Anna Pavlova

A documentary film about dancing on the screen, from its origins after the invention of the movie camera, over the movie musical from the late 20s, 30s, 40s, 50s, and 60s, up to the break dance and music videos from the 80s.

In the centenary year since the founding of the Ballets Russe, this documentary looks back at Sergei Diaghilev and the company he created, what they did and the influence they had, even a 100 years later.

Fenella, a poor Italian girl, falls in love with a Spanish nobleman, but their affair triggers a revolution and national catastrophe.

Anna Pavlova was recorded dancing The Dying Swan in a 1925 silent film, to which sound is often added. The short ballet has influenced interpretations of Odette in Tchaikovsky's Swan Lake, particularly during the parting of the lovers in the first lakeside scene.

In 1924 Pavlova (1881-1931) visited the Fairbanks studios, where The Thief of Bagdad was in production, and was filmed on the set in 7 short dances (not 6 as is stated on the original title, which may have been intended for a shortened version of the film). It seems unlikely that this was just an improvisational filming session: the dancer changed costumes for each of the numbers. Beautifully shot, these represent the finest record of the legendary dancer, who, alongside Nijinsky and Karsavina, astounded Paris in the first Ballets Russes season.

"The Immortal Swan", is a 1935 documentary tribute filmed not long after Pavlova's death that depicts the star dancing, including her most famous solo, "The Dying Swan".