[15] Vesak also studied under Margaret Craske, Merce Cunningham, Geoffrey Holder, Pauline Koner, Madam La Meri, Robert Abramson, Ruth St. Denis, and Vera Volkova, among others.

[21] During the 1960s, he served as the resident choreographer for the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra, Theatre Calgary and the Banff Festival Ballet, and several other companies, doing choreography, teaching, and directorial work.

[23] His work with the Western Dance Theater was, by his description, designed to present stories about human relations, with influences from the monumental geography of British Columbia: "We would hope the rugged beauty of the environment of B.C.

[37] The ballet was based on a controversial play written by George Ryga about a young Aboriginal girl who leaves the reservation to move to the big city, and about the cultural conflicts, poverty, and violence that she experiences.

He noted that the ballet is 'less angry, less polemical in tone than Ryga's play, which hammers away at the idea that white justice cannot comprehend the Indian fact.'

[40] "As a platform for Aboriginal rights, The Ecstasy of Rita Joe was undeniably potent, with people sobbing at the end of the ballet.

Anna Maria de Gorriz, in the title role, brought down the house with curtain calls in Sidney and Melbourne.”[42] In 1973, What to do Till the Messiah Comes became another of Vesak's most acclaimed works, described as a visionary ballet set to rock music,[43] and in 1980, he won gold medals for his choreography of Belong Pas de Deux from that work at the International Ballet Concours in both Varna, Bulgaria and Osaka, Japan.

[2] In addition, Canadian ballerina Evelyn Hart won a gold medal in Varna, Bulgaria for her performance of Belong with David Peregrine in 1980.

[45] Performances of it were televised in several countries including Canada, the United States, Scotland, England, Germany, and Israel, and it became the title subject of an IMAX film entitled Heart Land, which was released in 1987 and distributed internationally.

[49] In addition to his choreography work, Norbert Vesak was highly sought after for his skill as a Master Teacher, particularly regarded for the individual attention he gave to dancers.

[53][54] Lady of the Camellias was conceived by Norbert Vesak and Robert de La Rose to be a full-length ballet based on the novel of the same name by Alexander Dumas.

[56] Vesak died suddenly of a brain aneurysm while on his way to attend the 20th anniversary celebration of North Carolina Dance Theater, where a work that he had designed for that company in 1975, The Gray Goose of Silence, was being performed to commemorate the occasion.

[59] Caniparoli agreed to do the project, adapting Vesak's concept and music to his own choreography, with de La Rose providing the costume and partial set design.