Lois Smith, RIP

Zoomer | January 24th, 2011

After a long period of decline due to Alzheimer’s, Lois Smith, a blessed dancer and teacher, died at her home in Sechelt, B.C. on Saturday at the age of 81.

Frequently seen on tour across Canada and on CBC Television, Smith helped establish the National Ballet of Canada’s credible reputation.

Karen Kain, the current artistic director of the National Ballet, told the Toronto Star that Smith “was beautiful, elegant, serene and so feminine.”

After retiring in 1969, due to injury, Smith opened her own studio in Toronto and became a well-known ballet instructor. She eventually moved her school to George Brown College, establishing the institutions’ dance program.