Person Open DS/UK/18088 Bergsma; Deanne (16 April 1941); South African ballerina Bergsma Deanne 16 April 1941 South African ballerina Female (cisgender) Harrismith, South Africa (born)

South African Dance | Ballet White No known disability No known religious affiliation Heterosexual Deanne Bergsma is a South African ballerina, who made her career in the Royal Ballet at Covent Garden. She first came to London in 1957 to take up a place in the Royal Ballet School, having been talent-spotted by Claude Newman, former principal dancer and ballet-master of the Vic-Wells Ballet and now a visiting examiner of the Royal Academy of Dance. In two years she had graduated from the school and joined the Royal Ballet company in 1957. She climbed rapidly through the ranks to become a principal ballerina and appeared in a wide array of roles, both classical and contemporary, until her retirement in 1975. This eighteen-year career coincided with an exciting period for the Royal Ballet. Apart from the stream of new works from Ashton and Macmillan the company's resident director-choreographers, it was the heyday of the partnership of Margot Fonteyn and Rudolf Nureyev. The company was touring worldwide and was rarely out of the headlines. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deanne_Bergsma (2023) International Standard Archival Authority Record for Corporate Bodies, Persons and Families - ISAAR(CPF) 2nd edition - ICA 2004 ISBN 2-9521932-2-3 National Council on Archives, Rules for the Construction of Personal, Place and Corporate Names, 1997 Yes RAHdroberts 6/20/2014 RAHAKIRKBRIDE 6/3/2025 43252c15-d1fd-4d01-ad88-ac3bc27e799f