Dai Ailian (Chinese: 戴爱莲; Wade–Giles: Tai Ai-lien; May 10, 1916 – February 9, 2006) was a Trinidadian-Chinese dancer and an important figure in the modern history of dance in China.

[2] Dai Ailian was born in Couva, Trinidad to a third-generation Chinese family, whose origins were in Xinhui, Guangdong Province.

She used the name Eileen Isaac until her move to England, when her teacher Anton Dolin asked her for her Chinese surname.

1930s London was a hub for major ballet talent and she also studied with Marie Rambert and Margaret Craske, the foremost discipline of Enrico Cecchetti.

There she learned the theory and techniques developed by Rudolf von Laban including Labanotation, which she was later enthusiastic in spreading in China.

While in Hong Kong, she premiered her work East River in January 1941 in one of the concerts to raise funds for the war effort against the Japanese invasion.

[1] After Hong Kong was attacked by Japan, she traveled to mainland China, where she participated in charity concerts and studied Chinese folk dances and operas.

[1] After the founding of the People's Republic of China in 1949, Dai was at the center of the push to create new dance institutions.

[7] She also served as director and adviser to the Central Ballet of China, and was the vice-chairman of the Chinese Dancers' Association.