Nancy Elizabeth "Betty" Oliphant, (August 5, 1918 – July 12, 2004) was a co-founder of the National Ballet School of Canada.

Born in London

London

London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...

, she suffered from pneumonia

Pneumonia

Pneumonia is an inflammatory condition of the lung—especially affecting the microscopic air sacs —associated with fever, chest symptoms, and a lack of air space on a chest X-ray. Pneumonia is typically caused by an infection but there are a number of other causes...

 as a child and her doctor prescribed ballet

Ballet

Ballet is a type of performance dance, that originated in the Italian Renaissance courts of the 15th century, and which was further developed in France and Russia as a concert dance form. The early portions preceded the invention of the proscenium stage and were presented in large chambers with...

 lessons to help with her breathing. She studied with Tamara Karsavina

Tamara Karsavina

Tamara Platonovna Karsavina was a famous Russian ballerina, renowned for her beauty, who was most noted as a Principal Artist of the Imperial Russian Ballet and later the Ballets Russes of Serge Diaghilev...

, Laurent Novikoff

Laurent Novikoff

Laurent Novikoff was a Russian ballet dancer.-Biography:He graduated from Moscow's Bolshoi Ballet School in 1906. He danced alternatively between Diaghilev and Pavlova's company . He became the ballet master at the Chicago Opera from 1919–1933, and the Metropolitan Opera in New York City from...

 and Marie Rambert

Marie Rambert

Dame Marie Rambert DBE was a Polish-Jewish dancer and dance pedagogue who exerted a great influence on British ballet, both as a dancer and teacher.- Early years and background :...

. By the age of 17, she had opened her own school.

She moved to Canada in 1947. In 1951, she became ballet mistress for the National Ballet of Canada

National Ballet of Canada

The National Ballet of Canada is Canada's largest ballet troupe. It was founded by Celia Franca in 1951 and is based in Toronto, Ontario. Based upon the unity of Canadian trained dancers in the tradition and style of England's Royal Ballet, The National is regarded as one of the premier classical...

 at the request of Celia Franca

Celia Franca

Celia Franca, was the founder of The National Ballet of Canada and its artistic director for 24 years ....

, the company's director. She and Franca founded the National Ballet School of Canada in 1959. Alumni include Frank Augustyn

Frank Augustyn

Frank Joseph Augustyn, OC is a Canadian ballet dancer and artistic director. He was principal dancer of the National Ballet of Canada and the Berlin Opera Ballet. He was artistic director of the Ottawa Ballet, from 1989–1994....

, Rex Harrington

Rex Harrington

Rex Howard Harrington, OC, FRSC is a Canadian ballet dancer. In 2000, he was made an Officer of the Order of Canada. In 2005, he was inducted into Canada's Walk of Fame. In 2006, he was awarded an honorary doctorate by York University and was made a Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada...

, Karen Kain

Karen Kain

Karen Alexandria Kain, CC is a retired Canadian ballet dancer, and currently the Artistic Director of the National Ballet of Canada.-Early Training:...

, James Kudelka

James Kudelka

James Kudelka, OC, , is a choreographer, dancer, and director. He was the artistic director for the National Ballet of Canada from 1996 to 2005, now serving as the National Ballet's artist in residence....

 and Veronica Tennant

Veronica Tennant

Veronica Tennant, CC, FRSC is a Canadian dance and performance film producer and director, and former ballet dancer.She was born in London, England and moved to Canada with her parents and sister in 1955...

. Her training was based on the Cecchetti method

Cecchetti method

The Cecchetti method is a ballet technique and training system devised by the Italian ballet master and pedagogue Enrico Cecchetti . The Cecchetti method, is a strict training system with special concern for anatomy within the confines of classical ballet technique, and seeks to develop the...

 of classical dance.

In 1959, she became associate artistic director for the National Ballet of Canada, but resigned in 1975 to devote herself to the school. She retired in 1989.

She was known for her strict manner, high standards and insistence on technique; she was a strong voice for the support of the arts in Canada.

She was awarded the Order of Canada

Order of Canada

The Order of Canada is a Canadian national order, admission into which is, within the system of orders, decorations, and medals of Canada, the second highest honour for merit...

 in 1973. In 1988, the National Ballet School of Canada named its new performance space the Betty Oliphant Theatre. In 1996, she published an autobiography Miss O: My Life in Dance (ISBN 0-88801-210-1).

She died in St. Catharines, Ontario

St. Catharines, Ontario

St. Catharines is the largest city in Canada's Niagara Region and the sixth largest urban area in Ontario, Canada, with 97.11 square kilometres of land...

 at the age of 85.

External links

• Betty Oliphant at The Canadian Encyclopedia
  The Canadian Encyclopedia
  The Canadian Encyclopedia is a source of information on Canada. It is available online, at no cost. The Canadian Encyclopedia is available in both English and French and includes some 14,000 articles in each language on a wide variety of subjects including history, popular culture, events, people,...
  
  
• Order of Canada Citation