Tony-Nominated Choreographer Brian Macdonald Passes Away at 86

According to published reports, Brian Macdonald, a Canadian dancer, choreographer, director of opera, theatre and musical theatre, passed away on November 29 in his Stratford home. He was 86 years old.

Macdonald was an original member of the National Ballet of Canada. As a choreographer, he created works for the Royal Winnipeg Ballet and was artistic director of the Royal Swedish Ballet (1964-67), Harkness Ballet (1967-68), Israel's Batsheva Dance Theatre (1971-72) and Les Grands Ballet Canadiens (1974-77). Among his ballets during this period were the popular "Time Out of Mind" for the Joffrey Ballet and Harkness Ballet's "Canto Indio."

Macdonald's Broadway theatre credits include Maggie Flynn (1968) and The Mikado (1987), for which he was nominated for the Tony Award for Best Choreography and Best Direction of a Musical.

In 1967, Macdonald was made an Officer of the Order of Canada and was promoted to Companion in 2001. In 2008, he received the Governor General's Performing Arts Award for Lifetime Artistic Achievement.