The article is devoted to the fate of Leningrad ballerina Olga Ivanovna Pavlova and her unusual professional career. She was a graduate of the Leningrad choreographic school. After becoming the wife of a Japanese diplomat, she came to Tokyo in 1936 and worked in The Japanese Theater for more than 20 years. Her work has made a huge contribution to the birth of and the development of Japanese classical ballet as a dancer, choreographer, teacher. In her books, published in Japan, Olga Pavlova speaking as a historian of ballet. The authors supplement ballerina’s biography with new information about her studies, the formation of her career and life in Leningrad 1920-1930.