Alicia Markova

Dame Alicia Markova DBE (1 December 1910 – 2 December 2004) was a British ballerina and a choreographer, director and teacher of classical ballet. Most noted for her career with Sergei Diaghilev's Ballets Russes and touring internationally, she was widely considered to be one of the greatest classical ballet dancers of the twentieth century. She was the first British dancer to become the principal dancer of a ballet company and, with Dame Margot Fonteyn, is one of only two English dancers to be recognised as a prima ballerina assoluta. Markova was a founder dancer of the Rambert Dance Company, The Royal Ballet and American Ballet Theatre, and was co-founder and director of the English National Ballet.

Early life and education Markova was born in London as Lilian Alicia Marks on 1 December 1910. Her father, Arthur, was Jewish by birth; her mother, Eileen (née Barry), converted to Judaism. She was the eldest of four daughters. The family lived in a two bedroom flat in Finsbury Park at the time of her birth, but settled at 7 Cascade Avenue in Muswell Hill in 1914.

Marks began to dance as a young child on medical advice to strengthen her weak limbs. Her father built a stage in the family's backgarden and she and her sisters performed in costumes they made. Age nine, Marks saw Anna Pavlova dance and persuaded her father to take her to meet the ballerina. She made her stage debut at age ten, performing the role of Salome in the pantomime Dick Whittington and His Cat, for which she was billed as Little Alicia, the child Pavlova.

In 1960, she collaborated with Indian classical dancer Ram Gopal to create a duet "Radha-Krishna" based on Hindu mythology, in which she danced as Radha, while he danced as Krishna. Today their collaboration is commemorated at the National Portrait Gallery, London where her bronze bust stands next to his portrait. In 1989, the Festival Ballet was renamed English National Ballet to reflect the company's role as Britain's only classical ballet company dedicated to touring ballets nationwide at an affordable price for audiences. Death Some time after suffering a stroke, Markova died on 2 December 2004 in a hospital in Bath, one day after her 94th birthday. She never married. A funeral service was held at Bath's Haycombe Crematorium. A memorial service of thanksgiving for her life and work was held at Westminster Abbey on 8 March 2005.

Awards and honours

1957 - Dance Magazine Award 1957 - Woman of the Year Award (American Women's Organisation) 1958 - CBE, Commander of the Order of the British Empire 1963 - DBE, Dame Commander of Order of the British Empire 1963 - Queen Elizabeth II Coronation Award, Royal Academy of Dance 1966 - DMus, Honorary Doctorate of Music, Leicester University 1982 - MusD, Honorary Doctorate of Music, University of East Anglia 1994 - Evening Standard Special Award 2000 - Cecchetti D'Argento Award, Imperial Society of Teachers of Dancing 2001 - DUniv, Honorary Doctor of the University, Middlesex University 2025 - English Heritage unveiled a blue plaque in her honour at her childhood home, 7 Cascade Avenue, Muswell Hill, North London, N10 3PT in June 2025. Positions

Co-Founder and President, English National Ballet Governor, The Royal Ballet Vice President, Royal Academy of Dance President, The London Ballet Circle Patron, The Academy of Indian Dance President, All England Dance Association President, The Arts Educational Schools President, British Ballet Organization Professor of Ballet and Performing Arts, College-Conservatory of Music, University of Cincinnati Patron, Friends of Northern Ballet Theatre Patron, Abingdon Ballet Seminars Honorary President, ANCEC (Associazione Nationale Coreutica Enrico Cecchetti) Patron, Critics' Circle National Dance Awards Director, Metropolitan Opera Ballet 1963–69