A Company of Swans (1985)
Set in 1912, this book tells the story of eighteen-year-old Harriet Morton, the daughter of a Cambridge professor of Classics. Harriet is a free-spirited girl despite the fact that her father and aunt are rather dismal and stingy characters. She immensely enjoys her ballet classes and is asked to join Sasha Dubrov’s famous ballet company that will make an appearance in Manaus during their tour of South America. While she knows that her father and her aunt would never let her join the ballet company, Harriet dreams of what her world would be like dancing on stage with some of the world’s most talented ballerinas. One night, after a particularly harsh reprimand from her father for simply speaking her mind about joining the ballet company, Harriet is banned from her ballet classes. Shortly thereafter, the ladies of the Trumpington Tea Circle take Harriet on a tour of Stavely, an old estate, where Harriet escapes into a maze of shrubs and finds Henry, a young boy whom she befriends and who asks her if she could find “the Boy” who had mysteriously left the estate years ago.
After speaking to Henry, Harriet decides to secretly escape, joining the ballet company and inquiring after this “Boy” who used to live at Stavely. Harriet concocts a plan to escape England, pretending to take the train to visit her friend’s house but actually meeting up with the ballet company shortly before they travel to South America. Once Harriet’s father and aunt find out, they recruit Edward Finch-Dutton, an entomologist at the university who had planned on asking Harriet to marry him (but who seems a bit more interested in species of fleas and butterflies than in actual people). Harriet joins the ballet company, performing roles in Giselle, Swan Lake, and The Nutcracker. She earns respect due to her talent as well as her sweet and very giving disposition. She discovers the “Boy” Henry had talked about—Rom Verney, the chairman of the Opera House Trustees. Rom and Harriet begin to fall in love—but just then Edward Finch-Dutton arrives to capture Harriet and force her to return to England. Rom, Harriet, and the ballet company must work to conceal Harriet, but it may be too late, especially when someone from Rom’s past arrives to complicate the story.
After speaking to Henry, Harriet decides to secretly escape, joining the ballet company and inquiring after this “Boy” who used to live at Stavely. Harriet concocts a plan to escape England, pretending to take the train to visit her friend’s house but actually meeting up with the ballet company shortly before they travel to South America. Once Harriet’s father and aunt find out, they recruit Edward Finch-Dutton, an entomologist at the university who had planned on asking Harriet to marry him (but who seems a bit more interested in species of fleas and butterflies than in actual people). Harriet joins the ballet company, performing roles in Giselle, Swan Lake, and The Nutcracker. She earns respect due to her talent as well as her sweet and very giving disposition. She discovers the “Boy” Henry had talked about—Rom Verney, the chairman of the Opera House Trustees. Rom and Harriet begin to fall in love—but just then Edward Finch-Dutton arrives to capture Harriet and force her to return to England. Rom, Harriet, and the ballet company must work to conceal Harriet, but it may be too late, especially when someone from Rom’s past arrives to complicate the story.
Anna Pavlova
Anna was born in St. Petersburg, Russia on February 12, 1881 and entered the Imperial Ballet Academy at the age of ten. Upon her graduation in 1902, she joined the Maryinsky Theatre as second soloist and was promoted to first soloist the following year. WithCecchetti's help, Anna was promoted to ballerina in 1905, and Prima Ballerina in 1906, he was her favorite teacher, and mentor until her death. Mikhail Fokine choreographed "The Dying Swan" for her with music from Saint-Saen's "Carnival of the Animals." It became her signature solo.
"Anna Pavlova." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, 25 Apr. 2013. Web. 25 Apr. 2013.