Fernand Nault (1920-2006).

Until he discovered dance, Fernand-Noel Boissonneault, the only son of a poor Montreal family, was destined for the priesthood. Although devout throughout his life, he traded a cassock for tights in his late teens, and as Fernand Nault embarked on a dance career.

With few professional opportunities at home, Nault, trained in Montreal by Maurice Morenoff, won a six-week contract in 1944 with the touring Ballet Theatre (now American Ballet Theatre). He stayed for 20 years, emerging as a gifted character dancer. From 1960 to 1964 he co-directed the company school.

Meanwhile, Les Grands Ballets Canadiens had established itself in Montreal. Nault, having given a successful Nutcracker in 1965, accepted founder Ludmilla Chiriaeff's invitation to become co-artistic director. His choreography--sensuous, theatrical, and often charged with his own spirituality--redefined LGBC's image. At Montreal's Expo 67, Nault's Carmina Burana won wide acclaim. His 1970 staging of The Who's Tommy caused a sensation and toured internationally for three years. Nault and Chiriaeff resigned in 1974 to focus their energy on LGBC's school. But the company continued to present his work into the late 1990s and his much-loved Nutcracker endures. Nault, despite the onset of Parkinson's disease, also worked internationally, staging his ballets in the Philippines and Korea.