The Making of Markova: Diaghilev's Baby Ballerina to Groundbreaking Icon
*Starred Review* Dame Alicia Markova, once “the most famous ballerina in the world,” was a Jewish Londoner, born Lilian Alicia Marks and given her stage name by Sergei Diaghilev when he brought her into the Ballet Russes at age 14. The unlikeliest of ballerinas—“bone thin,” flat-footed, knock-kneed, and sickly—she was nonetheless a true prodigy, possessing not only “technical bravura” but also a sterling work ethic, a “phenomenal memory” for music and choreography, and a versatile gift for design. Sutton, an arts journalist for the Boston Globe, makes superlative use of the extraordinarily comprehensive archive Markova maintained until her death at 94 in 2004. Sutton’s sense of wonderment lights up every page of this hard-to-believe, utterly transporting story of discipline, commitment, hardship, and steely self-reliance. An artist and a hero, Markova publicly expressed pride in her heritage when Hitler came to power and refused requests to have her nose “reduced” to look less Jewish. She endured vicious sabotage attempts, grueling tours, and heartache. A brilliant classical dancer, she also performed revolutionary modern works with soaring artistry, collaborating with Ashton, Balanchine, Stravinsky, and Chagall. And she circled the globe “to spread the gospel of ballet.” Quoting dexterously from Markova’s electrifying journals, Sutton brings Markova and her world to scintillating life in this ravishing biography of perpetual motion, limelight and darkness, courage and creativity. --Donna Seaman