Anna Pavlova was a Russian ballet dancer. She is one of the greatest dancers of the XX century. After the First World War, she settled in the UK and toured around the world. In many countries Anna presented the art of ballet for the first time.
Anna Matveyevna Pavlova was born on January 31, 1881 in St. Petersburg, Russian Empire. She was born in a holiday village Ligovo near St. Petersburg. Her mother, Lyubov Fedorovna Pavlova, married Matvey Pavlov, retired soldier of the Preobrazhensky regiment, shortly before the birth of her daughter. Who was the real father of a ballerina is unknown. According to the number of her contemporaries, including her two half-brothers, landowner Lazar Polyakov, one of Moscow’s largest bankers, was the father of Anna Pavlova.
At the age of eight Pavlova attended a performance of The Sleeping Beauty at the Maryinsky Theatre and decided to become a ballerina.
In 1899, after graduating from the Imperial Theatre School, she was accepted into Mariinsky Theatre troupe.
More »

Marian Anderson was a great singer, who had a pure, rich voice and could sing a great range of parts. She was one who broke down barriers between blacks and whites in the United States.
Marian Anderson was born on February 27, 1897, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. She began singing in her church choir when she was 6 years old. A teacher was so impressed by her talent that gave her free lessons.
At the age of 23 Anderson entered a competition and won first place over 300 other singers.
In 1925 Anderson gave a recital with the New York Philharmonic Orchestra. But because of her skin color, many opportunities were closed to her in the United States.
In the 1930s she made successful singing tours throughout Western Europe, Eastern Europe (including the Soviet Union), Scandinavia, and Central Europe.
On December 30, 1935, she opened her American tour at New York’s Town Hall.
More »

Fanny Elssler was a famous Austrian dancer who brought energy and drama to her performances. Along with Maria Taglioni, she was famous ballerina of the XIX century.
Fanny (her real name was Francis Elssler) was born on June 23, 1810 in Vienna, Austria. Her grandfather and father served as secretary of composer Haydn.
The girl studied ballet from a young age. Fanny studied ballet together with her older sister Theresa at the ballet school of the Vienna Burgtheater.
In 1824 she first appeared on the scene in Teatro di San Carlo in Naples. There the dancer met Prince Leopold of Salerno, son of Ferdinand IV, the King of Naples. Fanny gave birth to their son Franz. In 1829, she became acquainted with Friedrich von Gentz, who was 46 years older than her. They lived together until his death in 1832.
More »

Alvin Ailey is one of the most famous American choreographers in the world.
Alvin Ailey was born on January 5, 1931 in Rogers, Texas. In his childhood he had to help his mother pick cotton to earn money.
When Ailey was about 11 years old they moved to Los Angeles. As a teenager Ailey showed an interest in athletics, joining his high school gymnastics team and playing football.
In Los Angeles, Ailey began to study dancing with the dance teacher Lester Horton. In 1949 he joined the Lester Horton Dance Theater. Horton died four years later and Ailey became the director of the company. In the next year Ailey moved to New York City. There he worked with Martha Graham and Hanya Holm.
In the 1950s, there were reports that Ailey was in a romantic relationship with David Mack-Reynolds.
In 1958 Alvin formed the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater. They rehearsed a scene from the dance called Revelations. By the 1980s this dance had been performed more often than Swan Lake.
More »

Since childhood Mandy Moore knew she was going to be a star. Now she is an American actress and pop singer, winner of the Young Hollywood award in 2003.
Amanda Leigh Moore was born on April 10, 1984 in Nashua, New Hampshire. Soon her family moved to Orlando, Florida. She has brothers Scott Moore and Kyle. At the age of nine Moore started singing and acting. She also spent seven years performing as a cheerleader for Pop Warner football.
She sang The Star-Spangled Banner for all major sports teams and for Chris Evert’s Pro-Celebrity Tennis Tournament. Mandy was named the National Anthem Girl. She also appeared in a Mexican teen magazine.
In 1999, Moore was involved in a joint tour with Backstreet Boys. Her first album, So Real was released in December 1999 and took 31th place in the US Billboard 200.
More »

Shakira is an internationally famous singer, songwriter, dancer, music producer, choreographer and model, widely known as the most successful Latin American singer. Shakira has won many awards, including five MTV Video Music Awards, two Grammy Awards, eight Latin Grammy, seven Billboard Music Awards, twenty-eight Billboard Latin Music Awards and a nomination for the Golden Globe. She has a star on the Walk of Fame, and is one of the best selling artists of all time.
Shakira Isabel Mebarak Ripoll was born on February 2, 1977 in Barranquilla, Colombia to a Lebanese father and a Colombian-ltalian mother. Shakira is the youngest sibling of her parents’ eight children. She wrote her first song at age eight. When the girl was thirteen years old her family moved to Bogota. One year later she released her first album, Magia (Magic). The album was a compilation of songs that she had written between the ages of 8 and 13. Her second album Peligro (Danger) was moderately successful.
More »

Elvis Presley was the leading American singer for two decades and the most popular singer of the entire rock ‘n’ roll era. He was one of the first musicians to sing and play rock music.
Elvis Aron Presley was born on January 8, 1935 in Tupelo, Mississippi. His twin brother, Jesse Garon Presley, died shortly after birth.
Elvis participated in numerous talent contests as he was an elementary school student. When the boy was 13 years old his family moved to Memphis, Tennessee.
After high school Elvis worked as a truck driver. In 1953, he began paying his own way into the Memphis Recording Services studio. A year later he recorded That’s All Right Mama for Sun Records. Elvis was influenced by the gospel music sung and by the way the preachers stirred up the crowds’ emotions. Memphis was a center for blues music and had a radio station that played gospel, blues, and rhythm-and- blues. Elvis often listened to this station.
In 1955 Elvis reached the top of the country charts with Mystery Train.
More »