We are incredibly saddened by the passing of extraordinary dance artist and long time Dance Ontario Board member, Lola Ryan. Lola’s voice and actions have made a profound contribution to dance in Canada and to the success of our organization in particular. She was deeply committed to supporting dance and dancers, generously sharing her knowledge, experience and artistry. Lola sat on the Board of Directors of Dance Ontario for over 20 years, holding the position of Chair during important and transformative years for the organization. She was a valued member of both the Commissioning Committee and the Awards Committee, supporting new creations and choreographers and recognizing the talent and contributions of her fellow dancers at all ages and stages. Lola was an important, influential and inspiring artist and colleague and she will be deeply missed.
We invite you to view Lola’s performance in Sheena Koh’s Wrap me Up, an award-winning video that Lola shared at our first digital film screening at DanceWeekend’21.
More about Lola:
“Dance is the ideal combination of mind and muscle.” Lola Ryan
Lola Ryan,fluently bilingual, was involved in theatre and dance across North America and Europe as a teacher, performer and writer since 1975. She has taught and performed across North America and Europe and was a founding member of EDAM, Vancouver’s innovative dance and music collective. She taught in the Theatre Department at the University of Ottawa, training dancers and actors in improvisation for performance in Ottawa and Athens, Greece and as well as public classes in Improvisation at Ottawa’s Dance Network. Lola also worked extensively in the schools, teaching dance and movement. She served on the commissioning committee of Dance Ontario and on the board of the Council for the Arts in Ottawa. She was a member of the Arts Advisory Committee to the Ottawa-Carleton District School Board.
Dance Ontario’s Staff and Board offer our deepest condolences to Lola’s family, friends, colleagues and community.