About Us

Daniel Ryan

1961 U.S. World Team coach

Danny Ryan, 31, was a pioneer in the history of ice dancing, as he was among the first to perform the free dance in competition and participated in the first World Figure Skating Championships that included ice dancing. Danny was raised by his grandmother, Caroline Naylor, in Bridgeport, Conn. A national roller skating champion, he tried ice skating for the first time in Washington, D.C., when he attended Catholic University. Coached by Lewis Elkin and Walter "Red" Bainbridge, he partnered with Carol Ann Peters in ice dancing and trained at the Washington Figure Skating Club, and in Lake Placid and Canton, N.Y. Ryan served in the U.S. Army while winning the 1953 U.S. ice dancing title and the bronze medal at the 1952 and 1953 World Championships. Ryan retired from competitive skating in 1953, taught at the Minto Skating Club in Ottawa, Ontario, and married skating instructor Rose Anne Paquette. In 1955, the Ryans moved to the Midwest, teaching at the Winter Club of Indianapolis. Students Larry Pierce and Marilyn Meeker were the 1959 U.S. junior ice dancing champions and members of the 1960 U.S. World Figure Skating Team. When Meeker had an accident in practice seven weeks before the 1961 U.S. Figure Skating Championships, Ryan and Pierce recruited Diane Sherbloom from Los Angeles to become Larry's temporary partner, and they became the 1961 U.S. ice dancing champions. When Ryan flew to Prague, he left behind his wife and five children - Kevin, Patrick, Terri Anne, Sheryl and Michael; his eldest was 5, his youngest two weeks old.

Bio written by Patricia Shelley Bushman, author of Indelible Tracings.