Tag: ABT

The Swan Takes Flight.

Family plug: My sister Gill will be heading ABT’s production of Swan Lake (filmed at the Kennedy Center this past February) on PBS’s Great Performances Monday, June 20, at 9pm. I caught it tonight at a special viewing at Channel 13 headquarters for the dancers (and their NYC-residing brothers), and Gill & company look amazing. It’s well worth catching if you harbor even the slightest interest in ballet (and, for that matter, even if you don’t…c’mon now, Swan Lake is a classic.) 🙂

“A Princess Among Men.”

“I always saw the possibilities there. She has the most wonderful technique: strong jumps, beautiful turns, lovely line. There’s something very honest about Gillian, and she’s so smart. You can feed in the information and she processes it all for herself. She doesn’t look like someone trying to be anyone else.” The LA Times‘s Susan Reiter profiles my sister Gill for the Sunday edition, which I took the liberty of reposting at her official site. “Having had her eyes unwaveringly on the prize since she was 11, Murphy brings a healthy sense of perspective and clarity to what being a dancer means. ‘The first time I put pointe shoes on, I was certain. I’ve been on a mission, in terms of wanting to dance and to be the best dancer I can be. At a certain point in a dancer’s career, it becomes a mission to look out for the art form as well, to concern yourself with the present and future of ballet.'”
(Pointed out by The Late Adopter.)

Triumph of the Swan.

“In the dual role of the enslaved Odette and controlling Odile, Gillian Murphy employed her nearly faultless technique in clear, if uncomplicated, portrayals. Her Odette was skittish and trembly; her Odile a self-satisfied center of attention…Murphy possessed an air of coolness that underscored her technical strength.” Gill’s current Swan Lake run in DC is reviewed by the Post and, while I have some issues with their take (Big Brother protectiveness aside, I think this piece falls into the all-too-common rut in dance criticism of being ever-so-slightly catty to the female lead while unapologetically fawning over the male), it does think well of Gill’s performance and of the production overall, and includes this striking picture above the fold. (Pointed out by Scully of Terrapin Gardens…thanks much!)

Dance Me to the End of Love.

“As Murphy and Stiefel rehearse William Forsythe’s idiosyncratic workwithinwork, it’s clear that they each have their own perspective on how to get the job done. Watching Murphy assimilate style, process corrections, and absorb dramatic interpretation suggests that her mind works like a computer — efficient and effective…Stiefel, on the other hand, appears laid back, but he instantly programs Forsythe’s stretched and skewed moves into his body.” In honor of Valentine’s Day, Dance Magazine (who seem pretty bad about updating their site) have put my sister Gillian and her long-time paramour Ethan on the cover of the February 2005 issue, along with a short profile of the two together. Gill’s upcoming Swan Lake stint at the Kennedy Center (with Angel Corella) is also being filmed for perpetuity on DVD, so it’s a big month all around for little sis.

Pillars of Fire.

ABT and Gill‘s City Center season opens to grand reviews: “Gillian Murphy as Hagar, the repressed heroine, knew that a Tudor dancer emotes through movement, not the face, and much of her impact came through sheer muscular power, especially in her space-devouring leaps…The beauty of Ms. Murphy’s performance was in its contrast, between her dazed outcast and a desperate but not hysterical woman whose emotions visibly surge through her body.” Also in dance news, the Globe profiles Ethan Stiefel, my sister’s boyfriend.