Julie McDonald (agent)

Julie McDonald
Born 1954 (age 63–64)
Residence Los Angeles, California
Occupation Talent agent
Years active 1985 - Present
Employer McDonald Selznick Associates
(owner & co-founder)
Known for Being the first dance agent
Home town Seattle, Washington[1]

Julie McDonald (born 1954) is a talent agent and co-founder of McDonald Selznick Associates (MSA), an agency headquartered in Hollywood, California, 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

Julie McDonald is a trained ballet and modern dancer and performed with various companies in the 1970s. In 1976, with Myrna Gawryn and Nina Lilly, she created a new kind of dance studio in Venice, California called Room to Move. The studio closed in 1982 but left its’ mark as an inspiration to the new movement in dance and exercise. Due to a knee injury while shooting a television commercial, she was forced to end her dance and teaching career. 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 was a top commercial agency that only represented actors.[2] McDonald created the first Dance Department dedicated exclusively to dancer and choreography representation.[1][2][3][4][5] At the time, representation for dancers did not exist[6] and they were commonly classified as "extras".[7] At the first agency audition she held, 300 dancers showed up;[1] one of her first Choreography clients was Paula Abdul.[2]

While at JHR, McDonald worked to establish better terms and working conditions for dancers. In 1990, along with a dedicated group of working dancers and colleagues, she co-founded Dancers' Alliance to establish minimum rates and better working conditions for professional dancers.[8][9] She was a leading force in securing SAG representation for dancers in feature films. In 2000, she left KSA and founded McDonald Selznick Associates (MSA) with business partner Tony Selznick.[1] Their clients followed, including Nadine "Hi Hat" Ruffin, Kenny Ortega, Marguerite Derricks, [Jerry Mitchell]], Keith Young, Vincent Paterson, and Wade Robson.[10]

Ms. McDonald co-created the American Choreography Awards (1994-2004), an event honoring choreography achievement in media. She was honored with the Lifetime Achievement Award by the Choreographers Carnival and Dance under the Stars Choreography Festival for pioneering the representation of dancers and choreographers. She is on the board of trustees for the Dizzy Feet Foundation, an organization devoted to dance education for under served communities throughout the US. She is also on the Boards of Center Dance Association at the Music Center, Dance Magazine, and Dare to Dance in Public.

Awards

In 2010, McDonald was honored at The Carnival: Choreographer’s Ball "for being a pioneer of dance representation."[2] Her award was presented to her by Paula Abdul, Tony Selznick, and Robin Antin.[2]

In 2011, she won a Lifetime Achievement Award at the 14th Annual Dance Under the Stars Choreography Festival.[3][4] In 2013, she was an honoree at Tremaine Dance Convention's National Gala[5] and she won another Lifetime Achievement Award, from The Industry Voice, for her work with Dancers' Alliance.[6]

In 2014, World of Dance presented her and her business partner Tony Selznick with the Decade of Dance award.[7]

References

  1. ↑ Sagolla, Lisa (September 30, 2009). "A Pioneer in Representing Dancers and Choreographers". VNueMedia.com. Retrieved August 24, 2011. A true pioneer in the field of representing dancers, McDonald started by working for JHR (which then became KSA), a big commercial agency in Los Angeles. 'I went there in 1985 and formed the first department ever to exclusively represent dancers and choreographers,' she says. 'I began by putting a very small ad in Variety saying 'Dancers Wanted for Representation.' I asked some of my friends to concuct an audition, and 300 people showed up. There was clearly a great interest and a great need.'
  2. 1 2 "Carnival Choreographer's Ball 11th Anniversary". DanceBloggers.com. February 1, 2010. Archived from the original on September 5, 2012. Retrieved September 13, 2011.
  3. ↑ Levine, Debra (November 15, 2011). "Hollywood Dance Super-Agent, Julie McDonald, honored at Palm Desert's 'Dance Under the Stars' Choreography Festival". Huffington Post. Archived from the original on June 9, 2012. Retrieved June 9, 2012. Julie McDonald was honored last weekend with a Lifetime Achievement Award at the 14th Annual "Dance Under The Stars" Choreography festival presented the McCallum Theatre Institute, the Education Division of the McCallum Theatre for the Performing Arts... She then launched as an agent, quickly learning how undervalued and even exploited dancers were in Hollywood. In fact, dancers were regularly categorized as 'extras.' As McDonald put it diplomatically Saturday night, 'Nothing against extras, but ... dancers have craft.'
  4. ↑ "Dance Under the Stars Choreography Festival". McCallumTheatre.com. Archived from the original on November 6, 2011. Retrieved November 9, 2011.
  5. ↑ "Julie McDonald - 2013 National Gala Honoree!". TremaineDance.com. Archived from the original on December 8, 2013. Retrieved June 10, 2013.
  6. ↑ "Congratulations to 2013 TIV Awards Winners". TheIndustryVoiceOnline.com. Archived from the original on December 7, 2013. Retrieved September 6, 2013.
  7. ↑ "2014 World of Dance Industry Awards Nominees". WorldofDance.com. Archived from the original on January 20, 2014. Retrieved April 1, 2014.
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