Article Date: 05th Feb 2010
Article Title: Famous Ballerinas

The last couple of centuries have seen people progress in science and technology, but tradition has not been left behind. Ballet is enduringly popular and famous prima ballerinas continue to inspire young dancers everywhere.

Anna Pavlova is known as one of the most popular and well known ballerinas in history. She was born in Russia in 1881 and rose to fame during the late 19th century. Anna Pavlova became the first dancer to tour around the world as a ballerina, and was most famous for her role in The Dying Swan, a role that she herself created.

She is also credited with the creation of modern pointe ballet shoes. As she had rather high arches and quite slender feet, a lot of pressure was put on her toes when she dances on pointe. Because of this, she modified her pointe shoes with hardened leather soles to provide her dainty feet with extra support. She also created what is now known as the ‘box’ in the toe area of pointe ballet shoes by flattening the base of the shoe so that it would support her toes more. Modern day pointe ballet shoes are now all made in this way.

Pavlova died of pleurisy whilst touring in the Netherlands. She is said to have requested her Dying Swan costume just before she died, her dedication to dance lasting until the very end.

A modern day prima ballerina, who is well known the world over, is Darcey Bussell. Born in 1969, she started her career with the Royal Ballet School based in London in the 1980’s but became well known in the 1990’s. She was one of the youngest dancers to be promoted to a principal role in a Royal Ballet School production.
She was best known for leading roles in Sleeping Beauty, Swan Lake and The Nutcracker.

While she gained international fame from her ballet career, she also went on to model for famous magazines like Harpers and Queen (now known as Harpers Bazaar), and Tatler.

A lot of her post ballerina career has been centred on the world of dance and entertainment. She has appeared on numerous television shows and advertisements and has invested in quite a few business ventures. Darcy has also made quite a name for herself in childrens literature with a series of books about a ballerina with magic ballet shoes.

There have been many famous ballerinas throughout history, Anna Pavlova and Darcey Bussel are just two of them, and although they remain two of the most famous prima ballerinas to date, there are many more rising stars that could join them place in the history books.

Anna Pavlova herself is said to have thought that the United States would produce the best ballerina in history because of all the different cultures that have come together there. Only time will tell if she is right, but for now girls the world over slip into their pink satin ballet shoes and train hard for their place in the world of ballet.