Danilova, << duh NEE luh vuh, >> Alexandra (1904?-1997), was a great Russian ballerina. She won international fame for her warmth, intelligence, and radiant dance style. Her roles included the leads in Gaite Parisienne, the second act of Swan Lake, Coppelia, and Firebird.
Alexandra Danilova was born in Peterhof. She became a soloist with the Mariinsky Ballet (later the Kirov Ballet; now known again as the Mariinsky Ballet) in Leningrad (now St. Petersburg) in 1922. In 1924, she joined Sergei Diaghilev’s ballet company in Paris and became an immediate favorite with audiences. She was prima ballerina with Colonel W. de Basil’s Ballets Russes in 1933 and then with the Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo from 1938 to 1952. She retired in the late 1950’s.
