Grant Strate, (December 7, 1927 – February 9, 2015) was a

Canadian Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...

dancer, choreographer and academic. Born in

Cardston, Alberta Cardston is a town in Alberta, Canada. It was first settled in 1887 by members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) who travelled from Utah, via the Macleod-Benton Trail, to present-day Alberta in one of the century ...

, though he started out in Edmonton as a lawyer he was an original member of the

National Ballet of Canada The National Ballet of Canada is a Canadian ballet company that was founded in 1951 in Toronto, Ontario, with Celia Franca as the first artistic director. A company of 70 dancers with its own orchestra, the National Ballet has been led since 2022 ...

and was a soloist, choreographer and teacher with the Company as well. From 1970 to 1980, he was the founding Chair of

York University York University (french: Université York), also known as YorkU or simply YU, is a public university, public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is Canada's fourth-largest university, and it has approximately 55,700 students, 7,0 ...

's Department of Dance. From 1980 to 1989, he was the Director of the School for Contemporary Arts at

Simon Fraser University Simon Fraser University (SFU) is a public research university in British Columbia, Canada, with three campuses, all in Greater Vancouver: Burnaby (main campus), Surrey, and Vancouver. The main Burnaby campus on Burnaby Mountain, located ...

. In 1994, he was made a Member of the

Order of Canada The Order of Canada (french: Ordre du Canada; abbreviated as OC) is a Canadian state order and the second-highest honour for merit in the system of orders, decorations, and medals of Canada, after the Order of Merit. To coincide with the cen ...

in recognition for being "a creative and tactful presence on arts and dance committees nationwide". Profile
gg.ca; accessed February 11, 2015. In 1996, Strate received the

Governor General's Performing Arts Award A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...

for Lifetime Artistic Achievement, Canada's highest honour in the performing arts. In 1999, he was awarded the

Canada Council for the Arts The Canada Council for the Arts (french: Conseil des arts du Canada), commonly called the Canada Council, is a Crown corporation established in 1957 as an arts council of the Government of Canada. It acts as the federal government's principal i ...

Jacqueline Lemieux Prize. In 2006, he was made a Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada. Strate was an Advisory Council member of the Dancer Transition Resource Centre. Strate died of cancer, aged 87, at home in

Vancouver Vancouver ( ) is a major city in western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the ...

on February 9, 2015.Notice of death of Grant Strate
theglobeandmail.com; accessed February 11, 2015.

References

External links

Grant Strate
at

The Canadian Encyclopedia ''The Canadian Encyclopedia'' (TCE; french: L'Encyclopédie canadienne) is the national encyclopedia of Canada, published online by the Toronto-based historical organization Historica Canada, with the support of Canadian Heritage. Available f ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Strate, Grant 1927 births 2015 deaths Ballet choreographers Canadian male ballet dancers Fellows of the Royal Society of Canada Members of the Order of Canada People from Cardston Academic staff of Simon Fraser University Academic staff of York University Deaths from cancer in British Columbia Governor General's Award winners