David Peregrine, OC (September 19, 1954 – c. June 7, 1989) was a Canadians dancer and actor.
Life
He was born
David Alan Evans in
Llay,
Wales[ David Peregrine (1955-1989), Manitoba Historical Society.] and grew up in
Ottawa. Peregrine studied ballet with
Nesta Toumine in Ottawa, going on to study at the Royal Winnipeg Ballet school with
David Moroni and at the
Banff Centre. Evans adopted the stage name
David Peregrine. He joined the Royal Winnipeg Ballet as a member of the corps in 1975, becoming soloist three years later and principal dancer in 1980, partnering with
Evelyn Hart. In 1980 he won a bronze medal at the International Ballet Competition in Varna, Bulgaria, performing the pas de deux from Norbert Vesak's ballet "Belong." Hart won a gold medal. In 1986, Peregrine was made an officer of the Order of Canada.
He performed two seasons with the San Francisco Ballet and was a guest artist with the Alberta Ballet,
Boston Ballet and
Scottish Ballet.
[ David Peregrine, Arts Alive] Peregrine appeared as Smike in the play
Nicholas Nickleby and the monster in
Frankenstein in productions by the Manitoba Theatre Centre.
He died in a plane crash on June 7, 1989 after flying his small plane south from Fairbanks, Alaska. Due to bad weather, a rescue crew was only able to reach the site 8 days later. Two passengers -- a friend and his brother (Meirig Evans of Ottawa, b.1970) -- also died in the crash.
