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Born in Trinidad to Chinese parents, Dai Ailian came to London in 1930 and studied ballet with Marie Rambert and Anton Dolin. Dai Ailian went on to study with Kurt Jooss and Sigurd Leeder at Dartington Hall where she met the sculptor Willi Soukop. During the 2nd World War Dai Ailian travelled to China where she met and married her first husband - the artist Ye Chien Yu - in 1942. Dai Ailian was interested in discovering traditional Chinese folk dance but also taught ballet and became the guiding force in China's national ballet institutions. During the cultural revolution Dai Ailian was banished to the countryside and forced to do hard labour while everything she had built up was destroyed along with her own personal possessions. However Dai Ailian remained strong and when the revolution ended she was able to resume her activities and was reinstated as director of the Central Ballet of China, and later artistic advisor. Her influence and connections with the wider ballet world ensured the success of the company and she was a dedicated ambassador for dance in China. In 1993, Dai Ailian visited RAD headquarters with a view to introducing the RAD syllabus to China.

Lila de Nobili was a Italian stage and costume designer and fashion illustrator.

Nicholas Georgiadis was a Greek painter, stage and costume designer, best know for his work in ballet, particularly in collaboration with Kenneth MacMillan. He studied architecture in Greece, graduating in 1946, winning a Fulbright Postgraduate Scholarship to Columbia University, New York in 1952. In 1953 Georgiadis came to London to study Painting and Stage Design at the Slade School of Fine Art, winning the school's First Prize for Stage Design in 1955. This led to a commission from Ninette de Valois and his first collaboration with Kenneth MacMillan, on Noctambules in 1956. Although primarily known as a designer for ballet, Georgiadis also worked in opera and drama and a number of film projects. He was also an accomplished painter.

Richard Glasstone worked internationally as a dancer, teacher and choreographer. He was Resident Choreographer and Principal Teacher of the Turkish State Ballet from 1965-1969, prior to joining the staff of London's Royal Ballet School where he held the posts of Senior Teacher for Boys and Director of the Dance Composition course. He has written several books on ballet and has contributed articles to many distinguished publications.

Beryl Grey was born in London and began dance classes at the age of four.

Betty Hassall was born in Cheltenham in 1909 and was a pupil of Judith Espinosa and Irene Hammond, whom she succeeded as Principal of the Hammond School in 1946. As a Children's Examiner for the RAD she was a pioneer of the original Ballet in Education syllabus and later Chairman of the Panel of Children's Examiners. An instigator of the Regional scheme she was the founding Chair of the Liverpool Region and was awarded a Fellowship of the RAD in 1979.

Born in Queensland, Australia, Deborah Williams was educated in Sydney, won a scholarship to and studied painting and sculpture at the National School of Art. She moved to London in 1970, where she married Kenneth MacMillan. She has designed ballets for the stage and television and returned to painting full-time in 1984. She was a member of the Board of the Royal Opera House (1993-94) and was Chairman of The Friends of Covent Garden (1995-96). Between 1996 and 1998 she was a member of the Arts Council of England and Chair of the dance panel. She has been a member of Kenneth MacMillan and Partner LLP since 2011 and is custodian of her late husband's work.