Pavlova is a superstar of the ballet world at the beginning of the 20th century, and she has made immeasurable contributions to ballet. Anna Pavlova Anna Pavlova was born on January 31, 1881 in St. Petersburg to a poor family. Her father was a peasant soldier and her mother was a washerwoman, so she lived in poverty. At the age of 10, Pavlova was admitted to the St. Petersburg Dance School, and after nine years of hard training, she entered the Ballet of the Mariinsky Theater and quickly rose to become the principal actress of the company. At this time, Russian ballet, on the one hand, inherited the great tradition laid down by Petipa and Ivanov in the 19th century, and on the other hand, marked by the creative activity of Fokine, entered a new period of change, which reached its glorious peak in the Gagilev "Russian Season". Pavlova, on the other hand, was firmly rooted in classical ballet, but also actively supported and participated in the new ballet reform movement. It is these factors that have shaped her artistic character and performance style. Pavlova has performed in numerous productions: Swan Lake, Sleeping Beauty, The Nutcracker, Raimunda, Dancing Girl, Giselle, Nymphs, Egyptian Nights and so on. Her performances are exquisite and lifelike; her artistic style is rigorous and serious, meticulous. A critic once analyzed the secret of her success in this way: "She trained and rehearsed all the time. She never stops because of the honors she receives." In 1909 Pavlova made her debut at the "Russian Season" in Paris and became a sensation in Paris and the world, and in 1910 she organized her own small ballet company and began touring the world. During her twenty years of traveling, she visited 44 countries, including China, Egypt, South Africa, Uruguay, Chile, Canada, Australia, Sweden, etc. She traveled 500,000 miles, performed thousands of shows to countless audiences, and wore out 2,000 pairs of pointe shoes a year. That's unimaginable, even in today's world of transportation.
Pavlova has made an immeasurable contribution to spreading and popularizing the art of ballet around the world. She not only promoted the birth and development of ballet in many countries and revitalized the dying ballet in some countries, but also influenced the destiny of many people with her extraordinary artistic charm. Such as the famous British choreographer Ashton is 14 years old in Ecuador to see Pavlova's performance, from then on will be determined to dedicate themselves to this noble art and become world-famous ballet masters.
Pavlova devoted her life to the art of ballet, and finally died in January 1931 in The Hague, the Netherlands, in preparation for the performance. At that time the Royal Ballet was performing, after learning of this tragic news, the orchestra conductor announced by Anna. Pavlova performs The Death of the Swan - the curtain opens, the orchestra plays Saint-Sa?ns, the stage is empty, only a beam of chasing light moving slowly. Pavlova is gone, but like an immortal swan she will always be remembered.
Ulanova (1910～1998)
Ulanova, Galina Sergeevna
Soviet ballerina, born in St. Petersburg on January 10, 1910, from a family of dancers, died in Moscow on March 21, 1998 at the age of 88 after a long illness. From 1919 to 1928 she studied at the Leningrad Dance School, where her mother and Vaganova were her main teachers. After graduation she worked as a principal dancer in the ballet companies of the Kirov Opera and Dance Theater (1928-1943) and the Bolshoi Ballet (1944-1960), and retired from rehearsal work in 1962. She visited China twice (1953, 1959) and performed all over the world, enjoying a high international reputation. Ulanova's dance is characterized by her lyrical and poetic style, delicate characterization, and her ability to express the complexity of characters. In her performances, dance technique, theater performance and gesture are blended together, but all of them are subordinated to the requirements of image creation. She opposes technique for technique's sake, and does not merely sculpt movements, but pursues the expression of the character's inner passion, making even difficult movements look natural and smooth, while every simple movement of daily life is performed with elegance and a sense of music. Her dance art gradually developed from general lyricism to profound tragedy, and the inner world of the characters in her later performances was even richer and more complex. Her representative plays are: "Bakhchisaray's Fountain of Tears", Ulanova's performance of "Death of a Swan", "Romeo and Juliet", "Cinderella", "Swan Lake", "Giselle", etc. Giselle's madness in a dance performance is widely recognized as the pinnacle of her tragic art. Her students, such as Maksimova, became famous ballet performers. For her outstanding contribution to the Soviet ballet, Ulanova was awarded the title of Hero of Socialist Labor of the USSR twice, the Lenin Prize and the State Prize of the USSR several times, and in 1951, she was awarded the title of People's Performer of the USSR. In 1951, she was awarded the title of People's Performer of the USSR. She was also the president of the jury of the 1st-6th Varna International Ballet Competition and the 1st Moscow International Ballet Competition.