Internationally renowned choreographer, dancer, and director Brian Macdonald passionately supported the national arts scene and was known for deliberately incorporating Canadian designers and composers in his productions.
In 1967, Macdonald was appointed as an Officer of the Order of Canada for his contributions to the Royal Winnipeg Ballet and the Kungliga Svenska Balettskolan / The Royal Swedish Ballet School. In 2002, he became Companion of the Order of Canada, as he “brought his passion, leadership and tremendous versatility to institutions such as Les Grands Ballets Canadiens, the Banff Centre for the Arts and Stratford Festival.” Macdonald passed away on November 29, 2014.
In this clip from CBC’s Campus in the Clouds documentary produced as part of their Camera Canada series, Macdonald leads a warmup for the Modern Jazz Ballet Division course in 1961. The course was marketed as offering students the “development of the body as an instrument of expression.”