She made her stage debut at age ten, performing the role of Salome in the pantomime Dick Whittington and His Cat, for which she was billed as Little Alicia, the child Pavlova.

Astafieva established the Russian Dancing Academy at The Pheasantry, King's Road, Chelsea, and was responsible for teaching a number of notable British dancers including Margot Fonteyn and Anton Dolin.

[8] At the age of 13, Markova was observed in class by Diaghilev, who was visiting London in search of new talent for his ballet company.

Alongside the many notable dancers, during this period she encountered a number of leading 20th century figures who created work for the company including Pablo Picasso, Henri Matisse, Igor Stravinsky, Sergei Prokofiev, Léonide Massine, George Balanchine, and Bronislava Nijinska.

[8] Following the death of Diaghilev in 1929, Markova returned to England, where she became the founder Principal Ballerina of The Ballet Club, a company founded by Dame Marie Rambert.

[8] It was after seeing the Camargo Society performance of Giselle with Olga Spessivtseva and Dolin in 1932 that Markova first realized the possibilities of the then-neglected ballet.

Later in 1938 Markova joined the Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo, touring the world as the company's star ballerina.

[8] Markova appeared in ballets around the world, but is remembered mostly for her Giselle, as well as for The Dying Swan and Les Sylphides.

During the Second World War she re-formed Les Ballets Russes in the United States and appeared as a dancer with Dolin in the Hollywood film, A Song for Miss Julie.

Following her retirement, she continued to play an active role in the ballet and theatre industry as a teacher, director and choreographer.

[13] As a teacher she presented televised master classes and was also appointed Professor of Ballet and Performing Arts at the University of Cincinnati.