Donald Himes
Donald Himes (1930[1] in Galt, Ontario[2] — January 3, 2011)[3] was a Canadian dancer, choreographer, educator, and composer best known for his work on the children's program Mr. Dressup, whose theme song he wrote.
Education
[edit]In 1952, Himes studied Dalcroze eurhythmics at the Royal Conservatory of Music in Toronto, during which time he also taught piano. In 1954, he received a grant from the Canada Council for the Arts to attend the Institut Jaques-Dalcroze in Geneva.[4] He also attended the Martha Graham School "in the mid-1960s".[1]
Career
[edit]Himes taught at a variety of institutions throughout Ontario, including the National Ballet School; he also taught at New York State University.[4] His students included David Earle.[1] He worked with Patricia Beatty as an accompanist, and when Beatty, Earle, and Peter Randazzo co-founded Toronto Dance Theatre in 1968, he participated both as a performer and choreographer;[3][2] as well, he co-composed the music for Toronto Dance Theatre's premiere (a joint venture with Ann Southam),[1] and when the Theatre established a school in 1970, served as its first principal.[3] In 1972, he adapted Jean de Brunhoff's Babar the Elephant stories into a ballet,[2] Babar the Little Elephant,[5] which he choreographed and narrated;[6] the ballet went on tour and was performed in France.[3]
In 1964, Himes joined the cast of Butternut Square on CBC Television, where he portrayed "the Music Man".[7] In this role, he worked with Ernie Coombs and Fred Rogers;[4] when Butternut Square ended in 1967, he followed Coombs to Mr. Dressup,[2] where he not only composed the theme song, but performed it live on air.[3][4]
Himes retired from Mr. Dressup in 1996,[2] but remained active as a performer, appearing in Holly Small's ballet Souls in 2001, and in David Earle's ballet Court in 2003.[3]
He was a practitioner of the Feldenkrais method of movement therapy.[1]
Personal life
[edit]Himes was gay.[8]
In December 2010, he underwent hip replacement surgery, but subsequently died of heart failure.[3]
References
[edit]- ^ a b c d e Donald Himes (1930–2011), by Amy Bowring, at The Dance Current; published January 7, 2011; retrieved July 21, 2025
- ^ a b c d e Mr. Dressup composer Donald Himes dies at 80, at CBC Arts; published January 6, 2011; retrieved July 21, 2025
- ^ a b c d e f g Dance man worked with Mr. Dressup: Popular Toronto teacher, dancer and choreographer Donald Himes has died at age 80., by Michael Crabb; in the Toronto Star; published January 10, 2011; retrieved July 21, 2025
- ^ a b c d Donald Himes Memorial Scholarship, at Dalcroze Canada; retrieved July 21, 2025
- ^ Noticeboard, in Dance in Canada / Danse au Canada, no. 15 (Spring 1978); p. 38; also p. 19
- ^ Babar the dleightfully sophisticated Pooh, by Stephen Godfrey, in The Globe and Mail; March 21, 1978; p. 21
- ^ Statement by the Honourable James Moore, Minister of Canadian Heritage and Official Languages, on the Passing of Donald Himes, by James Moore; at Canada.ca; published January 6, 2011; retrieved July 21, 2025
- ^ The sweet radicalism of Mr. Dressup, the Canadian Mister Rogers, by S. Bear Bergman, in Xtra Magazine; published October 10, 2023; retrieved July 21, 2025