Dame Alicia Markova
(born December 1, 1910,
London
, England?died December 2, 2004, Bath) was an English ballerina noted for the
ethereal
lightness and poetic delicacy of her dancing.
Markova studied with Serafima Astafieva and
Enrico Cecchetti
and, after her debut at age 14 with
Serge Diaghilev
’s
Ballets Russes
, was soon dancing leading roles. In 1931 she joined the Vic-Wells Ballet (now the
Royal Ballet
) and was both its first prima ballerina (1933?35) and the first English dancer to
dance
the lead in
Giselle
and the full-length
Swan Lake
. Markova appeared as a ballerina of the
Ballet Rambert
,
Ballet Russe de Monte-Carlo
, and Ballet Theatre (now the
American Ballet Theatre
) and as a guest artist with the
Metropolitan Opera
. With Anton Dolin she founded the Markova-Dolin Ballet (1935) and Festival Ballet (1950; now the
English National Ballet
).
In addition to
Giselle
, her favourite role, and
Swan Lake
, Markova
excelled
in
Les Sylphides
, as Taglioni (to whom she has been compared) in the Dolin
Pas de quatre
, and as the Sugar Plum Fairy in
The Nutcracker
. A versatile artist, she shone not only in the classics but also in early jazz ballets, in
Leonide Massine’s
symphonic
Rouge et noir
(1939), as a Gypsy in
Aleko
(1942), as Juliet in
Antony Tudor’s
Romeo and Juliet
(1943), and in
Ruth Page’s
Vilea
(1953).
In 1963 she retired from the stage, was appointed director of the Metropolitan Ballet in
New York City
(a post she held until 1969), and was created Dame of the
British Empire
. Markova, in retirement as a dancer, taught, coached, lectured, and occasionally staged traditional ballets for various companies.