Brian Macdonald

Brian Ronald Macdonald (May 14, 1928 – November 29, 2014) was a Canadian dancer, choreographer and director of opera, theatre and musical theatre.

Early and personal life

Brian Macdonald was born in Montreal, Quebec on May 14, 1928. His father Ian was Irish and worked at Dominion Glass Co. as a sales manager while his mother Mabel Lee was Scottish. Macdonald was a child actor for Radio-Canada and studied piano.

In 1959 Macdonald's first wife Olivia Wyatt died in an automobile accident. Macdonald became a single father, raising his three-year-old son. They married in 1964.

He died on November 29, 2014, in Stratford, Ontario, of bone cancer.

Macdonald's last choreographic work was Requiem 9/11, which premiered at the National Arts Centre in 2002. The piece was Macdonald's perspective of the 9/11 terrorist attacks, performed to Giuseppe Verdi's Requiem. The dance was well received by audience members and critics. Hugh Winsor from The Globe and Mail, who was present at the inaugural performance, wrote that the audience gave the show "an extended standing ovation." The show was criticised for a lack of emotional connection between the performers, with Richard Ouzounian of the Toronto Star saying, "he whole thing now has that "paint by the numbers" kind of feel about it, with everyone coughing up lungfuls of emotion, but rarely connecting to each other at all in any genuine way." Robert Harris of The Globe and Mail commented that the show struggled to overcome issues of racism and prejudice that exist in the opera. which performed remounted works by Macdonald, George Balanchine and winners of the Clifford E Lee Choreographic Award. Some of his students have included Johnny Wright, the male lead in the West End production of Dirty Dancing, and Crystal Pite. He was head of the program until 2001 when he became artistic advisor from 2001-2007.

Awards

1964 Paris International Gold Star for choreography 1967 Officer of the Order of Canada 1970 Paris International Gold Star for choreography 1983 Molson Prize 1988 Dance Canada Prize 1988 Banff Centre National Arts Award 2001 Walter Carsen Prize for Excellence in the Performing Arts 2002 Companion of the Order of Canada 2008 Governor General Performing Arts Award for Lifetime Achievement 2012 Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal