Occupation Ballet dancer Name Deanne Bergsma | Role Ballerina Movies I am a Dancer | |
Born 1941 Pretoria, South Africa 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.
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Early life
Bergsma was born in Pretoria.
Career
Though she was taller than the typical height for a female ballet dancer, Deanne Bergsma became a member of the Royal Ballet in 1958. She became a principal of the company in 1967. 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."
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.
She is currently one of the governors of the Royal Opera House. Bergsma served on the judging panel for the Young British Dancer of the Year competition in 2011, and as a judge in the semifinals of the Genée International Ballet Competition in 2010.