From a humble start
Tales of Wilberforce Road - No. 23 continued. How flat-footed Lilian Alice Marks became a dancer
This is a clip of Alicia Markova, prima ballerina assoluta, in action, with her partner Anton Dolin in 1952, shortly before he wrote, in his biography of her:
"With the image of her birthplace still in my mind, and the echo of last night's applause still in my ears, I have set about connecting the two in what I hope will be a worthy tribute to the first English ballerina assoluta and my first choice for a permanent partner from all the great ballerinas with whom I have had the privilege and good fortune to dance. "
Anton Dolin: Alicia Markova, Her Life and Art 1953
This is where Markova's story starts. Number 23 Wilberforce Road is one of a pleasant terrace of Victorian houses in Wilberforce Road, currently (July 2017) threatened with demolition. Built in the late 1870s as a high quality speculative development, Wilberforce Road at the turn of the century had many houses in multiple occupation.
It is an important characteristic of these robust and spacious buildings that they were readily adapted in response to changing demographics. Originally intended for single families with servants, the houses almost immediately began to be homes also for lodgers and boarders. It was not long before some of the buildings were sub-let to more than one family.
Number 23 was no exception. Its occupant in 1881 was a single family (see previous post: 'A tale of gentlemen and old lace'). By 1901 the house was owned by a widow, who accommodated no less than five boarders, four of whom were from other European countries.
In 1910, a mining engineer Arthur Marks, and his Irish-born wife Eileen returned from Egypt, where Arthur had been working on the construction of the Aswan Dam. The reason for their return was probably that Eileen was pregnant with their first child, and wanted to be back in Britain for the birth.
They returned to north London, close to where they had both grown up. Eileen, though born in County Cork, had moved to London as a young girl, and she met Arthur while they were still at school. Arthur was Jewish and in spite of her family's disapproval, Eileen converted to Judaism so that the pair could marry.
On their return to London, the couple sought affordable lodgings in a respectable area, and they took two furnished rooms at 23 Wilberforce Road. It was there, in December that Lilian Alicia Marks was born. It was a small, poor but comfortable home. Looking for bigger and more permanent lodgings the family moved within a few months to Adolphus Road, around the corner, and Lilian Alicia's three sisters were born there.
By the age of eight Lilian had showed a love for music (she loved the regular music at the bandstand in Finsbury Park). She was a small child and around that time, complained of a weakness in her left leg. This prompted her mother to take her to a specialist, who diagnosed little Lilian as 'flat-footed and knock-kneed'. He prescribed the wearing of braces, or possibly taking up 'fancy' dancing as a way of strengthening her legs. Her mother quickly enrolled her in a dance academy run by the Misses Thorne in Palmers Green, and her dance career had begun...
The small, flat-footed, knock-kneed, weak-legged Jewish girl from Wilberforce Road was set on a journey that saw her overcome all the obstacles in her way, to become one of only twelve ballerinas in the world to be awarded the title of 'prima ballerina assoluta', the highest honour to be bestowed in the world of ballet.
Here's a picture of Lilian Alicia when she was five years old, with her mother, on holiday. I've reproduced this from the excellent blog, 'The Making of Markova' which I recommend highly if you want to know more about Markova's astonishing career.
"With the image of her birthplace still in my mind, and the echo of last night's applause still in my ears, I have set about connecting the two in what I hope will be a worthy tribute to the first English ballerina assoluta and my first choice for a permanent partner from all the great ballerinas with whom I have had the privilege and good fortune to dance. "
Anton Dolin: Alicia Markova, Her Life and Art 1953
Dolin visited Markova's birthplace that year, and wrote about it in his book. See 'The house which someday may bear a plaque'
This is where Markova's story starts. Number 23 Wilberforce Road is one of a pleasant terrace of Victorian houses in Wilberforce Road, currently (July 2017) threatened with demolition. Built in the late 1870s as a high quality speculative development, Wilberforce Road at the turn of the century had many houses in multiple occupation.
It is an important characteristic of these robust and spacious buildings that they were readily adapted in response to changing demographics. Originally intended for single families with servants, the houses almost immediately began to be homes also for lodgers and boarders. It was not long before some of the buildings were sub-let to more than one family.
Number 23 was no exception. Its occupant in 1881 was a single family (see previous post: 'A tale of gentlemen and old lace'). By 1901 the house was owned by a widow, who accommodated no less than five boarders, four of whom were from other European countries.
In 1910, a mining engineer Arthur Marks, and his Irish-born wife Eileen returned from Egypt, where Arthur had been working on the construction of the Aswan Dam. The reason for their return was probably that Eileen was pregnant with their first child, and wanted to be back in Britain for the birth.
They returned to north London, close to where they had both grown up. Eileen, though born in County Cork, had moved to London as a young girl, and she met Arthur while they were still at school. Arthur was Jewish and in spite of her family's disapproval, Eileen converted to Judaism so that the pair could marry.
On their return to London, the couple sought affordable lodgings in a respectable area, and they took two furnished rooms at 23 Wilberforce Road. It was there, in December that Lilian Alicia Marks was born. It was a small, poor but comfortable home. Looking for bigger and more permanent lodgings the family moved within a few months to Adolphus Road, around the corner, and Lilian Alicia's three sisters were born there.
By the age of eight Lilian had showed a love for music (she loved the regular music at the bandstand in Finsbury Park). She was a small child and around that time, complained of a weakness in her left leg. This prompted her mother to take her to a specialist, who diagnosed little Lilian as 'flat-footed and knock-kneed'. He prescribed the wearing of braces, or possibly taking up 'fancy' dancing as a way of strengthening her legs. Her mother quickly enrolled her in a dance academy run by the Misses Thorne in Palmers Green, and her dance career had begun...
The small, flat-footed, knock-kneed, weak-legged Jewish girl from Wilberforce Road was set on a journey that saw her overcome all the obstacles in her way, to become one of only twelve ballerinas in the world to be awarded the title of 'prima ballerina assoluta', the highest honour to be bestowed in the world of ballet.
Here's a picture of Lilian Alicia when she was five years old, with her mother, on holiday. I've reproduced this from the excellent blog, 'The Making of Markova' which I recommend highly if you want to know more about Markova's astonishing career.
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