John Magnus was born in South Africa where he received his early dance training at the University of Cape Town Ballet School.  His talent and artistry drew the attention of the Cape Town City Ballet Company and he accepted a position with the company.

In 1980, Mr. Magnus moved to the United States to serve as ballet master for Nevada Dance Theatre.  After just a few years, he felt compelled to move to New York City where he was hired as a teacher for the New Jersey Ballet School and Company.  In 1986, Robert Joffrey asked John to join the faculty of the Joffrey Ballet School.  He was privileged to be the last teacher hired by Robert Joffrey before Mr. Joffrey’s death in 1988.  While on faculty at the Joffrey School, he also taught for the Joffrey Ballet Company and the Metropolitan Opera Ballet.

The Joffrey Midwest Workshop was established in Flint, Michigan in 1996 and Mr. Magnus was named Artistic Director by Joffrey Ballet School director Edith D’Addario.  The workshop was renamed Magnus Midwest Dance in July of 2009 to honor his vision and leadership.  In 2005, he was appointed Artistic Director of the Joffrey Ballet School and created a full length Nutcracker performed at the Skirball Theatre New York and reviewed by The New York Times as “glorious and sweetly inventive”. 

In 2009, Mr. Magnus ended his 23 year relationship with the Joffrey Ballet School to accept the position of Artistic Director for the Portland Festival Ballet in Portland, Oregon.  He is the Co-Artistic Director for the San Gorgonio Ballet in California and President of the American Readers Theatre, a not-for-profit organization promoting literacy through the performing arts. In past years he has served as the Artistic Director for the Great Lakes Summer Workshop and the Joffrey Midland Summer Workshop.

His choreography includes West Virginia Opera (Faust and Der Fledermaus), Simple Symphony (Benjamin Britten) and Overture (Schubert) created for the collaboration between the Joffrey Ballet School and Arts Umbrella School in Vancouver and new works for the Joffrey Ballet School Dance Ensemble performed at the Boch Centre for the Performing Arts in Massachusetts. Mr. Magnus has collaborated with American Readers Theatre and created works for the Big Read based on Steinbeck’s Grapes of Wrath and the Edgar Allen Poe poem Annabel Lee and guest teaches throughout the states and for the Regional Dance America South West, Mid States and North East regions. 

Contact John Magnus by e-mail