Peter Boneham (born November 7, 1934) is an American-born Canadian

choreographer Choreography is the art of designing sequences of movements of physical bodies (or their depictions) in which Motion (physics), motion or Visual appearance, form or both are specified. ''Choreography'' may also refer to the design itself. A chor ...

, dance educator and artistic director. To date, he has been the longest serving artistic director for a Canadian contemporary dance company. He was born in

Rochester, New York Rochester is a city in and the county seat, seat of government of Monroe County, New York, United States. It is the List of municipalities in New York, fourth-most populous city and 10th most-populated municipality in New York, with a populati ...

, trained in

ballet Ballet () is a type of performance dance that originated during the Italian Renaissance in the fifteenth century and later developed into a concert dance form in France and Russia. It has since become a widespread and highly technical form of ...

at the

Eastman School of Music The Eastman School of Music is the music school of the University of Rochester, a private research university in Rochester, New York, United States. Established in 1921 by celebrated industrialist and philanthropist George Eastman, it was the ...

and performed with various companies in

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

, including the

American Ballet Theatre American Ballet Theatre (ABT) is a classical ballet company based in New York City. Founded in 1939 by Lucia Chase and Richard Pleasant. Through 2019, it had an annual eight-week season at the Metropolitan Opera House (Lincoln Center) in the spr ...

, the

Metropolitan Opera The Metropolitan Opera is an American opera company based in New York City, currently resident at the Metropolitan Opera House (Lincoln Center), Metropolitan Opera House at Lincoln Center, situated on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. Referred ...

Ballet and the

William Dollar William Dollar (April 20, 1907 – February 28, 1986) was an American dancer, ballet master, choreographer, and teacher. As one of the first American ''danseurs nobles'', he performed with numerous companies, including the Philadelphia Opera Balle ...

Concert Ballet Group. In 1964, he came to

Montreal Montreal is the List of towns in Quebec, largest city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Quebec, the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-largest in Canada, and the List of North American cit ...

to join

Les Grands Ballets Canadiens Les Grands Ballets Canadiens de Montréal (GBCM) is a ballet company based in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. A creative and repertory company, it performs works that reflect the diverse trends of contemporary ballet. History Les Grands Ballets Canadien ...

. In 1966, he joined Le Groupe de la Place Royale, the first professional contemporary dance company in Canada, as assistant director. In 1971, he became artistic director for the company, which moved to

Ottawa Ottawa is the capital city of Canada. It is located in the southern Ontario, southern portion of the province of Ontario, at the confluence of the Ottawa River and the Rideau River. Ottawa borders Gatineau, Gatineau, Quebec, and forms the cor ...

in 1977. Le Groupe performed works by Boneham and other Canadian choreographers. In 1988, the company changed its name and its focus to become Le Groupe Dance Lab, a dance laboratory where new choreographers could develop. Le Groupe Dance Lab closed in 2009. Boneham had stepped down as artistic director in July the year before after naming a successor. He received the Jean A. Chalmers Award for Creativity in Dance in 1991, the Dance Ontario Award in 1992 and the Victor Tolgyesy Award in 1996. Boneham was given a

Governor General's Performing Arts Award The Governor General's Performing Arts Awards are an annual Canadian award, presented to honour distinguished achievements in Canadian performing arts and culture. Administered by the Governor General’s Performing Arts Awards Foundation in associ ...

for lifetime achievement in 2005. He was named to the

Order of Canada The Order of Canada () is a Canadian state order, national order and the second-highest Award, honour for merit in the system of orders, decorations, and medals of Canada, after the Order of Merit. To coincide with the Canadian Centennial, ce ...

in 2008. In 2010, a book ''Peter in Process: Peter Boneham’s Sixty Years in Dance'' by Canadian writer Sara Porter was published by Dance Collection Danse.

References

External links

Peter Boneham fonds (R12828)
at

Library and Archives Canada Library and Archives Canada (LAC; ) is the federal institution tasked with acquiring, preserving, and providing accessibility to the documentary heritage of Canada. The national archive and library is the 16th largest library in the world. T ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Boneham, Peter 1934 births American emigrants to Canada Canadian choreographers Members of the Order of Canada Living people Governor General's Award winners