Samuel Crosby
Lydia Lopokova: The Unlikely Ballerina
One of five
crammed in a flat
slept on a shelf by the stove
Led by her father
to Russia’s artful heart
where Tchaikovsky debuted
Imperial ballets played
under the eyes of the Tsar
Mariinsky
looming
bold
great Mariinsky theatre
Golden red curtains
red golden trim
heaved away
For the powerful of St Petersburg
time stopped
the world forgotten
hushed
quieted
taut
In that press
little Lydia
ballerina ambition flared
eyes wide all the way home
to dream
This small thing
not luscious nor flowing with grace
no swan neck, flamingo stilts, bird of paradise plume
but the determination of the rooster
knack of the phoenix
Stocky
cheeky
unlikely ballerina
imperial trained over hard years
committed and enthusiastic
spitting on her shoe ribbons for luck
Bright button
forget-me-not smile
tilted head
round face
actress tucked inside
so expressive she could dance without music
From effortless pas to bagatelle
sweet
but strong and swift
practiced and pin-precise
so living and layered it could be improvised
Lightning flash
tripping on air
leaping
so high her brother would say like the descent of dandelion down
And on the global stage she came alive
through revolutions and world war
critic stunner
convention breaker
trend setter
reinventing ballet with Diaghilev and Fokine
their Ballets Russes
Paris’ child-prodigy headlines
Broadway’s favourite
London’s underdog sweetheart
Bloomsbury group’s love riddle
Loved by Stravinksy
painted by Picasso
penned by Virginia Woolf, TS Eliot, HG Wells
wrapped up by Maynard Keynes
Lydia Lopokova
a girl with a dream on a shelf by the stove
the brightest star you’ve never known