Jan Petrus Bosman, former artistic director at Virginia School for the Arts, dies

By Casey Gillis

Published: July 21, 2008

When Nataly North-Lowder needed something, she always knew where to turn: her former teacher and close friend Jan Petrus Bosman.

Bosman, the former artistic director of the Virginia School for the Arts in Lynchburg, died Saturday.

“He never let me down,” said North-Lowder, director of the summer intensive dance program at the Jordan Academy of Dance at Indiana’s Butler University.

A few years ago, she was staging a production of “The Nutcracker” when one of the Sugarplum Fairy tutus didn’t arrive in time.

“I called (Petrus) in a panic, and he mailed me one of his tutus that was made in London. He said, ‘Don’t worry, darling. I will help you,’” she said. “He was just that kind of man. He’s going to be desperately missed.”

Bosman, also a ballet instructor at Sweet Briar College, died of a heart attack Saturday morning in Indianapolis, where he was working as a guest choreographer for North-Lowder.

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.

“He sparked out just like he sparked in. And in between those two moments, there were 60 years of tremendous power of talent and artistry and love and passion.”

Bosman spent 17 years as VSA’s artistic director, building the school from the ground up and putting it on the map, said Randall Watts, a close friend and former VSA board member.

“He was one of a kind,” she said. “He was just so creative, and he had such inventive ideas.”

When Bosman first arrived at VSA in 1989, only 10 students were enrolled in the dance program. Within a few years, the program had more than tripled in size, Keener said.

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 in 2006, but remained on VSA’s 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.

North-Lowder rehearsed with Bosman on Saturday morning and said he was in good health and spirits.

He called her later in the day to say he wasn’t feeling well. When she arrived at his on-campus apartment, Bosman was on the floor of the hallway, still coherent and doing developes, a dancers’ exercise that involves raising the legs up into the air.

“The paramedics looked at me and asked what he was doing,” North-Lowder said. “I said, ‘He’s dancing.’ I think that was his way of staying calm.”

He died a short while later at the hospital, with North-Lowder at his side.

“You can tell people he left this world dancing.”

Keener is planning a memorial service for Bosman in Lynchburg, which will likely be sometime next week.