Vergie Derman (1942-). South African-born ballerina

Vergie Derman was born in Johannesburg in 1942 and won a scholarship to train at The Royal Ballet School. She joined The Royal Ballet in 1962, but spent two seasons with the Deutsche Oper, Berlin, returning to The Royal Ballet in 1966. She became a principal in 1972. Derman was particularly associated with the work of Kenneth MacMillan, who created many roles for her in ballets such as Elite Syncopations, Rituals and Anastasia. In the classical repertoire she was notable for her performances as the Lilac Fairy in The Sleeping Beauty, Bathilde in Giselle, and Odette-Odile in Swan Lake. She also performed in works by George Balanchine and Jerome Robbins’, particularly as The Wife in Robbins’ The Concert. Vergie Derman later became a répétiteur and notator for The Royal Ballet.