Veronica Paeper (born 9 April 1944) is a South African choreographer and dancer.

Career

Paeper was born on 9 April 1944 in

Port Shepstone Port Shepstone is a large town situated on the mouth of the Mzimkhulu River, the largest river on the KwaZulu-Natal South Coast of South Africa. It is located halfway between Hibberdene and Margate and is positioned 120 km south of Durban. ...

but trained with

Dulcie Howes Dulcie Howes (31 December 1908 – 19 March 1993) was a South African ballet dancer, teacher, choreographer, and company director. During her performing career, she was considered the prima ballerina assoluta of South African ballet. In 1934, ...

at the University of Cape Town Ballet School after her family moved to

Cape Town Cape Town ( af, Kaapstad; , xh, iKapa) is one of South Africa's three capital cities, serving as the seat of the Parliament of South Africa. It is the legislative capital of the country, the oldest city in the country, and the second largest ...

. Although noted as South Africa's most prolific choreographer, Paeper was also a principal dancer with

CAPAB The Cape Performing Arts Board (CAPAB) was a South African theatre organisation based in Cape Town, serving the former Cape Province. It was one of the four state-funded performing arts councils in the four former provinces of South Africa insti ...

, the PACT Ballet and the Orange Free State Ballet. Paeper choreographed her first ballet, ''John the Baptist'' to music by

Ernest Bloch Ernest Bloch (July 24, 1880 – July 15, 1959) was a Swiss-born American composer. Bloch was a preeminent artist in his day, and left a lasting legacy. He is recognized as one of the greatest Swiss composers in history. As well as producing music ...

for CAPAB in 1972, leading to her appointment as the company's resident choreographer. In 1991, she became the company director of CAPAB and led the company on the first international tour of a South African ballet company, in 1994. She choreographed over 40 works for the company, including a number of full-length works such as ''Orpheus in the Underwold'', ''A Christmas Carol'', ''Hamlet'' and ''Sylvia in Hollywood''. She retired from CAPAB (now

Cape Town City Ballet The Cape Town City Ballet Company, formerly known as the CAPAB Ballet Company, is a dance company based in Cape Town, South Africa. History The Cape Town City Ballet originated from the UCT Ballet Company, which was established by Dulcie Howe ...

) in 2005. She was awarded a Molteno Gold Medal in 2005 'in recognition of her lifetime achievements in the performing arts' by

The Cape Tercentenary Foundation The Cape Tercentenary Foundation (or Cape 300 Foundation) was set up in 1950 by brothers Edward and Harry Molteno, pioneers of the Cape fruit industry. The influential exporters were great appreciators of music and the arts, and were deeply conce ...

. In 2009 she founded the South African National Dance Trust with Robyn Taylor and Mike Bosazzo, a nonprofit organisation to promote dance through performance, education and job opportunities.

Personal life

Paeper married fellow dancer and choreographer

Frank Staff Frank Staff (15 June 1918 – 10 May 1971) was a South African ballet dancer, choreographer, producer, and company director. He was a major figure in the history of European theatrical dance in South Africa. Early life Frank Cedric Staff was b ...

in 1966. She and Staff had a son together before his death in 1971. She is now married to Ken Kearns.

Choreographed works

1970s

* ''John the Baptist'' (music by

) (1972) * ''Herrie-Hulle'' (music by

Prokofiev Sergei Sergeyevich Prokofiev; alternative transliterations of his name include ''Sergey'' or ''Serge'', and ''Prokofief'', ''Prokofieff'', or ''Prokofyev''., group=n (27 April .S. 15 April1891 – 5 March 1953) was a Russian composer ...

) (1973) * ''Romeo and Juliet'' (music by Prokofiev) (1974) * '' Cinderella'' (music by Prokofiev) (1975) * '' Funtastique'' (music by

Shostakovich Dmitri Dmitriyevich Shostakovich, , group=n (9 August 1975) was a Soviet-era Russian composer and pianist who became internationally known after the premiere of his First Symphony in 1926 and was regarded throughout his life as a major compo ...

) (1975) * ''Woman of Autumn'' (music by Saint Saëns) (1978) * ''Whodunnit?'' (music by Dohnanyi) (1978) * ''Concerto for Charlie'' (music by Shostakovich) (1979) * ''Don Quixote'' (music by

Ludwig Minkus Ludwig Minkus (russian: link=no, Людвиг Минкус), also known as Léon Fyodorovich Minkus (23 March 1826, Vienna – 7 December 1917, Vienna), was a Jewish-Austrian composer of ballet music, a violin virtuoso and teacher. Minkus is no ...

) (1979)

1980s

* ''Drie Diere (Three Beasts)'' (music by

Peter Klatzow Peter James Leonard Klatzow (14 July 1945 – 29 December 2021) was a South African composer and pianist. He was the director of the College of Music and was an emeritus professor in composition at the University of Cape Town. Life and caree ...

) (1980) * ''Still-Life with Moonbeams'' (music by Peter Klatzow) (1981) * ''A Christmas Carol'' (various, arranged by David Tidboald) (1982) * ''Orpheus in the Underwold'' (music by

Jacques Offenbach Jacques Offenbach (, also , , ; 20 June 18195 October 1880) was a German-born French composer, cellist and impresario of the Romantic period. He is remembered for his nearly 100 operettas of the 1850s to the 1870s, and his uncompleted opera '' ...

, arranged by Michael Tuffin) (1982) * ''The Return of the Soldier'' (music by David Earl) (1982) * ''Mix 'n Match'' (music by

Tchaikovsky Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky , group=n ( ; 7 May 1840 – 6 November 1893) was a Russian composer of the Romantic period. He was the first Russian composer whose music would make a lasting impression internationally. He wrote some of the most popu ...

) (1983) * ''Undine'' (music by

Debussy (Achille) Claude Debussy (; 22 August 1862 – 25 March 1918) was a French composer. He is sometimes seen as the first Impressionist composer, although he vigorously rejected the term. He was among the most influential composers of the ...

) (1983) * ''Spartacus'' (music by

Aram Khachaturian Aram Ilyich Khachaturian (; rus, Арам Ильич Хачатурян, , ɐˈram ɨˈlʲjitɕ xətɕɪtʊˈrʲan, Ru-Aram Ilyich Khachaturian.ogg; hy, Արամ Խաչատրյան, ''Aram Xačʿatryan''; 1 May 1978) was a Soviet and Armenian ...

) (1984) * ''Nell Gwynne'' (music by

Rossini Gioachino Antonio Rossini (29 February 1792 – 13 November 1868) was an Italian composer who gained fame for his 39 operas, although he also wrote many songs, some chamber music and piano pieces, and some sacred music. He set new standards f ...

, arranged by Michael Tuffin) (1984) * ''Abelard and Heloise '' (music by David Earl) (1985) * ''The Tales of Hoffmann'' (music by Jacques Offenbach, arranged by

Allan Stephenson Allan Stephenson (15 December 1949 – 2 August 2021) was a British-born South African composer, cellist and conductor. Life Born in Wallasey, near Liverpool, he studied the cello in Manchester at the Royal Manchester College of Music before movi ...

) (1985) * ''Vespers'' (music by Peter Klatzow) (1985) * ''Sparante'' (music by

Haydn Franz Joseph Haydn ( , ; 31 March 173231 May 1809) was an Austrian composer of the Classical period. He was instrumental in the development of chamber music such as the string quartet and piano trio. His contributions to musical form have led ...

(1986) * ''Carmen'' (music by

Bizet Georges Bizet (; 25 October 18383 June 1875) was a French composer of the Romantic era. Best known for his operas in a career cut short by his early death, Bizet achieved few successes before his final work, ''Carmen'', which has become on ...

, arranged by Michael Tuffin) (1987) * ''The Entertainer'' (music by

Scott Joplin Scott Joplin ( 1868 – April 1, 1917) was an American composer and pianist. Because of the fame achieved for his ragtime compositions, he was dubbed the "King of Ragtime." During his career, he wrote over 40 original ragtime pieces, one ra ...

) (1987) * ''The Merry Widow'' (music by Lehar, arranged by

John Lanchbery John Arthur Lanchbery OBE (15 May 1923 – 27 February 2003) was an English-Australian composer and conductor, famous for his ballet arrangements. He served as the Principal Conductor of the Royal Ballet from 1959 to 1972, Principal Conductor ...

) (1988) * ''Elastokovitch'' (music by Shostakovich) (1989) * ''The Last Dance'' (music by

Ravel Joseph Maurice Ravel (7 March 1875 – 28 December 1937) was a French composer, pianist and conductor. He is often associated with Impressionism in music, Impressionism along with his elder contemporary Claude Debussy, although both composer ...

) (1989)

1990s

* ''Camille'' (music by

Verdi Giuseppe Fortunino Francesco Verdi (; 9 or 10 October 1813 – 27 January 1901) was an Italian composer best known for his operas. He was born near Busseto to a provincial family of moderate means, receiving a musical education with the h ...

, arranged by Allan Stephenson) (1990) * ''Eine Kleine Nachtmusik'' (music by

Mozart Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (27 January 17565 December 1791), baptised as Joannes Chrysostomus Wolfgangus Theophilus Mozart, was a prolific and influential composer of the Classical period (music), Classical period. Despite his short life, his ra ...

) (1990) * ''The Nutcracker'' (music by Tchaikovsky) (1991) * ''Hamlet'' (music by Peter Klatzow]) (1992) * ''A Midsummer Night's Dream'' (music by

Mendelssohn Jakob Ludwig Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy (3 February 18094 November 1847), born and widely known as Felix Mendelssohn, was a German composer, pianist, organist and conductor of the early Romantic music, Romantic period. Mendelssohn's compositi ...

) (1993) * ''Sylvia in Hollywood'' (music by Allan Stephenson) (1993) * ''Walpurgisnacht'' (music by

Gounod Charles-François Gounod (; ; 17 June 181818 October 1893), usually known as Charles Gounod, was a French composer. He wrote twelve operas, of which the most popular has always been ''Faust (opera), Faust'' (1859); his ''Roméo et Juliette'' (18 ...

) (1993) * ''The Rain Queen'' (music by

Gustav Mahler Gustav Mahler (; 7 July 1860 – 18 May 1911) was an Austro-Bohemian Romantic composer, and one of the leading conductors of his generation. As a composer he acted as a bridge between the 19th-century Austro-German tradition and the modernism ...

) (1995) * ''The Story of Manon Lescaut'' (music by

Massenet Jules Émile Frédéric Massenet (; 12 May 1842 – 13 August 1912) was a French composer of the Romantic era best known for his operas, of which he wrote more than thirty. The two most frequently staged are ''Manon'' (1884) and ''Werther'' ...

) (1997) * ''Daphnis & Chloe'' (music by Ravel) (1998) * ''Work in Progress'' (music by Tchaikovsky) (1998) * ''Cleopatra'' (music by Charl-Johan Lingenfelder) (1999)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Paeper, Veronica South African choreographers South African ballerinas University of Cape Town alumni 1944 births Recipients of the Molteno medal Living people