death_place death_date birth_place awards birth_date known_for article_title name
st. catharines , ontario 12 july 2004 london , england order of canada order of ontario 05 august 1918 co-founder of the national ballet school of canada betty oliphant
 betty oliphant
betty oliphant

nancy elizabeth `` betty '' oliphant , -lrb- august 5 , 1918 -- july 12 , 2004 -rrb- was a co-founder of the national ballet school of canada .
born in london , she suffered from pneumonia as a child and her doctor prescribed ballet lessons to help with her breathing .
she studied with tamara karsavina , laurent novikoff and marie rambert .
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 at the request of celia franca , the company 's director .
she and franca founded the national ballet school of canada in 1959 .
alumni include frank augustyn , rex harrington , karen kain , james kudelka and veronica tennant .
her training was based on the cecchetti method 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 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 '' -lrb- isbn 0-88801-210-1 -rrb- .
she died in st. catharines , ontario at the age of 85 .
