Julie McDonald (born 1954) is a

talent agent A talent agent, or booking agent, is a person who finds jobs for actors, authors, broadcast journalists, film directors, musicians, models, professional athletes, screenwriters, writers, and other professionals in various entertainment or sport ...

and co-founder of McDonald Selznick Associates (MSA), an agency headquartered in

Hollywood, California Hollywood is a neighborhood in the central region of Los Angeles, California. Its name has come to be a shorthand reference for the U.S. film industry and the people associated with it. Many notable film studios, such as Columbia Pictures, ...

, that represents dancers, choreographers, stage directors, and production designers. She is best known for being the first ''dance'' agent i.e. the first talent agent to offer commercial representation for dancers.

Career

In the 1980s, McDonald worked as a

ballet Ballet () is a type of performance dance that originated during the Italian Renaissance in the fifteenth century and later developed into a concert dance form in France and Russia. It has since become a widespread and highly technical form of ...

and

modern dance Modern dance is a broad genre of western concert or theatrical dance which included dance styles such as ballet, folk, ethnic, religious, and social dancing; and primarily arose out of Europe and the United States in the late 19th and early 20th ...

r and owned a dance studio in

Venice, California Venice is a neighborhood of the city of Los Angeles within the Westside region of Los Angeles County, California. Venice was founded by Abbot Kinney in 1905 as a seaside resort town. It was an independent city until 1926, when it was annexed b ...

, called Room to Move. Due to a knee injury while shooting a television commercial, she was forced to end her dance career early, but she still had a desire to work in entertainment. In 1985, after taking a three-week entertainment business course, she took a position as an agent at Joseph, Heldfond & Rix (JHR) agency. At the time, JHR only represented actors. McDonald became the first dance agent by creating the first agency department dedicated exclusively to dancer representation. At the time, representation for back-up dancers did not exist and they were commonly classified as "extras". At the first agency audition she held, 300 dancers showed up; one of her first clients was

Paula Abdul Paula Julie Abdul (born June 19, 1962) is an American singer, dancer, choreographer, actress, and television personality. She began her career as a cheerleader for the Los Angeles Lakers at the age of 18 and later became the head choreograph ...

. While at JHR, McDonald worked to improve working conditions for dancers and secure overtime and hazard pay. In 1990, she founded the Dancers' Alliance to establish minimum rates for work. In 2000, she left JHR (which is now called Kazarian/Spencer Associates) and founded McDonald Selznick Associates with business partner Tony Selznick. She took her entire client roster of choreographers with her including

Darrin Henson Darrin Dewitt Henson (born May 5, 1973) is an American choreographer, dancer, actor, director and producer. Hensen was a brief member of freestyle music group Trilogy and was featured on their single "Good Time".

, Nadine "Hi Hat" Ruffin,

Kenny Ortega Kenneth John Ortega (born April 18, 1950) is an American filmmaker, touring manager, and choreographer. He is known for directing the films '' Newsies'', '' Hocus Pocus'', ''The Cheetah Girls 2'', ''High School Musical'', ''Michael Jackson's Th ...

Marguerite Derricks Marguerite Pomerhn-Derricks (born 1961), professionally known as Marguerite Derricks, is a former ballerina and a multi award-winning choreographer from Buffalo, New York.Bob Thompson, "A woman on the Go Go: Catchy Gap ad, Austin Powers' moves mak ...

Travis Payne Travis Payne (born July 5, 1971) is an American choreographer, director and producer. He was the choreographer for Michael Jackson's This Is It until Jackson's death. Payne also served as the associate producer for '' This Is It'' and along ...

Jerry Mitchell Jerry Mitchell is an American theatre director and choreographer. Early life and education Born in Paw Paw, Michigan, Mitchell later moved to St. Louis where he pursued his acting, dancing and directing career in theatre. Although he did not g ...

, and

Wade Robson Wade, WADE, or Wades may refer to: Places in the United States * Wade, California, a former settlement * Wade, Maine, a town * Wade, Mississippi, a census-designated place * Wade, North Carolina, a town * Wade, Ohio, an unincorporated commu ...

. In addition to running MSA, McDonald is on the advisory council of Dance Camera West film festival. In 2011, she was an associate producer for the dance documentary ''MOVE''. In 2012, she produced the Emmy's live webcast and panel discussion "The Choreographers...Yesterday Today and Tomorrow".

Awards

In 2010, McDonald was honored at The Carnival: Choreographer’s Ball "for being a pioneer of dance representation." Her award was presented to her by Paula Abdul, Tony Selznick, and

Robin Antin Robin Antin is an American actress, entrepreneur, dancer, choreographer and clothing designer. In 1995, she founded the modern burlesque troupe the Pussycat Dolls. By 2005, she diversified into various media including a pop recording group with ...

. In 2011, she won a Lifetime Achievement Award at the 14th Annual Dance Under the Stars Choreography Festival. In 2013, she was an honoree at Tremaine Dance Convention's National Gala and she won another Lifetime Achievement Award, from ''The Industry Voice'', for her work with Dancers' Alliance. In 2014,

World of Dance World of Dance is a Southern California-based dance, fashion, music, and entertainment brand founded by David Gonzalez, Myron Marten, and Michael McGinn in 2008. It is the world's largest dance entertainment enterprise, elevating artists and bra ...

presented her and her business partner Tony Selznick with the Decade of Dance award.

References

External links

Biography
a
MSAAgency.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:McDonald, Julie 1954 births Living people American talent agents Businesspeople from Seattle Place of birth missing (living people)