Anna Pavlova was born in Saint Petersburg, in 1881. She studied at the Imperial Theatre School, where her teachers were Ekaterina Vazem and Pavel Gerdt. After graduating in 1899, the ballerina was accepted into the troupe of the Imperial Ballet of the Mariinsky Theatre. That same year, Pavlova debuted in a small role in "Vain Precaution". Later she performed in "The Magic Flute", "La Bayadère", "Giselle", "Sleeping Beauty". Soon the ballerina began to receive leading roles ("Naiad and the Fisherman", "Paquita", "Le Corsaire", "Don Quixote"). By 1906, Anna Pavlova became one of the leading dancers of the troupe. An important period of her work was collaboration with Michel Fokine. The choreographer staged "Chopiniana" (in which Pavlova performed in duet with Vaslav Nijinsky), "The Pavilion of Armida", "Egyptian Nights", and the widely renowned solo dance "The Dying Swan". In 1909, Anna Pavlova took part in Sergei Diaghilev's Ballets Russes (she danced in "The Pavilion of Armida", "Les Sylphides", "Cleopatra"). For one of the posters, the ballerina was pictured by Valentin Serov. Later this image became one of the symbols of the Ballets Russes. In 1910, Pavlova organized her own ballet troupe in London and went on a round-the-world tour. The ballerina continued to perform until her last days – she died in 1931 in the Netherlands, where she arrived on tour. In the Bakhrushin Theatre Museum online collection there are photographs of Anna Pavlova in her roles and in life, memorial items, archival documents, as well as posters and programs featuring her.