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Vancouver Was Awesome: Anna Pavlova, 1910

A Vancouver time travelogue brought to you by Past Tense . http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QMEBFhVMZpU A century ago, Russian dancer Anna Pavlova was the most famous ballerina in the world.

A Vancouver time travelogue brought to you by Past Tense.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QMEBFhVMZpU

A century ago, Russian dancer Anna Pavlova was the most famous ballerina in the world. She performed in Vancouver several times, but it was her first visit in 1910 for a show at the Opera House on Granville that had perhaps the biggest impact.

Reviewing the show for The Province newspaper, L.W. Makovski was blown away by Pavlova's performance, which included her signature piece, The Dying Swan, seen here in 1905. “Something new!" Makovski gushed. "Think of it in these days when nothing is new.” He was of course greatly saddened when the show came to its inevitable conclusion and the troupe left town:

It is all over. The lights are out and Mordkin, Pavlowa and the Russian Imperial ballet are far away. They have come and gone. They have given us something of which we shall dream all our lives. Their art is indescribable. It stands for something higher and more beautiful than words can picture. It is a "passionate emotion" but it is wholly good and rouses the purest and best feelings of which man is capable.

Mlle. Anna Pavlowa, Danseuse Etoile, and M. Mikail Mordkin, Premier Danseur Classique, farewell! Our best thanks to those that brought you, and our highest respect and devotion for your art.

After the show, Pavlova went to a local restaurant where she was again honoured, this time with a toast and an impromptu speech from another patron:

After having danced at the theatre, I wished to go and have some supper at a restaurant. I found every table occupied, and not one seat vacant. Several people, having recognized me, offered their seats to me; and I was feeling so tired that in the end I accepted one. When I had finished my meal, a gentleman who was seated at another table stood up, and in an extemporized speech asked all present to drink my health.

His kind attention pleased me greatly. But I remember that my chief concern was for the old travelling suit I was wearing—I am not ashamed to acknowledge as much: any woman would have felt the same under similar circumstances. But my old clothes did not stand me in bad stead: all responded to the invitation, and drained their glasses in my honor.

Source: ruckenfigur on YouTube