A Tribute to Beverley Miller

Beverley Miller

It is with great sadness that we report the death of Beverley Miller, one of the longest serving teachers at the National Ballet School. She passed away peacefully at home on Sunday, February 21, 2010, after a courageous battle with cancer at the age of 71.

Beverley was born January 22, 1939 in Edmonton, AB, the daughter of George Andrew Barnhouse and Dorothy Mildred Paul. She studied ballet from the age of three and also became very involved in the Edmonton theatre scene. After winning the Elizabeth Sterling Haynes award and using it to study in Europe for a year, Bev graduated from the University of Alberta with a BA in drama in 1961. She was married in 1963 and moved to California with her husband, where she performed with and obtained a Master of Theatre Arts degree from the Pasadena Playhouse in 1965. On moving to Toronto in 1966, she became involved in the Toronto theatre scene but also in a small way with the National Ballet School, an association which rapidly developed into a full time career and the centre of her life.

Beverley taught at NBS for 42 years. Her first teaching was focussed on Creative Drama and then Theatre Arts. Towards the end of her first decade at NBS, Bev developed a History of Ballet course for the senior grades. In the late ’70s her courses became part of the newly initiated Teacher Training Program. In the ’80s, she introduced Theatre Orientation, which she later team-taught with Deborah Hess. In 1983, another team-taught course was developed, this time with Jane Smith, where they initiated an interdisciplinary program by combining History of Ballet with History of Art. These two were such a dynamic duo that ‘Mrs. Miller and Mrs. Smith’ became virtually one word within the halls of NBS for over two decades.

Previously an accomplished actor, Bev’s rich and varied teaching career reflects her many talents and interests, mostly her indomitable passion for theatre, dance and dance history. It is clear from the flood of tributes that have poured in that Bev inspired and influenced generations of students with her contagious energy, passion, kindness and overall zest for life. To quote NBS graduate David Nixon, currently Artistic Director of Northern Ballet Theatre in Leeds and a recent recipient of the Order of the British Empire (OBE), “I would not be where I am today were it not for Bev Miller.”

Bev was one of those special individuals who truly made the world a better place. The National Ballet School was fortunate to be the beneficiary of her many talents for over 40 years. She will be sorely missed.

A Tribute for Beverley will be held during the 50th Anniversary alumni reunion weekend on Maitland Street, Sunday April 25, 2:30 pm.

To ensure that his wife’s legacy remains strong at the National Ballet School for future generations, her husband, Dr. Richard Miller has made a generous donation to establish the Beverley Miller Fund. Every additional contribution to the fund will be matched by the Miller family, and then further augmented by a matching gift program of the Department of Canadian Heritage. For further information please see the Beverley Miller Fund, The National Ballet School Foundation.