Trivia

The meringue dessert "pavlova," popular in Australia and New Zealand, is named for her.

Pavlova's feet were extremely arched, so she strengthened her pointe shoe by adding a piece of hard leather on the soles for support and flattening the box of the shoe. At the time, many considered this "cheating", for a ballerina of the era was taught that she, not her shoes, must hold her weight en pointe. In Pavlova's case, this was extremely difficult, as the shape of her feet required her to balance her weight on her big toes. Her solution became, over time, the precursor of the modern pointe shoe, as pointe work became less painful and easier for curved feet.

During her life, she had many pets, including a Siamese cat, various dogs, and many kinds of birds, including swans. She was a lifelong lover of animals and this is evidenced by photographic portraits she sat for, which often included an animal she loved. A formal studio portrait was made of her with Jack, her favorite swan.

In 1980, Igor Carl Faberge licensed a collection of 8-inch full-lead crystal wine glasses to commemorate the centenary of Pavlova's birth. The glasses were crafted in Japan under the supervision of The Franklin Mint. A frosted image of Pavlova appears in the stem of each glass. Originally each set contained 12 glasses.

The Jarabe Tapatío, known in English as the "Mexican Hat Dance", gained popularity outside of Mexico when Pavlova created a staged version in pointe shoes, for which she was showered with hats by her adoring Mexican audiences. Afterward, in 1924, the Jarabe Tapatío was proclaimed Mexico's national dance.

Pavlova is most recognized for her creation of the role of The Dying Swan and, with her own company, became the first ballerina to tour around the world, including performances in South America, India and Australia.

The most recent attempt to move Pavlova's remains to Russia came in 2001. Golders Green Crematorium had made arrangements for them to be flown to Russia for interment on 14 March 2001, in a ceremony to be attended by various Russian dignitaries. This plan was later abandoned after Russian authorities withdrew permission for the move. It was later revealed that neither Pavlova's family nor the Russian Government had sanctioned the move and that they had agreed the remains should stay in London.

The Pavlova dessert of New Zealand and Australia is named after her. The nationality of its creator has been a source of argument between the two nations for many years.

Ballet dancer with Sergei Diaghilev from 1908-1914. Then went on to form her own company.

Pavlova inspired the choreographer Frederick Ashton (1904-1988), who as a boy of 13, saw her dance in the Municipal Theater in Lima, Peru.