A Tribute to Petrus Bosman 1928-2008
Petrus Bosman died of a heart attack July 20, 2008, Saturday morning,in Indianapolis Indiana where he was working as a guest choreographer.
Mr. Bosman served as Artistic Director at the Virginia School of the Arts in Lynchburg, Va. from 1989 until 2006.
Bosman spent 17 years as VSA's artistic director, building the school from the ground up and putting it on the map.
Bosman was also a ballet instructor at Sweet Briar College.
He was 80 years old and is survived by his sister, Joyce, who still lives in their native South Africa.
"He was doing what he wanted to do, what he loved to do," said longtime collaborator David Keener, who worked with Bosman for 31 years and is a past director of dance at VSA.
Originally from Cape Town, South Africa, Bosman was 18 when he began dancing with England's Royal Ballet and became the first soloist to join the company without having passed through its school.
He was known for classical roles in productions of "Giselle," "Romeo and Juliet" and "The Nutcracker.""I think what he loved the most was when he would do the character acting and the character dancing," said North-Lowder. "He loved doing those kind of roles because he was such a character himself."
While in London, Bosman worked closely with Princess Margaret to produce a series of charity galas sponsored by members of the royal family.
"I loved it when he would sit around talking to the kids about his life because he was just a walking piece of history," North-Lowder said.
He came to the United States in 1977 to join the artistic staff at Maryland Ballet and continued working as a choreographer and teacher all over the country.
North-Lowder met him when he was artistic director at the now-defunct National Academy of Arts, an Illinois school she attended.
"He was very good at helping people figure out their true passion and how to show that passion on stage," she said. "That's a gift."
She remembered him as a tough but loving teacher.
"He really, truly wanted the best that you could be, and sometimes would get frustrated when he thought you had more (to give) than you were offering.
"There was something about the way he did it that let you know he was serious, but that he still loved you."
When VSA came calling, Bosman was ballet master for Ballet West in Salt Lake City.
Once at VSA, he began bringing in nationally and internationally renowned dancers to work with his students and established an annual "Evening of Elegance" benefit performance to raise money for VSA scholarships.
Bosman retired from VSA in 2006, but remained on the faculty as an artistic director emeritus. He began traveling the country, working as a guest choreographer at ballet companies and schools.
He was due to finish his guest position at Jordan Academy this week and planned to return to Lynchburg briefly before his next gig.
"You can tell people he left this world dancing."
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Tags: Petrus Bosman Virginia School Arts Ballet performing arts
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