20th Cent. Ballerina Svetlana Beriosova

Svetlana Beriosova was born on 24 September 1932, in Kaunas, Lithuania. She was the daughter of Mrs. and Mr. Nicolas Beriosoff. Her father was the Ballet Master at the Lithuanian State Opera. In 1940, the family moved to the United States. Her mother died in 1942. Svetlana Beriosova studied ballet under Ludmila Shollar and Anatole Vilzak, in New York City. In 1947, she made her debut with the Ottawa Ballet. Later in 1947, she joined the Metropolitan Ballet, in London. In 1950, she joined the second company of the Sadler's Wells Ballet. In 1952, the first company of the Sadler's Wells Ballet. In 1955, she became a Prima Ballerina. In 1956, she danced in John Cranko's The Prince of the Pagodas, in Covent Garden, London. In 1957, Svetlana Berisova appeared in Cinderella at Television. Svetlana Beriosova married Mohammed Masud Raza Khan on 23 January 1959. In 1961, she danced in Ashton's Persephone. In 1964, Svetlana Beriosova appeared in The Soldier's Tale. In 1968, in Frederick Ashton's Enigma Variations. Beriosova and Raza Khan were divorced in 1974. Svetlana Beriosova appeared as the Tsarina in Anastasia, Aurora in Sleeping Beauty, Cinderella, Coppelia, Giselle, Tsarevna in The Firebird, Les Noces, Odette, Ondine, Persephone, Swan Lake and Sylvia. She danced with the Ballet Russe, the Grand Ballet de Monte Carlo,  the Metropolitan Ballet and the Royal Ballet of England. In 1975, she retired from stage and devoted herself to coaching and teaching. Svetlana Beriosova died of cancer aged 66, on Tuesday, 10 November 1998, in Kensington, London.

Libra (24 September - 22 October)