Donald Byrd
Choreographer
Born 1949
Place of Birth New London, NC
Choreographer Donald Byrd became Artistic Director of Seattle's Spectrum Dance Theater in December 2002. Previously he was the artistic director of DONALD BYRD/THE GROUP, a contemporary dance company that he founded in Los Angeles in 1978. Since 1976, Byrd has created over eighty works for his own and for many major dance companies including The Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater and Pacific Northwest Ballet. Most recently, he choreographed the Tony-nominated Broadway musical, The Color Purple.
Byrd has choreographed several MOR dance commissions including The Golem by composer Betty Olivero (2024) and Source Code by composer Jessie Montgomery (2025).