- She was awarded the CBE (Commander of the Order of the British Empire) in the 1958 Queen's New Year Honours List and the DBE (Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire) in the 1963 Queen's Birthday Honours List for her services to ballet.
- She was discovered by Russian impresario Sergei Diaghilev as a child and went on to tour Europe where she came into contact with people such as Matisse and Stravinsky.
- She retired in 1963 following a leg injury but went on to teach and became director of ballet for the Metropolitan Opera Ballet in New York.
- She co-founded the English National Ballet in 1950 with Sir Anton Dolin and was president of the company.
- In 1935, she co-founded the Markova-Dolin Ballet, the first of several companies which led to the foundation of Festival Ballet, now known as English National Ballet.
- Sister of Doris Barry.
- Born in Muswell Hill, London.
- Started performing in 1921 in pantomime.
- She was spotted by Serge Diaghiley and packed off with a governess to Monte Carlo at 14 to join his company.
- She was the first British dancer to become the principal dancer of a ballet company and, with Dame Margot Fonteyn, is one of only two English dancers to be recognised as a prima ballerina assoluta.
- Markova was Patron/President of numerous dance organisations, including serving as President of English National Ballet, a Governor of The Royal Ballet and vice President of the Royal Academy of Dance.
- In 1960, she collaborated with Indian classical dancer Ram Gopal to create a duet "Radha-Krishna" based on Hindu mythology, in which she danced as Radha, while he danced as Krishna. Today their collaboration is commemorated at the National Portrait Gallery, London where her bronze bust stands next to his portrait.
- Markova died on 2 December 2004 in a hospital in Bath, one day after her 94th birthday. She never married. A memorial service of thanksgiving for her life and work was held at Westminster Abbey on 8 March 2005.[14] As part of the service, dancers of the English National Ballet company performed extracts from the ballet Giselle (Daria Klimentová, Dmitri Gruzdyev, Erina Takahashi, Arionel Vargas) and Les Sylphides (Agnes Oakes and Simone Clarke).
- Markova began to dance on medical advice to strengthen her weak limbs.
- She made her stage debut at age ten, performing the role of Salome in the pantomime Dick Whittington and His Cat, for which she was billed as Little Alicia, the child Pavlova.
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