[Pavlova, Anna : her Australian tours, 1926, 1929 : theatre programmes, ephemera / held in the PROMPT Collection, National Library of Australia]

Anna Pavlovna (Matveyevna) Pavlova (1881-1931) was a Russian prima ballerina of the late 19th and the early 20th centuries. She was a principal artist of the Imperial Russian Ballet and the Ballets Russes of Sergei Diaghilev. Pavlova is most recognized for the creation of the role The Dying Swan and, with her own company, became the first ballerina to tour ballet around the world, including to Australia. This material in the Library's PROMPT collection documents her two Australian tours in 1926 and 1929, when she brought her own ballet company touring for the J.C. Williamson Limited company. The Pavlova dessert is believed to have been created in honour of the dancer during her tour of New Zealand and Australia in the 1920s.