Boneham, Peter, 1934- : Peter Boneham C.M. (1934-). Artistic director, mentor, teacher, choreographer, dancer. Born November 7, 1934 in Rochester, New York. Peter Boneham started to dance as of 1948 when he took ballet classes with Olive McCue, director of the Mercury Ballet Company. Boneham then moved to New York in the 1950's and studied with choreographer James Waring. During those years Boneham danced in nightclubs, in Broadway Shows, at Radio City Music Hall, in various stock theatre productions as well as on television. He went on to dance with the Baltimore Civic Ballet, the William Dollar Concert Ballet and the Metropolitan Opera Ballet as solo dancer. In 1965, Boneham moved to Montreal to dance with Les Grand Ballets Canadiens. He met up with dancer and choreographer Jeanne Renaud with whom he will collaborate in the Groupe d'Expression Contemporaine. He will then participate as choreographer and teacher within Le Groupe de la Place Royale, founded in 1966 by Jeanne Renaud (Director) and Peter Boneham (Assistant Director). With the departure of Jeanne Renaud, Boneham became sole artistic director. In 1972 Boneham invited Jean-Pierre Perreault as co-artistic director. The company relocated to Ottawa in (1977). The partnership Boneham-Perreault will continue until Jean-Pierre Perreault's departure from the Groupe in 1981. Boneham continued as sole artistic director throughout the eighties and nineties. In the 1980's Boneham conceived several choreographic creations such as Faustus (1983), The Living Room (1985), Hank's Place (1986), Trio (1987), Duet (1987).
Le Groupe de la Place Royale ceased its touring activities in 1988 and became a centre for research and development for choreographers and dancers. The name was changed to Le Groupe Dance Lab. The main purpose of the organization was to offer choreographers an outside eye, audience participation, and the right to experiment without consequence. Boneham acted as mentor, teacher, and choreographer within this choreographic lab environment. This was the first institution of its kind to offer this type of creative residency to professionals. Boneham's Lab module has been emulated worldwide.
In 1991, Boneham performed with dancers of the Groupe to celebrate the 25 years of the Groupe de la Place Royale. In 1992, Boneham ran the summer workshop Dance and the Camera with Bob Lockyer of the BBC at the Banff Centre for the Arts.
Peter Boneham has dedicated his life to dance teaching. Not only teaching master classes at Le Groupe Dance Lab but has an invited dance teacher in Canadian universities, at the Banff Centre for the Arts, Grant Community College, the School of Contemporary Dancers, Main Dance, Montréal Danse, La Fondation Jean-Pierre Perreault, Dancemakers, Circuit Est in Montreal, New Moves in Scotland, Dance XChange in Birmingham, England. Boneham has also been active as participant to the Dance Transition Centre in Toronto as well as jury member and committee member for several arts funding entities.
Honours and Awards. In 1991, Boneham receives the first Jean A. Chalmers Award for Creativity in Dance. In 1992, he receives the Dance Ontario Award. 1996, the Victor Tolgesy Award from the Council of the Arts in Ottawa. In 2005, Boneham receives the Governor General's Performing Arts Lifetime Achievement Award. 2008, is awarded France's Chevalier des arts et des lettres and is invested into the Order of Canada in 2009.
