The Markove Legend - Tapa dura

Alicia Markova is a dancing legend. Her story is a dream come true, hut not one realised without much hardship, dedication and sacrifice - as this first major biography reveals.
Born Lilian Alicia Marks in London in 1910, she started her career at the age often in Dick Whiittington in Kennington. Artistically it was about as far removed from the world's great opera houses as you can get. Such was Alicia's genius, however, that despite her lack of experience in ballet, she was snapped up aged only fourteen by the world-famous impresario Serge Diaghilell for his acclaimed Ballet Russe.
It was the beginning of an exciting, though often lonely, period. Markova, as she now was, danced all over Europe, introducing new works by Balanchine and Massine. Stravinsky was her music teacher and Matisse her designer.
Nurtured and groomed by Diaghileff, she was plunged into despair by his death when she was still eighteen. With no British ballet company to return to, she earned her living dancing in a cinema between films. Then with the young Fredrick Ashton she introduced a whole new concept of dance in London.
Later, when Ninette de Valois started the Vic-Wells Ballet, Alicia became her prima ballerina, nightly filling Sadler's Wells theatre to capacity. At last, British ballet had lound an audience. International success followed. Enduring astonishing hardships Markova blazed a trail across the world dancing in places which had never seen a ballet before. To this day, Markova continues to teach and to inspire a whole new generation of dancers.
Written with Markova's full cooperation, this is the enthralling story of a woman with a mission, whose whole lile has been devoted to what she symbolises - the perfection of her art. It is also the story of British ballet. Before Markova it simply didn't exist.