Скачать или смотреть PODCAST: Gillian Murphy: A Farewell, A Bridge, A Legacy

IN THIS EDITION:


-Podcast & Note On Gillian Murphy’s Career


-Recommended show (Lady White Snake)


-Update on this Substack:)


The career of American Ballet Theatre’s Gillian Murphy has spanned a rare arc. A jewel in the annals of ballet history, she has escorted the changing times and evolving art form for the better part of three decades. And on July 18, the artist makes her final departure from the ABT stage in Odette/Odile — a role that, as Murphy notes in an interview about her career, continues to reveal something new each time.


Murphy burst onto the scene in a then all-too-infrequent recording of “Le Corsaire” (1999), when, still a soloist, she performed as one of the Odalisques, completing a full diagonal of triple pirouettes. Her gifts were again cemented in film eternity when “Dance in America” recorded “Swan Lake” (2005) for the PBS series “Great Performances,” and the performance of the young principal dancer was given to all of us to keep, as long as the VHS tape would hold, and in our collective imaginations ever after. Her rise through the ranks at ABT, and these recordings alone, would have been enough to frame a great career. But Murphy performed far longer than most classical dancers — and, as a result, she both bridged and led the way between the old world and the new.


Swan Lake Rehearsal: Gillian Murphy & Michael de la Nuez.


Photo by Britt Stigler


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When Kevin McKenzie stepped into the role of artistic director at American Ballet Theatre in 1992, he was walking in Mikhail Baryshnikov’s wake — and what a wake it was. A wave of glamour and excitement had flooded the dance world with the defections of Soviet legends like Rudolf Nureyev, Natalia Makarova and Baryshnikov himself. Combined with the drama (onstage and off) of American ballerina Gelsey Kirkland, American ballet soil was fertile ground. What followed were some of the most thrilling generations of dancers — defined not by a few standout stars but by a bevy of brilliance: Alessandra Ferri, Julio Bocca, Susan Jaffe, Paloma Herrera, Ethan Stiefel, José Manuel Carreño, Ángel Corella, Julie Kent, Amanda McKerrow, Ashley Tuttle, Max and Irina Dvorovenko, Marcelo Gomes and, of course, Murphy.


It seemed American Ballet Theatre had fully come into its power — not relying on a few imported celebrities but with a voice of its own that was both homegrown and a landing spot for the world’s most compelling talent.


As that group — which seemed like it would last forever — gradually left the stage, ABT began to look decidedly eastward. While the company had exceptional in-house talent, the marketing emphasis began to rely heavily on guest stars from Russia (and occasionally England), and its identity and point of view as a company becoming less defined. A template emerged: rotating classics with an international guest star in the leading role. And yet, a few dancers who had ascended the ranks acted as scaffolding upholding the prestige of the company. Among them, Murphy stood as a luminous pillar.


ABT Company 2003 Photo Michael Thompson.


Left to right: Freddie Franklin, Julio Bocca, Amanda McKerrow, Maxim Beloserkovsky, Ethan Stiefel, Paloma Herrera, Ashley Tuttle, Julie Kent, Gillian Murphy, Angel Corella, Alessandra Ferri, Jose Manuel Carreño, Marcelo Gomes, Irina Dvorovenko, Kevin McKenzie





Meanwhile, ballet was undergoing a global athletic transformation in a post-Sylvie Guillem world. Guillem — the French phenomenon — was instrumental in radically reshaping what we expect from a classical dancer. Extreme extensions (the height of the leg), multiple turns and hang time in the air became the standard rather than the exception. We’d seen exciting technique before, but never at this level — and never so widespread.


We were drunk on our newfound standards, which had heretofore been accessible only to a select few. The rise of cross-training, Gyrotonics, pilates and a deeper, more holistic understanding of how to support technique opened the door for this potential to be reached collectively, rather than relying solely on the blessing of the fairies of inherent ability.


There were other dancers who helped show us what was physically possible: Baryshnikov, with his multiple turns and gravity-humiliating jumps; Ferri, with arches shaped like coat hooks and a delicacy so extreme it became its own kind of strength; and Murphy, with the turning and jumping prowess once seen mostly on male dancers — matched by her translucent beauty, a supre...