Lydia Kyasht (1885-1959). Russian dancer, teacher, director and choreographer

Born in St Petersburg in 1885, Lydia Kyasht studied under Pavel Gerdt in a class alongside Anna Pavlova and Tamara Karsavina. Kyasht danced as première danseuse with the Imperial Russian Ballet from 1905 until 1908, and then succeeded Adeline Genée as prima ballerina at the Empire Theatre, London, from 1908 until 1913. Kyasht opened her school in London in 1919, which later closed in 1925. During the 1940s she established her company Ballet de la Jeunesse Anglaise. Kyasht was author of a book, Romantic Recollections, and died in London in 1959.