Alicia Markova

Alicia Markova (1910–2004) was an English ballerina and choreographer celebrated for her Romantic ballet roles. She co-founded the English National Ballet, originally called Festival Ballet.

Sergei Diaghilev: A Russian impresario who founded the Ballets Russes, an influential company active from 1909 to 1929. He invited Markova to join the Ballets Russes as a teenager, launching her professional career.
Giselle: A Romantic ballet about a peasant girl who dies of heartbreak and joins the Wilis, spirits of betrayed brides. Markova’s portrayal of Giselle became one of her most celebrated interpretations.
Ballets Russes: A touring ballet company founded by Sergei Diaghilev that transformed early twentieth-century dance and design. Markova joined the company in 1925 and absorbed its repertory and artistic culture.
English National Ballet: A London-based ballet company founded in 1950 as Festival Ballet to tour classical ballet across Britain. Markova and Anton Dolin founded the company to bring full-length ballet beyond London.
Anton Dolin: A British ballet dancer, choreographer, and company director who partnered with Alicia Markova for decades. Their stage partnership and later company-building shaped much of Markova’s career.
La Sylphide: A Romantic ballet in which a Scottish farmer abandons his wedding after becoming enchanted by a supernatural sylph. Markova was renowned for dancing the ethereal title role.
Enrico Cecchetti: An Italian ballet dancer and teacher whose rigorous method influenced generations of performers. Markova studied with Cecchetti, whose training supported her classical technique.
Royal Ballet: A British ballet company based at the Royal Opera House and formerly known as Sadler’s Wells Ballet. Markova’s independent company-building offered a different institutional path from the Royal Ballet.
Marie Rambert: A Polish-born British dancer and teacher who founded the Ballet Club, later known as Ballet Rambert. Markova studied with Rambert before joining the Ballets Russes.
Les Sylphides: A plotless ballet in which dancers evoke the poetic atmosphere of Romantic-era ballet. Markova’s performances helped preserve this Ballets Russes repertory work onstage.

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Phyllis SpiraCompared with: Markova offers a contrasting example of a Royal Ballet ballerina whose career was not rooted in South Africa.