Phyllis Danaher
{{Short description|Australian ballet dancer}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=September 2015}}
{{Use Australian English|date=September 2015}}
{{Infobox dancer
| name = Phyllis Danaher
| image = Phyllis Danaher, 1929.png
| alt =
| caption =
| birth_name =
| birth_date = {{birth date|1908|07|27|df=y}}
| birth_place = Bulimba, Queensland
| death_date = {{death date and age|1991|05|31|1908|07|27|df=y}}
| death_place = Clayfield, Queensland
| residence =
| nationality = Australian
| citizenship =
| education = Royal Academy of Dance
| occupation = Dancer, dance teacher, choreographer, stage director
| years_active =
| home_town =
| height =
| spouse =
| partner =
| children =
| website =
| current_group =
| former_groups = Ballet Theatre of Queensland
| dances =
| module =
}}
Phyllis May Danaher MBE FRAD (27 July 1908 – 31 May 1991) was an Australian dancer, teacher of dance and choreographer.
Early life and education
Danaher was born on 27 July 1908 in Bulimba, a suburb of Brisbane, Queensland, to William Patrick Danaher and Ivy May (née Bagnall). She began dancing in the early 1920s with Margaret St Ledger and then, after 1927, with Marjorie Hollinshed who took over St Ledger's school. She also went to Sydney to study at the Frances Scully School of Dance.{{Citation|last=Scott|first=Joanne|title=Danaher, Phyllis May (1908–1991)|url=http://adb.anu.edu.au/biography/danaher-phyllis-may-15204|work=Australian Dictionary of Biography|publisher=National Centre of Biography, Australian National University|access-date=2019-03-15}}
Career
Danaher appeared as an extra in Anna Pavlova's company in Brisbane during its 1929 Australian Tour and in the 1930s, she performed in J. C. Williamson's musicals.
In 193, she became a co-owner of Hollinshed's school, where she had previously trained and became the school's principal after Hollinshed retired. She was the first Queensland teacher to gain the Advanced Teachers Certificate from the Royal Academy of Dance in 1937. That year, Danaher founded the Queensland branch of the Australasian Society for Operatic Dancing and the Brisbane Ballet Theatre, later renamed the Ballet Theatre of Queensland.Ballet Theatre of Queensland | http://www.btq.org.au She choreographed their first original work, The Wasps, which debuted at Brisbane City Hall in 1956. She served as the company's director until 1984.{{cite web |last1=Dursun |first1=Michelle |title=BTQ celebrates 80 years - Dance Australia |url=http://www.danceaustralia.com.au/news/btq-celebrates-80-years |website=www.danceaustralia.com.au |language=en}}
From 1957 to 1982, Danaher was a Children's Examiner for the Royal Academy of Dance. Her contributions were recognised by her designation as Fellow of the Royal Academy of Dance Royal Academy of Dance - History | http://www.rad.org.au/what-is-rad/history/ and the award of Member of the Order of the British Empire for service to dance in Queensland.Faith, Hope, Charity : Australian Women and Imperial Honours - 1901-89/ http://www.womenaustralia.info/exhib/honours/1969.htmlDanaher, Phyllis, Papers 1920-1955, Fryer Library, University of Queensland Two of Danaher's more successful students were Principal Dancers with the Australian Ballet, Garth WelchGarth Welch - Australia Dancing | http://www.australiadancing.org/subjects/71.html and Lucette Aldous.
Death and legacy
Danaher died in Clayfield, Brisbane on 31 May 1991. She was buried in Brisbane's Lutwyche Cemetery.[https://archive.today/20140902084421/https://online.brisbane.qld.gov.au/cemeteries/cemeteries_step3.jsp?mapdisplay=37795 Danaher Phyllis May] — Brisbane City Council Grave Location Search. Retrieved 2 September 2014.
Every year, the Phyllis Danaher Memorial Scholarship is awarded to a dancer who has been with the Ballet Theatre of Queensland for at least one year.
References
{{Reflist}}
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Danaher, Phyllis}}
Category:Australian ballerinas
Category:Entertainers from Brisbane
Category:Burials at Lutwyche Cemetery
{{Dance-bio-stub}}