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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.

Born in London, Edwards studied ballet with Miss Hutton Moss, Freda Grant and Lucia Cormani. She became one of the first English girls to join Anna Pavlova's company in 1912 until 1916 when she joined Theodore Kosloff's company touring America and then teaching at his ballet schools in San Francisco and Dallas for fifteen years. In 1934 she returned to England and for a time gave up dancing and teaching. However, she returned to dancing after the war and studied with Phyllis Bedells taking all of her RAD examinations including the Advanced Teachers' Certificate. She taught at the Royal Ballet School from 1947 to 1955 and at the RAD from 1947 to 1963. She joined the committee of the RAD's Production Club in 1948 and worked closely on the revision of the RAD's Major syllabi and Courses of Study in the mid-1950s, alongside Ursula Moreton and Tamara Karsavina. She was awarded the 1977 Queen Elizabeth II Coronation Award for her outstanding services to the art of ballet.

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.