St. Petersburg, and her childhood, the main impression of which was trips to the Mariinsky Theater. Anna Pavlova wrote about the main thing in her life - the revived inspiration, whose name is ballet.

Nine-year-old Anya seemed to wake up after the premiere of "Sleeping Beauty" directed by Petipa. A shy and naturally soft girl, almost for the first time, expressed firm decision- Dedicate your life to dance.

Hunched back, anemia, fragile health. The Imperial Ballet School could not have imagined that this “delicate flower” would survive in the harsh ballet school. “Fluff, lightness, wind,” said the famous Marius Petipa at the screening. The commission enrolled the girl, and she became a favorite student of teachers Ekaterina Vazem and Alexander Oblakov. Ekaterina Ottovna gave cod liver oil to drink, achieved firm legs and "talking" hands.

“A dancer is born. No teacher will work a miracle, no years of study will make a good dancer out of a mediocre student. You can acquire certain technical skills, but no one can ever "acquire exceptional talent." I never consoled myself with the fact that I have an unusually gifted student. Pavlova has one teacher - God.

George Balanchine

The first appearance on the stage of the Mariinsky Theater was already in the second year of study in divertissement and small variations. Anna Pavlova was inferior in technique to Matilda Kshesinskaya, Olga Preobrazhenskaya, Tamara Karsavina. But in jumps and arabesques with unpredictable improvisation, the fragile ballerina had no equal.

The graduation performance became a pass to big stage. Almost immediately, Pavlova received solo parts in Sleeping Beauty, Esmeralda, and Giselle. The young ballerina worked with Marius Petipa, who so favorably accepted the first performance in public - in front of the selection committee.

Anna Pavlova. Photo: marieclaire.ru

Anna Pavlova in the ballet La Sylphide. Photo: radical.ru

Anna Pavlova. Photo: images.aif.ru

The aspiring artist was not afraid to argue with the master. In the ballet "Vain Precaution" Pavlova suggested that Petipa replace the usual crinoline skirt with a tunic below the ankles and received consent. “It was courage on my part: custom did not allow any liberties with a skirt since the time of the most famous Camargo - Voltaire's favorite!” - the ballerina later recalled.

“Pavlova is a cloud hovering above the earth,” the press wrote. And the dancer only struck again and again. She seemed to float across the stage in her most poignant role. Swan. The image that gave the ballerina immortality. Choreographer Nikolai Fokin set the miniature to the music of Saint-Saens. Literally offhand. Anna turned serenity into tragedy. The untimely death of a graceful creature, and like a wound - a ruby ​​brooch.

“The charm of her personality was so great that in whatever dance Pavlova appeared, she made an indelible impression on the audience. This, to a certain extent, explains the fact that her repertoire consisted of performances in which there was nothing innovative. Pavlova did not set out to create something sensational - she herself was a sensation, although she was hardly aware of it.

Lavrenty Novikov, stage partner

“Madame, thanks to you, I realized that I wrote beautiful music!” - exclaimed Saint-Saens, seeing the "Dying Swan". The dance became a symbol of the Russian seasons, and Anna Pavlova, in the image of the Swan by Valentin Serov, became the emblem of the world-famous enterprise. It took the artist 11 sessions to create the famous poster. The ballerina almost every minute froze in the arabesque, so that the painter caught the fleeting movement and conveyed it on paper.

The European public was able to appreciate the similarity thanks again to Pavlova. It was at the suggestion of the already recognized ballerina at that time that Diaghilev added ballet to opera performances in the Russian Seasons. The impresario doubted that the French would like Russian ballet art. Nose light hand Pavlova, whose participation in the tour was separately stipulated in the contract, the ballet nevertheless became integral part Seasons.

The last time the audience at the Mariinsky saw Pavlova's performance was in 1913, a year later she settled in England. During the First World War, the ballerina arranged performances in favor of the Red Cross, and in post-war years proceeds from performances at the Metropolitan Opera were sent to Russia for needy artists in Moscow and St. Petersburg.

“How I always regretted that I could not sketch her dance! It was something unique. She just lived in it, you can't say otherwise. She was the very soul of the dance. But the soul is hardly expressible in words!

Natalya Trukhanova, ballerina

The world accepted the great ballerina not only as part of the Russian Seasons. Anna Pavlova with her troupe brought classical ballet to the most remote corners of the world: Egypt, China, Japan, Burma, the Philippines, proving with her whole life that love for art knows no bounds.

The Dutch bred a variety of tulips in honor of Anna Pavlova, the Mexicans threw a sombrero at their feet as a sign of admiration, the Indians showered lotus flowers, in Australia a cake was named after the amazing dancer, in the Netherlands - one of the planes. The sophisticated Russian ballerina dictated style to European fashionistas. A la Pavlova: exquisite satin and manila shawls with tassels. But there is a unique image ...

"Prepare my Swan costume!" - According to the legend, last words great Anna Pavlova. The ballerina died in The Hague, although all her life she wanted to live "somewhere in Russia."

A fragile girl who was not wanted to be taken to a ballet school, Anna Pavlova in her time - and, perhaps, today - is the most famous ballerina in the world. Pavlova was the first dancer to organize world ballet tours. Her image has become synonymous with Russian ballet of the 20th century. And most famous role the prima's repertoire included a sensual 130-second miniature "The Dying Swan" to the music of Camille Saint-Saens.

was born on February 12, 1881 in the village of Ligovo near St. Petersburg. Despite the fact that the mother of the future ballerina, Lyubov Fedorovna, raised Anna on her own and did not have sufficient funds, she still tried to please her daughter as much as possible. And then one day, when Anna was 8 years old, her mother took her to the Mariinsky Theater for the ballet Sleeping Beauty. The girl, who had an innate subtle sense of beauty, instantly fell in love with the art of ballet and realized that she wanted to become a ballerina.

Lyubov Fedorovna supported her daughter's desire, but Anna was too young to enter the ballet department of the St. Petersburg Theater School, so she was accepted there only two years later. And at first, she did not inspire much hope for many teachers, as she was too fragile, which gave her a sickly look. But she lived in ballet and did everything possible to achieve perfection.

During her studies, Anna differed from other students with her slender body and long legs. Today, such a figure would only play into the hands of a modern ballerina, but in Pavlova's time, classical dancers were small and had a more compact body. Despite her innate talent, classical ballet was difficult for Pavlova, as she had weak ankles and very inflexible legs. In the end, she solved this problem by adding a piece of hard wood to the sole for durability. This helped her get on pointe shoes, as it reduced pain.

Nikolay Legat and Anna Pavlova

At the age of 18 she graduated from a ballet school, and was accepted into the corps de ballet of the Mariinsky Theater. Soon more responsible parties began to trust her. Pavlova danced in such classical ballets like The Nutcracker, The Little Humpbacked Horse, Raymonda, La Bayadère and Giselle. And after 7 years of work at the Mariinsky in 1906, she became the leading ballerina of the theater.

Had a huge impact on Anna Pavlova founder of the romantic ballet Mikhail Fokin. She danced in his ballets "Chopiniana", "Pavilion of Armida" and "Egyptian Nights". But their main joint work was the choreographic miniature The Dying Swan, first presented in 1907 at a charity evening at the Mariinsky Theatre.

This image was born from Fokine and Pavlova literally out of thin air. Mikhail Fokin invented for Anna a concert number to the music of Saint-Saens in just a few minutes, improvising with her. Thus was born the image of a swan floating smoothly on the water. Subsequently, this role became a symbol of the Russian ballet of the twentieth century.

« Pavlova is a cloud hovering above the earth, Pavlova is a flame that flickers and dies, it is autumn leaf, driven by a gust of icy wind ... ", - wrote one of the critics.

Choreography by Mikhail Fokin, music by Saint-Saens and performance Anna Pavlova created a role filled with the agony of the last flight of a swan. The audience was captivated by gentle movements Pavlova and a tense expression on her face when the ballerina tried to convey in the dance all the fragility of life. It was the role of "The Dying Swan" that became the crown in the repertoire Pavlova and made her famous all over the world.

Anna Pavlova's only entry

Glory Pavlova grew. In 1909, the ballerina took part in the Russian Season campaign by Sergei Diaghilev in Paris, after which she became his symbol, and about Anna Pavlova known to the whole world. A year later, the ballerina created her own troupe and went on a tour of the main cities of Europe, including Berlin, Copenhagen and Prague. For 20 years she toured all over the world, also covering the UK and the USA. She especially loved Australia, which she visited quite often, influencing the Australian dance culture in many ways. Exactly Pavlova inspired Frederick Ashton, who later became a dancer and principal choreographer at the Royal Ballet School in London.

“Flexible, graceful, musical, with a full of life and fire facial expressions, she surpasses everyone with her amazing airiness. How quickly and magnificently this bright, versatile talent flourished, ”the press spoke of the ballerina in this way.

In 1912, she bought the Ivy House in London, where she spent her few vacations. She was very fond of animals and birds, so there were many of them in her estate. Two beautiful white swans were especially pleasing to the eye of the ballerina. Last performance Anna Pavlova Petersburg took place in 1913, after which the ballerina never returned to Russia.

Talent is a gift, and hard work is a choice. she knew this very well, and if one half of her life was spent under the bright lights of the stage, then the other half was behind the stage, in daily training near the barre. She knew that without self-cultivation, she would never become a great ballerina. “I owe my success to continuous work and my worthy teachers,” she wrote in the book “Pages of My Life”. Thanks to relentless exhausting workouts, a great ballerina was born, eclipsing the entire dance world.

In 1983 about life Anna Pavlova A five-part TV movie directed by Emil Loteanu was filmed. The plot of this picture covers the life of a ballerina from the moment she first met ballet and until last day life.

Galina Belyaeva as Anna Pavlova

Exhausted by tours and the constant stress of performances, she died on January 23, 1931 in The Hague from pneumonia. The ballerina was 49 years old. According to the legend, her last words before her death were addressed to her dresser: “Prepare my swan costume!”.

Unlike many other ballerinas, she did not leave behind an heiress. And this is not because the prima did not want to share her skills with anyone, on the contrary, she even had her own ballet school in England, and she always devoted all her free time and love to her students. Simply, as critic Andrei Levinson said: "Her art was born and died with her - to dance like Pavlova, you had to be Pavlova."

"An artist must know all about love and learn to live without it."
Anna Pavlova

She was called "Divine" and "Delightful". She was said to be " White Swan”and even “Swan Fairy”. One girl wrote to her parents: “Remember, you said: the one who sees the fairy will be happy all his life. I saw a living fairy - her name is Anna Pavlova.

Brilliant Russian ballerina Anna Pavlova became a legend during her lifetime. Journalists competed with each other in writing stories about her. She read myths about herself in the newspapers - and laughed. Legends surround her name to this day.

She never spoke about her personal life, in which there was a single man. Her whole life - true, real, known and open to everyone - was in dance. And she managed to die before she left the stage ...

The most famous ballerina of the past century, Anna Pavlova (1881-1931), whose life was completely devoted to ballet, about which there were many rumors and legends, wished to keep everything that did not concern her work a secret. Nothing was known about her personal life. And only after her death did the world learn about the beautiful and tragic history love, the secret of which the legendary ballerina kept in her heart for thirty long years.

Anna Pavlova was born on January 31 (February 12), 1881. Her father died very early, and the girl was raised by her mother. Although they lived in constant poverty, Lyubov Feodorovna, moonlighting as a laundress, tried to brighten up the difficult childhood of "beloved Nyura". On the name day and Christmas, the girl was always waiting for gifts brought by a caring, generous hand, and when Anna turned eight, her mother took her to the Mariinsky Theater to the ballet Sleeping Beauty.

So the future dancer fell in love with this art forever, and two years later the thin and sickly girl was admitted to the ballet department of the St. Petersburg Theater School. Eight years later, Pavlova became the leading actress of the Mariinsky Theatre, and after her stunning success as Nikiya in La Bayadère, she was already called the first soloist of the Mariinsky Theater.

Newspapers wrote about the novice ballerina with delight: “Flexible, musical, with a mimicry full of life and fire, she surpasses everyone with her amazing airiness. When Pavlova plays and dances, there is a special mood in the theater.”

She had admirers, men made dates for her, gave gifts, but Anna rejected everyone, and sent generous gifts back to bewildered suitors. She was proud, sensual and unpredictable. “I am a nun of art. Personal life? This is a theater, theater, theater, ”Pavlova did not get tired of repeating.

However, the girl was lying. It was at that time that an incomprehensible, still unknown feeling flared up in the heart of a young ballerina. Relatives knew that she spent all her free time with the rich, handsome Victor Dandre (1870-1944). The new acquaintance came from an aristocratic family belonging to an old noble family. He held a high post of adviser in the Senate, was well educated, owned several foreign languages and took a great interest in art. To patronize an aspiring ballerina, as members of the imperial family did before him, seemed prestigious to Victor.

The young entrepreneur became the patron of the young artist, which, however, was quite fashionable at that time. However, Victor did not even think of marrying her. He rented an apartment for Pavlova, equipped one of the rooms for a dance hall, which was an unaffordable luxury for a young ballerina at that time. Each time, meeting the girl after the performance, Victor presented her with luxurious gifts, took her to expensive restaurants, invited her to the company of wealthy, intelligent and famous people, and in the evening he brought her to the apartment, where he often remained as the owner until the morning.

But the more she got to know Pavlova's new acquaintance, the more clearly she understood that Dandre did not need her at all, but unequal marriage with a modest girl is impossible for him. And she left him, preferring loneliness to the humiliating position of a kept woman. “At first I struggled,” Pavlova recalled, “beginning with grief just to revel, wanting to prove something to him!” And then, once again following her motto, she returned to work.

She trained again, toured with her favorite theater troupe and danced eight to ten times a week. At that time, another meeting took place in her fate, which changed a lot in the life of a famous dancer. Great choreographer Fokine set for her to the music of Camille Saint-Saens "The Dying Swan", which forever became the ballerina's crown number and flew around the world. Much later, when the composer met Pavlova, he, delighted with her performance, exclaimed: “Madam, thanks to you, I realized that I wrote amazing music!”

In 1907 the Mariinsky Theater went on tour to Stockholm. It was after these tours in Europe that they first started talking about the brilliant young ballerina, whose performances were such a rapid success that even Emperor Oscar II, admiring Pavlova's talent, handed her the Order of Merit for Art in parting. The enthusiastic crowd greeted the ballerina with a standing ovation. “I was greeted with a whole storm of applause and enthusiastic shouts. I didn’t know what to do, ”recalled Anna Pavlova. It was a real triumph. Anna became famous, she had money, she could already afford a lot. The ballerina tried not to remember Victor.

In the meantime, things were not going well for Dandre. Having turned an unsuccessful deal, the entrepreneur owed a huge amount, which he failed to repay in due time. He went to jail without finding large sum money that was required to post bail and release him during a lengthy trial. Relatives could not raise funds, and rich friends turned their backs on an unfortunate partner. For Dandre began a difficult period of painful waiting behind bars in loneliness and doubt.

And Anna shone already in Paris. Sergei Diaghilev, who discovered Russian in the French capital ballet theater, having invited Pavlova and Vaslav Nijinsky there, did not miscalculate. They started talking about the Russian theater, people from high society, people from all over Europe came to see the Russian ballerina, the theater was invited to Australia and America.

The future seemed so enticing and bright. However, Pavlova unexpectedly left Paris and headed for London. A few months later, Diaghilev learned that his favorite soloist had signed a contract with the famous Braff theater agency, under which she had to dance twice a day in three countries - England, Scotland, Ireland. For this, the dancer received an advance payment - an impressive amount for those times.

She immediately sent the collected money to Russia to release Victor from prison. A few days later, in 1911, he left St. Petersburg and went abroad. “In Paris, I decided that I couldn’t live without Dandre. I immediately called him to my place, ”Pavlova recalled. - We got married in a church, under a secret. He's mine, only mine, and I adore him."

With Victor Dandre

Their marriage was kept secret long years. Victor kept his promise given on the wedding day to Anna. He swore to keep silent about their union. The former patron responded to generosity with a strong feeling that flared up in his heart so as not to fade away until the last days.

When the contract came to an end, Anna decided to organize her own theater and recruited a troupe of artists. So the former prima of the Mariinsky Theater became the mistress of a small theater. That same year she bought luxurious mansion near London, on the shores of the purest lake, where white swans swam and exotic plants grew around, brought by a ballerina from different parts of the world. It seemed that the fate of the spouses did not depend on anyone else.

Pavlova in his mansion in London

Victor took care of all household chores, the duties of an accountant and a manager. He answered correspondence, conducted business and personal negotiations, organized tours, oversaw costumes and scenery, hired and fired actors. However, Pavlova increasingly expressed displeasure. She reproached her husband, scandalized, shouted, broke dishes and cried.

After long tantrums and tears, the ballerina's spouses reconciled, and it seemed that nothing threatened their family idyll again. Again, Victor solved all his wife's problems, and Anna ran around the house and theatrically shouted to the maid: “Who dared to clean his shoes? Who in my house dares to make tea for him? It's my business!"

However, the emotional and temperamental Pavlova could immediately change her mood and rush at Victor with new insults. Friends who often witnessed these quarrels later asked Dandre how he could endure all this and why he did not leave Anna. He was silent. Apparently, he had his own reasons for this, known only to the two of them.

He idolized her, thanking her for her generosity and generosity. She could not forget him a long-standing offense inflicted in his youth. Whether she forgave him, we are unlikely to ever know. But there was no doubt about the sincerity of Victor Dandre's feelings. When his wife died on January 23, 1931 from pneumonia, just a few days before her fiftieth birthday, Victor, broken by grief, for a long time could not return to normal life.

He did not want to believe that Pavlova was no more. Created a fan club famous wife, Victor Dandre wanted only one thing - to great ballerina The 20th century was remembered for many years. Unfortunately, the club did not manage to exist for a long time. Nevertheless, the name of the Russian ballerina, the legendary Anna Pavlova, entered the history of world ballet forever.