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.
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.
Former dancer, choreographer and teacher, Ries is the author of several articles on Dai Ailian and the reinstatement of ballet in China for Asia-based magazines and the South China Morning Morning Post, for whom she was dance critic from 1980 while living in Hong Kong. Ries first met Dai Ailian in Beijing in 1982 and was invited to observe Central Ballet of China company classes and rehearsals, leading to further assignments by Dance Magazine in New York between 1985 and 1992.