Mia Slavenska (1916–2002). Croatian-born ballerina, actress and teacher

Mia Slavenska was born in Croatia in 1914. She studied and danced in Zagreb before moving to Germany in 1935 and then Paris in 1937, where she starred in two films. She was taught by an extraordinary range of great Russian émigré teachers in Paris, and also studied and worked with Bronislava Nijinska. Slavenska became a ballerina in the Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo in 1938 alongside Alicia Markova, Tamara Toumanova and Alexandra Danilova. During World War Two she moved to the United States of America, and then toured with her own company from 1947 to 1952. Slavenska later danced with London Festival Ballet. After several years touring with the Franklin Ballet and dancing with the Metropolitan Opera Ballet, in the 1960s she opened a small studio in New York and began to teach. She later moved to California and continued to teach at various arts organisations. Mia Slavenska died in Los Angeles in 2003.