Alicia Markova
British ballerina, choreographer, director and teacher of classical ballet (1910-2004) / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Alicia Markova DBE (born Lilian Alicia Marks, 1 December 1910 – 2 December 2004) was an English ballerina and choreographer. She also directed and taught ballet. She was the first British dancer to become the prima ballerina of a ballet company.[1]
Dame Alicia Markova DBE | |
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Born | Lilian Alicia Marks (1910-12-01)1 December 1910 |
Died | 2 December 2004(2004-12-02) (aged 94) Bath, Somerset, England, UK |
Nationality | British |
Occupation | Ballerina |
Title | Prima ballerina assoluta and theatre company director |
Markova was born and raised in London. She was a founder dancer of the Ballet Rambert (1931/5), the Vic-Wells Ballet (193/5), Markova-Dolin Company (1935/8), danced for the American Ballet Theatre (1941/5), and was co-founder and director of the English National Ballet. She toured with Dolin after the war until 1949. Her last period as a dancer came with the London Festival Ballet, which became the English National Ballet. She retired from professional dancing in January 1963 at fifty-two.
Markova died at ninety-four in Bath, Somerset, of a stroke.