Solange Jacqueline Binda MacLean

Solange Jacqueline Binda MacLean, née de Saint Hubert, passed away peacefully at her home on January 21, 2025, just ten days before her 103rd birthday. Solange was a beloved wife, devoted mother and grandmother, a cherished friend and inspirational teacher to thousands of young dance students she influenced during her 75 years of teaching dance in Northern VA. She is deeply missed by all who knew her smile, her loving eyes, her passion for life and her astonishing grace and strength. She was truly a grand lady, larger than life, a formidable force that not only leaves a legacy but a shining light that continues through the many lives she influenced. Her life is a story of privilege, hardship, self-reliance, grief, courage and perseverance.

Solange, a Belgian national, was the eldest of two children of Simone and Georges de Saint Hubert. She spent her youth in China where her father worked as an engineer developing the rail system and later as Director General of the Crédit Foncier d'Extrême-Orient. She was born in Chengchow, Honan province, on February 1, 1922. Within a few years, Jacqueline's parents (as they called her) moved to Beijing, then Shanghai and eventually Tientsin (now Tianjin).

Jacqueline and her brother, Christian, enjoyed a well-to-do upbringing in China, attending schools in English, French and German, ultimately becoming proficient in five languages. She learned to sing, play piano, paint and had extensive training in ballet from Madame Voitenco, a Russian émigré. These years of dance training gave her a lifelong love for ballet as well as an immense knowledge of classical music, character dance and costume design that she later enthusiastically shared with generations of her dance students. Jacqueline spent her childhood summers at the beach at Peitaiho where she enjoyed horseback riding and nurtured her drawing skills in portraiture, landscape and fashion design. Every few years her family would travel to Belgium on home leave. These long journeys by boat exposed Jacqueline to the cultures of the Pacific Rim, Southeast Asia, India, Middle East, Africa and Europe.

In 1941, with the attack on Pearl Harbor, Japan went to war with America and its Allies. Overnight the reality of war changed the course of Jaqueline's family's life and the lives of Europeans living in China. Residents were initially confined within their neighborhood, forced to wear armbands, and by February of 1942 were given a few days to prepare to be evacuated to internment camps. They were only able to bring to the camp what they could carry, leaving behind a lifetime of memories, possessions and beloved pets.

Jaqueline and her family were interned at the Weihsien Camp, the largest Japanese camp for Europeans in China with over 2,000 foreign nationals including many missionaries, priests, nuns and young boarding school children sent to the camp without their parents. While Jacqueline has shared many stories of the hardships and malnutrition they endured, she also shared stories of hope and fortitude. The years in the camp taught her tenacity, resilience and frugality while also witnessing acts of great kindness and generosity by those experiencing extreme suffering.

Once the Pacific War ended in August of 1945, and the Americans liberated the camp, Jacqueline and her parents returned to Tientsin and spent several months awaiting passage out of China. With Jacqueline's beautiful coloratura soprano voice, graceful charm, glamour and poised elegance, she was often invited to post war celebrations hosted by both American and European diplomats. During this time, she met Capt. William MacLean, a US Marine aviator, who, 20 years later, would become her loving husband of 54 years.

Jacqueline finally left China in 1946 traveling alone across the Pacific and then across America by train to spend several months in New York City pursuing vocal lessons by the famed Metropolitan Opera soprano, Lily Pons, as well as dance classes taught by Leon Fokine. During this time, another US Marine she met in Tientsin in 1945, H. Jeffrey Binda, proposed to her. Due to her parents' concern about her moving permanently to America, Jacqueline, now using her given name of Solange, returned to live in Belgium for about a year where she enrolled at the Royal Conservatory of Brussels, continuing her studies in dance, singing and music.

By 1948, Solange returned to America and married Jeff Binda. She began teaching both ballet and French at Green Hedges School originally located in the Kilmer's home in Arlington, VA. In 1950, Solange and Jeff had their first child, Mark Christian. Their daughter, Carinne Solange, was born in 1954 and their marriage ended soon after. The following years were very difficult for Solange as a single mother with no family and few friends in America, but being a gifted and hard-working entrepreneurial businesswoman, she soon opened her first ballet school. By 1959, with her school rapidly growing, she moved into a new home with a dedicated dance studio on site and established the Ballet Academy of Northern Virginia. She also taught ballet at several private and parochial schools using a curriculum she developed. Using her grit, determination and resilience, she taught herself how to sew, a skill that would ultimately lead to making thousands of costumes for annual recitals.

In 1966 Solange married Col. William MacLean, the Marine she met 20 years previously in China. They shared 54 joyous, loving and adventurous years together. While opposites in some ways, the relationship between them was beautifully balanced and they were eternally devoted to one another.

With the Ballet Academy thriving, "Madame Binda," as her students called her, wanted her young ballerinas to bring the gift of dance to the community. She, with Bill by her side as her "sound man extraordinaire," held performances in hospitals, fundraisers for Toys for Tots, the Salvation Army and gave many free outdoor community performances. She directed this successful ballet school until nearly 103 years old. The ballet studio in her home operated continuously until Covid in 2020 when she began teaching via zoom.

Madame Binda became legendary for the many lives she inspired, instilling a love for dance, music, performing, creativity and artistry. She had a gift to make every student, whether 3 or 73, find joy in movement, feel uniquely special and confidently poised. Many students have recounted stories of the profound impact she had in their lives and how she created a safe space of love, beauty and acceptance through rigorous training in dance. Hundreds of students remained lifelong friends that she guided through life's challenges with her wisdom and hope, her marvelous sense of humor and infectious joy.

Solange, now approaching her 50's, was in her prime and her enthusiasm for life was unstoppable. She enjoyed entertaining and regularly opened her home, always welcoming friends as family. Her passion for life only increased through her 80's and 90's and she became a testament to the art of aging gracefully. Throughout, family remained at the core of her being. She deeply cherished and loved time with her son and daughter, stepchildren, as well as magical holidays with her grandchildren who called her "Chica."

At age 99 she was still teaching dance via zoom, regularly mowing their 20 acres, entertaining friends, designing and building houses, sewing, rescuing and adopting dogs with her son, preparing meals for friends in need and always concocting the next adventure for her family.

Solange is preceded in death by her parents and brother, her first husband H. Jeffery Binda, her beloved son Mark Christian Binda, her loving husband William G. MacLean and her stepson William MacLean (Eleanor). She is survived by her daughter Carinne Binda Cunningham (Ron); her grandchildren Christopher Cunningham (Jeanne Billioux) and Alexandra Cunningham; and her stepchildren Marcy Johnson (Rodger), Chuck (Marie), and Doug (Melanie); and numerous step grandchildren.

A ceremony will be held at Arlington National Cemetery on September 22, 2025, at the Old Post Chapel at 2:45 p.m. followed by a burial at Section 70, grave #464. Following this at 6 p.m., a Celebration of Life will be held at St Patrick's Episcopal Church in West Falls Church, VA.

Solange supported hundreds of nonprofits in animal rescue, veterans, medical and scientific research, international aid organizations and a multitude of children's funds. Memorial donations may be made in her honor to your favorite charity.

Solange was a gift to everyone who knew her. She was cherished and loved and our collective memories of her will be with us forever. Her radiant beauty shines strong.