July 9, 2026

In Memoriam: Dr. Sheila Marion

two people talking at a table in front of a bookshelf

Ohio State's Department of Dance mourns the loss of Emerita Professor Dr. Sheila Marion, who died on June 22, 2026. Professor Marion served as director of the Dance Notation Bureau Extension for Education and Research at Ohio State until spring 2011. Her research was in the application of computer technology for dance notation. Professor Marion was an elected fellow of the International Council of Kinetography Laban, and was selected by Ann Hutchinson Guest as a consultant for her Advanced Labanotation textbook. She served on the ICKL Research Panel. Professor Marion notated Daniel Nagrin's Jazz Three Ways and Jazz Dance Styles, Marion Scott's Sevenfold, and Tap Dance: A Dictionary of Tap Steps in Labanotation. Her directing credits include works by Ruth Currier, Doris Humphrey, Sophie Maslow, Buzz Miller, Marion Scott, Anna Sokolow, and Helen Tamiris.

"Sheila changed the course of my life,” says Ohio State MFA in Dance Alumnus Mei-Chen Lu, who is currently the director of library services for the Dance Notation Bureau in New York, NY.

"When I entered the graduate program at The Ohio State University as a performance major, Elementary Labanotation was simply a required course. One day, Sheila came to me and said, 'You are very good with notation. You should continue studying it.'

Those few words changed everything.

Within the next two years, I completed Advanced Labanotation and Directing from Score courses, fulfilling nearly every requirement of the notation track even though I was a performance student. Sheila also invited me to perform the leading role of the mother in the notation staging of Lin Hwai-min's "Crossing the Black Water," a section from Legacy. It was one of the greatest honors of my dancing career to portray my ancestor leaving her homeland, crossing the perilous strait, and beginning a new life in Taiwan.

As an international student whose English was still limited at that time, I would never forget Sheila's patience, kindness, and encouragement. She always believed in me.

When I was nearing graduation, Sheila told me that the Dance Notation Bureau in New York was looking for a librarian who could read and write notation. Because of her, I applied for the position.

I am still serving in that role today.

Looking back, I realize that so much of my professional life traces back to Sheila's guidance, generosity, and faith in a student who never imagined where notation would lead. I will always be grateful that she saw something in me before I saw it in myself.

Thank you, Sheila, for your wisdom, your mentorship, and your friendship. Your legacy lives on through the many students, scholars, and dance professionals whose lives you shaped."

Photo: Mei-Chen Lu and Dr. Sheila Marion at the Dance Notation Bureau office, 151 W. 30th Street, New York City, 2006.