Winifred Edwards

Winifred Edwards (29 January 1895 – 12 February 1989), also known as Vera Fredowa (sometimes spelled Fredova), was an English ballet dancer and teacher. She danced with Anna Pavlova's company and Theodore Kosloff's Imperial Russian Ballet in the early 20th century and later became a distinguished pedagogue at the Royal Ballet School, where she trained and mentored several leading figures of British ballet.

Biography

Early life and training Winifred Edwards was born in London on 29 January 29 1895. She studied classical ballet with Enrico Cecchetti and Ivan Clustine, ballet master at the Paris Opera.

Dancing career and relationship with Theodore Kosloff

During Anna Pavlova's London season in 1912, Edwards reportedly waited outside the stage door each night to see her idol. She soon became Kosloff's lover and a close friend of Natacha Rambova (born Winifred Shaughness), who was also involved with him. In 1917, Kosloff, Rambova, and Edwards settled in Los Angeles, renting a house and erecting a tent in the backyard to serve as a temporary dance school and studio. Edwards continued performing with Kosloff through the 1920s and early 1930s. She became his partner in his ballet schools, teaching in Los Angeles, San Francisco, Dallas, and Houston until 1934. Edwards later stated that Kosloff exerted extensive control over the personal and professional lives of women in his company in exchange for promises of career advancement, recalling that "it became apparent to all of us that Kosloff would never be faithful to one woman. He was the type of man who could only be happy if he were surrounded by a harem." She subsequently trained as a teacher under Phyllis Bedells at the Royal Academy of Dancing, earning her teaching qualification at the age of 53. She continued to teach privately after formally retiring at the age of 60.