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Primary sourcePhotograph1891

Fairy Tale - Students of the Imperial Ballet School, 1891

Unknown photographer of the Imperial Mariinsky Theatre · 1891

A group photograph of young students of the Imperial Ballet School in costume for Petipa's ballet A Fairy Tale, including a young Anna Pavlova.

A young Anna Pavlova appears kneeling with a birdcage, documenting her earliest training years at the Imperial Ballet School.

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Sepia group photograph of about twenty young girls in costume posed against a painted backdrop with foliage. A cherub-like figure with wings stands at the top center. Some girls play violin and flute, one holds a birdcage, and two lie in the front, one reclining on the ground.
Students of the Imperial Ballet School in costume for Marius Petipa's A Fairy Tale, 1891.

About this source

What it is

This sepia photograph, taken by an unknown photographer of the Imperial Mariinsky Theatre in St. Petersburg, shows about twenty young students of the Imperial Ballet School dressed in costume for Marius Petipa's ballet A Fairy Tale. A young Anna Pavlova kneels on the right, holding a birdcage.

Why it matters

The photograph documents Pavlova's earliest known stage appearance as a child training at the Imperial Ballet School. It connects her to Marius Petipa, the choreographer who shaped Russian ballet, and shows the disciplined world of training that produced the Mariinsky's star dancers.

Look closer

  • Can you find young Pavlova in the group? What does her pose tell you about her role?
  • Why might the theatre have wanted a formal photograph of its student performers?
  • What does the costume and backdrop tell you about the kind of ballet being staged?

This photograph is part of the curated material that grounds the AI version of Anna Pavlova on Humy.ai — when students ask about related events, the AI can quote it and cite it.

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