{"id":335,"date":"2017-07-17T00:53:03","date_gmt":"2017-07-17T00:53:46","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/mcdonaldcolleg.wpengine.com\/afterhours\/?page_id=335"},"modified":"2026-01-14T15:03:33","modified_gmt":"2026-01-14T04:03:33","slug":"history","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.mcdonald.nsw.edu.au\/afterhours\/about\/history\/","title":{"rendered":"Our History"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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\u00a0<\/div>\n

The Ann McDonald College of Dancing & After Hours<\/h2>\n

The McDonald College<\/a> traces its origins to Ann McDonald<\/strong>, who founded the Ann McDonald College of Dancing<\/strong> in 1926<\/strong>. Born in Scotland and trained in Sydney, Ann established a studio that quickly became a respected centre for dance education. A passionate advocate for the arts, she also played a leading role in professional dance organisations in NSW and nationally.<\/p>\n

In 1970<\/strong>, the College was passed to Ann\u2019s daughter Margaret Markham<\/strong>, joined by Ann Fraser<\/strong> and Maxine Kohler<\/strong>. Sharing a vision to combine elite performing arts training with academic education, they transformed the dance school into a not-for-profit organisation in 1983<\/strong>, enabling the establishment of The McDonald College<\/strong>. The school officially opened in 1984<\/strong> as a specialist performing arts secondary school.<\/p>\n

Alongside the full-time school, the College developed a part-time program for the wider community, now known as The McDonald College After Hours<\/strong>. Under the leadership of Miriam Carson (1985\u20132015)<\/strong> and later her granddaughter Lisa Haack<\/strong>, After Hours has grown into one of Sydney\u2019s most respected part-time performing arts programs.<\/p>\n

Celebrating its 100-year milestone in 2026<\/strong>, the legacy of the Ann McDonald College of Dancing continues through both the school and After Hours\u2014nurturing talent, discipline and creativity in generations of young performers.<\/p>\n

\"Lisa
Lisa Haack & Miriam Carson<\/figcaption><\/figure>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u00a0 The Ann McDonald College of Dancing & After Hours The McDonald College traces its origins to Ann McDonald, who founded the Ann McDonald College of Dancing in 1926. Born in Scotland and trained in Sydney, Ann established a studio that quickly became a respected centre for dance education. A passionate advocate for the arts,…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":431,"parent":6,"menu_order":16,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"page-full.php","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_seopress_titles_title":"","_seopress_titles_desc":"The McDonald College traces its origins to Ann McDonald, who founded the Ann McDonald College of Dancing in 1926. Born in Scotland and trained in Sydney, Ann established a studio that quickly became a respected centre for dance education. 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