Every child was given a biblical name: Pnina, Azariah, Mattany, Rachel, Asaf (or Assaf), Elisheva, Sulamith (or Shulamith), Emanuel, Abinadab and Erella.

[3] Sulamith studied from the age of 8 in the Moscow Ballet School[4] under Vasily Tikhomirov and Elisabeth Gerdt and danced in the Bolshoi Theatre from 1926[5] until 1950.

In 1978 and 1979, she taught numerous students at Ankara State Conservatory (now part of Hacettepe University) in Turkey.

In 1980, at the age of 72, she defected to Great Britain, where she continued to work as a much sought-after coach.

[3] Her many honours included the Stalin Prize (1946), the People's Artist of the RSFSR (1962), the Order of the Sacred Treasures (1996).