Alicia Markova

Lilian Alicia Marks was born to Arthur and Eileen Marks in Finsbury Park, London. She and her four sisters spent a lot of time with their paternal great-grandfather, Abraham Marks, who worked in theater costuming, and the girls frequently wrote and produced their own plays and shows.

Serge Diaghilev discovered her when Alicia Markova was thirteen and encouraged her to join his Ballets Russes, which was performing in Monaco at the time. "Child Pavlovna" was her nickname. Many parts have to be created specifically for her due to her young age. Not only had she achieved a huge career milestone as a teenager, but she also had the opportunity to learn with Enricho Cecchetti. Diaghilev's name was changed from Lilian Marks to Alicia Markova. A Russian name was an advantage for a ballet dancer throughout much of the twentieth century.

Alicia Markova, hailed as the ultimate Giselle interpreter, was a catalytic modernizing force for both British and American dance. She began her career at a time when British ballet was in its infancy and was essential in the establishment of the country's first companies, Ballet Rambert and the Royal Ballet, as well as co-founding the English National Ballet. Markova, along with Dame Margot Fonteyn, is one of only two English dancers to be named prima ballerina assoluta.

Born: 1910
Died: 2004
Nationality: British