Deanne Bergsma
| Deanne Bergsma | |
|---|---|
| Born |
16 April 1941 Pretoria, South Africa |
| Occupation | Ballet dancer |
| Spouse(s) | Keith Grant, formerly General Manager of the Royal Opera Company, Covent Garden |
| Children | Sam Henry (b. 1975) Katherine Daisy (b.1977) |
Deanne Bergsma (born 16 April 1941) is a retired South African ballerina.
Early life
Bergsma was born in Pretoria.
Career
Though she was taller than the typical height for a female ballet dancer,[1] Deanne Bergsma became a member of the Royal Ballet in 1958. She became a principal of the company in 1967.[2] She created the role of Lady Mary Lygon in Ashton's Enigma Variations (1968) and a principal part in Tetley's Field Figures (1970). In 1972, critic Clive Barnes of the New York Times reviewed her in Swan Lake, saying "She is a statuesque girl and strikingly lovely to look at; I would have hoped for more grandeur and amplitude to her movements."[3]
She retired from the company in 1974, although she returned in 1988 to take the role of Berta in a revival of Ashton's Ondine.[4]
She is currently one of the governors of the Royal Opera House.[4] Bergsma served on the judging panel for the Young British Dancer of the Year competition in 2011, [5] and as a judge in the semifinals of the Genée International Ballet Competition in 2010.[6]
References
- ↑ "Deanne Bergsma" Dance Dialogues: Interviews by Barbara Bergman (1982).
- ↑ Debra Craine and Judith Mackrell, eds., Oxford Dictionary of Dance (Oxford University Press 2010): 58. ISBN 9780199563449
- ↑ Clive Barnes, "Dance: Senior Ballerinas" New York Times (21 May 1972): 65.
- 1 2 "Governors". Retrieved 29 June 2008.
- ↑ "The Young British Dancer of the Year Award 2011" Ballet News (10 February 2011).
- ↑ "Royal Academy of Dance presents Genée International Ballet Competition 2010" Ballet News (19 November 2010).
External links
- Deanne Bergsma's listing at IMDb
- Deanne Bergsma's listing at BFI
- An audio interview with Deanne Bergsma, conducted in 1972 by John Gruen