Lydia Kyasht

Lydia Georgievna Kyasht (25 March 1885 – 11 January 1959) was a Russian-British ballerina and dance teacher whose career spanned the stages of imperial Russia, Western Europe, and Broadway. Born in St. Petersburg to George Kyasht and Agaffia Poubiloff, she trained at the St. Petersburg Imperial Ballet School alongside her older brother George Kyasht, who also pursued a professional career in ballet.

Kyasht performed at the Mariinsky Theatre from 1902 to 1908 and held a soloist position with the Bolshoi Ballet during the 1903–1904 season. In 1908 she relocated to England, where she became the resident ballerina at the Empire Theatre, and she additionally performed with the Ballets Russes during this period of her career.

Her Broadway debut came in 1914, when she appeared in the musical revue The Whirl of the World in New York City. That same year, a critic described her as "the World's Most Beautiful Dancer." Kyasht also appeared in at least two silent films: Foolish Monte Carlo, released in 1920 and now lost, and The Dance of the Moods in 1924. In 1929 she published a memoir titled Romantic Reflections.

Following World War I, Kyasht established a ballet school in London. During World War II she led a company of young dancers called Ballet de la Jeunesse Anglaise, which undertook several tours. Papers related to the company are held in the Theatre and Performance collection at the Victoria and Albert Museum.

Kyasht married Alexis A. Ragosin, a military officer from St. Petersburg, and was widowed in 1954. Their daughter, Lydia Kyasht Jr., was herself a dancer and choreographer who took over her mother's role as director of the Cirencester Dance Club. Kyasht died on 11 January 1959 at the age of 72.