From 1915 to 1917, she studied at Claudia Issatchenko's School of Plastic and Theater Arts in Petrograd, and in the eurhythmics courses of Serge Wolkonsky and Émile Jaques-Dalcroze.

From 1918 to 1919, she did further training in Paris at Maria Rutkowska's ballet studio, Raymond Duncan's academy, and Georges Hébert's acrobatic school.

[8] Her best-known dance, Leek (The Flame), was set to the music of Richard Wagner's opera Die Walküre.

[10] In the postwar years, she lived in France, and from there she moved to the United States in 1955,[5] where she also pursued dance.

[1] In addition, Ilbak published three autobiographical works in her later years: Otsekui hirv kisendab (1953) and a pair of novels, Tuvi Malm (1955) and Kumisev kannel (1966).