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.
Husband of Anna Pavlova and manager of her dance school. Prior to meeting Pavlova he was a member of the Saint Petersburg City Duma. From 1938, he managed Colonel De Basil's Ballet Russes.
Studied at the Imperial School of Ballet in St. Petersburg. She danced with Diaghilev's Ballet Russes until the death of Diaghilev in 1929. Danced as a prima ballerina with the Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo from 1938-1952. Later on became a choreographer at the Metropolitan Opera. She also became a Kennedy Centre Honoree upon retirement for her contributions to the field of ballet.