Mr. Ryan has taught dance since 1977 in public and private schools in both Portland and Eugene, Oregon. He was a recipient of a Graduate Teaching Fellowship and earned his M.S. and B.S. in Dance pedagogy from the University of Oregon. He completed his post-graduate study, as one of five students accepted from a pool of five thousand applicants, at the Royal Academy of Dance Teachers College in London, UK.
Mr. Ryan has danced with the Eugene Ballet and Ballet Oregon, appearing in featured soloist roles in The Nutcracker, Bolero, Pulcinella, Cinderella, Coppelia and Seven Deadly Sins. In Portland, he has twice served as a grant review panelist for the Regional Arts and Culture Council.
Mr. Ryan has studied ballet under noted teachers and artists, including: John O'Brian (RAD), Susan Zadoff (Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo), Oleg Briansky (Bolshoi Ballet), Melissa Hayden (Royal Ballet), Robert Irwin (American Ballet Theater), Toni Pimble (RAD/Artistic Director of Eugene Ballet), Pamela Hayes (RAD/Sacramento Ballet), Edna Odum (North Carolina School for the Arts). His studies in martial arts have included Shotokan Karate, Kokodan Judo, Capoeira and Yang style Tai Chi, with additional movement expertise in gymnastics and tumbling, modern and jazz dance, and springboard diving.
Students of Mr. Ryan have gone on to study in the dance departments of the University of Utah, Goucher College, Belhaven College, the University of Oregon, Interlochen Arts Academy, San Francisco School of Ballet, Joffrey II, and the Boston Ballet.
