Dancer Macdonald was taking a B.A. in English at McGill University when he began ballet classes with noted teachers Gerald Crevier and Elizabeth Leese. 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, "[T]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==