Fonds F2836 - Olga Valda Kavaner fonds

Olga Valda, 1893-1973, was born in England to French parents. She was raised in Paris and trained as a ballerina at the Paris Opera House. About 1913 she began regular trips to England to work in theatre and films and during the First World War volunteered in military hospitals. Her first husband, a Canadian soldier, brought her to Canada in 1919 to a farm on Vancouver Island. The marriage did not last long and she returned to England and the theatre. She came back to Canada in 1924 and married Ross Frederick Kavaner, 1888-1972, a railroader. They lived for many years in Shaunavon, Saskatchewan and Olga taught ballet in nearby Saskatchewan towns. In 1950 they relocated to Calgary, Alberta where she established the Calgary Ballet School, which operated until about 1972. She volunteered with a large number of local organizations and also attended the University of Calgary in the 1960s, earning a BA degree.