Lawrence Adams.

Winnipeg-born Lawrence Adams died of cancer February 26, 2003, at age 66. He was the younger brother of David Adams, the first male star of The National Ballet of Canada. He studied with Mara McBirney and in 1955 followed his brother into the NBC. He danced with Montreal's Les Grands Ballets Canadiens from 1960-61, The Joffrey Ballet from 1961-62, then NBC again until 1969. As a principal dancer, Adams was noted for his vivid stage personality and virile athleticism. He was particularly acclaimed for his portrayals of Mercutio in John Cranko's Romeo and Juliet and the Rake in Ninette de Valois's The Rake's Progress. Adams and his wife, dancer Miriam Weinstein, quit to form a small touring troupe featuring their own choreography; in 1974, they opened the Toronto performance space 15 Dance Lab, a home to emerging dance artists and avant-garde dance. They focused on preserving Canada's dance heritage--from the reconstruction of historic dance works and gathering of oral histories to The publication of biographies and collected criticism. In 2000, their nonprofit publishing house, Dance Collection Danse, launched the bilingual Encyclopedia of Theatre Dance in Canada.