MARKOVA, DAME ALICIA

born Dec. 1, 1910, London original name Lilian Alicia Marks English ballerina noted for the ethereal lightness and poetic delicacy of her dancing. Markova studied with Serafima Astafieva and Enrico Cecchetti and, after her debut at 14 with the Diaghilev Ballet, was soon dancing leading roles. In 1931 she joined the Vic-Wells Ballet and was both its first prima ballerina (193335) and the first English dancer to dance the lead in Giselle and the full-length Swan Lake. Markova appeared as a ballerina of Ballet Rambert, Ballet Russe de Monte-Carlo, and Ballet Theatre and as guest artist with the Metropolitan Opera. With Anton Dolin she headed the Markova-Dolin Ballet (193538) and London's Festival Ballet (194952). In addition to Giselle, her favourite role, and Swan Lake, she excelled in Les Sylphides, as Taglioni (with whom she has been compared) in the Dolin Pas de quatre, and as the Sugar Plum Fairy in The Nutcracker. A versatile artist, she excelled not only in the classics but also in early jazz ballets, in Massine's symphonic Rouge et Noir (1939), as a Gypsy in Aleko (1942), as Juliet in Antony Tudor's Romeo and Juliet (1943), and in Ruth Page's Vilea (1953). In 1963 she retired from the stage, was appointed director of the Metropolitan Ballet in New York City (a post she held until 1969), and was created Dame of the British Empire. Dame Alicia, in retirement as a dancer, taught, coached, lectured, and occasionally staged traditional ballets for various companies.