Annette av Paul (born February 11, 1944) is a Swedish-Canadian

ballet Ballet () is a type of performance dance that originated during the Italian Renaissance in the fifteenth century and later developed into a concert dance form in France and Russia. It has since become a widespread and highly technical form ...

dancer who had a 30-year dance career performing, teaching, and directing companies across Canada. Av Paul was born in

Rönninge Rönninge is a residential area in Salem Municipality, Stockholm County, Sweden. Statistically it is a part of the bimunicipacontiguously built-up Tumba, Sweden, Tumba urban area. The railway Stockholm - Södertälje was opened in 1861. By the b ...

, Sweden, about 30 kilometres outside Stockholm on February 11, 1944. Her mother was a dance and piano teacher and her father an artist and writer. She studied at the Royal Swedish Ballet School and in 1962, at the age of 17, was apprenticed to the company, becoming principal dancer in 1966. It was there that she met her husband, Canadian dancer/choreographer Brian Macdonald, who was director of the

Royal Swedish Ballet The Royal Swedish Ballet is one of the oldest ballet companies in Europe. Based in Stockholm, Sweden, King Gustav III founded the ballet in 1773 as a part of his national cultural project in response to the French and Italian dominance in this ...

at the time. They moved to Canada in 1973 and Macdonald became artistic director of

Les Grands Ballets Canadiens Les Grands Ballets Canadiens de Montréal (GBCM) is a ballet company based in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. A creative and repertory company, it performs works that reflect the diverse trends of contemporary ballet. History Les Grands Ballets Canadien ...

from 1974-1977, and resident choreographer there from 1977-1990. She danced with Les Grands for 14 years, retiring in 1984. Following retirement Av Paul was a guest performer and coach at many Canadian and international dance companies, including the

National Ballet of Canada The National Ballet of Canada is a Canadian ballet company that was founded in 1951 in Toronto, Ontario, with Celia Franca as the first artistic director. A company of 70 dancers with its own orchestra, the National Ballet has been led since 2022 ...

, the

Royal Winnipeg Ballet The Royal Winnipeg Ballet is Canada's oldest ballet company and the longest continuously operating ballet company in North America. History It was founded in 1939 as the "Winnipeg Ballet Club" by Gweneth Lloyd and Betty Farrally (who also ...

, Les Ballets Jazz de Montreal,

, the

Gothenburg Ballet Company Gothenburg (; abbreviated Gbg; sv, Göteborg ) is the second-largest city in Sweden, fifth-largest in the Nordic countries, and capital of the Västra Götaland County. It is situated by the Kattegat, on the west coast of Sweden, and has a ...

and

Canada's National Ballet School Canada's National Ballet School, also commonly known as the National Ballet School of Canada, is a classical ballet school located in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Along with the Royal Winnipeg Ballet School, it is a provider of professional ballet tr ...

. She was founding artistic director of

Ballet BC Ballet BC is a contemporary ballet company located in Vancouver, British Columbia. History Ballet BC is a professional contemporary ballet company based in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. The company was founded as Ballet British Columbia by ...

from 1985-1988. Av Paul became associate program head of the

Banff Centre for the Arts Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity, formerly known as The Banff Centre (and previously The Banff Centre for Continuing Education), located in Banff, Alberta, was established in 1933 as the Banff School of Drama. It was granted full autonomy as ...

in Alberta, where she taught in the professional and dance training programs and is currently a coach with the Birmingham Conservatory at the

Stratford Festival The Stratford Festival is a theatre festival which runs from April to October in the city of Stratford, Ontario, Canada. Founded by local journalist Tom Patterson in 1952, the festival was formerly known as the Stratford Shakespearean Festival ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Av Paul, Annette 1944 births Living people Swedish ballerinas Canadian ballerinas Swedish female dancers Canadian female dancers Officers of the Order of Canada People from Stockholm Swedish emigrants to Canada