Donald MacLeary


Donald Whyte MacLeary is a retired British ballet dancer, a former principal dancer and a ballet master with the Royal Ballet, where he was a member of the company for 48 years.
Born in Glasgow, Donald MacLeary studied with Sheila Ross from 1950–51 and at the Sadler's Wells Ballet School. He joined Sadler's Wells Theatre Ballet in 1954. In 1955, he was promoted to soloist. In 1959, he became the Royal Ballet's youngest principal dancer, when Svetlana Beriosova requested that he become her regular partner.
According to Encyclopædia Britannica, MacLeary was "noted for his strong finesse and natural romanticism".
MacLeary created roles in:
MacLeary was ballet master of the Royal Ballet from 1975 or 1976 to 1979 and repetiteur to principal dancers from 1984. MacLeary retired at the end of the 2001/2002 season after 48 years with the Royal Ballet.. He was appointed OBE in the 2004 New Year Honours.