The gala, presented by Ensemble Productions, will include dances from Pavlova’s own repertory, including the rarely performed Egyptian Nights and The Dragonfly, plus excerpts from Paquita, Pharaoh’s Daughter, Giselle, La Bayadère, The Sleeping Beauty and Le Roi Candaule. Dancers announced to perform at the gala include Maxim Beloserkovsky, Alessio Carbone, Alina Cojocaru, Marlon Dino, Irina Dvorovenko, Dorothée Gilbert, Daria Klimentová, Johan Kobborg, Lucia Lacarra, Vladislav Lantratov, Viacheslav Lopatin, Uliana Lopatkina, David Makhateli, Vadim Muntagirov, Giuseppe Picone, Sergei Polunin, Tamara Rojo, Yana Salenko, Marat Semiunov, Alina Somova, Anastasia Stashkevich, Marian Walter, Svetlana Zakharova, Igor Zelensky and others. The evening will be directed by Wayne Eagling and accompanied by the orchestra of English National Ballet, conducted by Valery Ovsyannikov. To buy tickets for the gala, telephone 0871 911 0200.

The gala is the first event in the Pavlova 2012 Festival, with further events at Ivy House – including a competition, launched this month, to find the perfect Pavlova recipe! See ljcc.org.uk for details.

The photograph shows Anna Pavlova in her celebrated Russian Dance. The costume is now preserved at the Museum of London.