K2CO PATRON
Lady Deborah MacMillan
Lady Deborah Macmillan
Lady Deborah MacMillan - Patron
Born in Queensland, Australia, she was educated in Sydney and won a scholarship to the National Art School where she studied painting and sculpture. Since 1970 she has lived in London, where she met and married Kenneth MacMillan. She has designed ballets for the stage, ‘Quartet’, ‘Sea of Troubles’ and ‘Concerto’. For television, ‘A Lot of Happiness’. She returned to painting full-time in 1984. She exhibits in London and for 10 years also at Glyndebourne. At Expo 17 in Astana Kazakhstan 20 of her paintings were shown in the Opera House depicting backstage life to co-inside with performances of Manon by her late husband. Her work is in private collections in the USA and the UK. She was a member of the Royal Opera House Board (1993–6) and was Chairman of The Friends of Covent Garden (1996). Between 1996 and 1998 she was a member of the Arts Council of England and chaired the Dance Panel. She is custodian of her late husband’s Choreography and Theatre work.
“The Arts are peopled by those rare and brave individuals who cherish and protect their creative flame against all who would smother it through envy, ignorance, and the fashionable baying of the crowd. My late husband Kenneth MacMillan endured many of those adversities but kept to his principles. I recognise these same principles in Rosie Kay’s artistic honesty and am delighted and honoured to be a patron of K2CO.” Lady Deborah MacMillan
Rosie Kay added: “I am delighted to have the patronage of Lady MacMillan. She has been an incredible source of support and inspiration through the setting up of K2CO and I, with her vision, very much look forward to the future of my company and my choreography.
“Sir Kenneth MacMillan is the greatest choreographer of the 20th century, and I have long studied his works. The combination of real emotional storytelling, exquisite and technically challenging dance, and the exploration of the biggest themes on life and death have been an inspiration to me. To be able to work with Lady MacMillan now is a dream come true.”