Gillian Murphy to give farewell performance with American Ballet Theatre
Gillian Murphy will conclude a 29-year career with a final performance as Odette/Odile in Swan Lake with American Ballet Theatre.
Gillian Murphy, Principal Dancer with American Ballet Theatre since 2002, and the Company’s longest-standing current dancer, will take her final bow as Odette/Odile in Swan Lake on 18 July 2025 at the Metropolitan Opera House.
To commemorate this occasion, a post-performance toast will be held on the Grand Tier of the Metropolitan Opera House. Ticket holders for that performance may join by purchasing an additional reception ticket. ABT will also honour Murphy at the 2025 Summer season Golden Circle Council Luncheon at the Metropolitan Opera House.
American Ballet Theatre Artistic Director Susan Jaffe said, “Gillian’s contribution to the ballet world is deep and wide. Her intelligence and artistry, coupled with the strength of her technique, her authentic feminine presence, and her versatility have inspired all of us for many years. I can say with the utmost conviction that her performances will be dearly missed by everyone. Still, the beauty of her essence will live on in our hearts forever.”
Murphy was raised in Florence, South Carolina, and was a member of Columbia City Ballet before attending the University of North Carolina School of the Arts. Under the tutelage of Melissa Hayden, she performed principal roles in the school’s ballet productions. In 1995, at the age of 15, she was awarded the Prix de Lausanne Espoir after performing in the final round of the Prix de Lausanne international ballet competition at the Bolshoi Theatre.
Murphy joined the American Ballet Theatre corps de ballet in 1996, and was promoted to Soloist in 1999 and Principal Dancer in 2002.
She created Clara, the Princess, in Alexei Ratmansky’s The Nutcracker; Pierrette in Ratmansky’s Harlequinade; leading roles in Her Notes, Kaleidoscope, Rabbit and Rogue, and Thirteen Diversions; and featured roles in After You, Dream within a Dream (deferred), Glow – Stop, One of Three, Praedicere, and Within You Without You: A Tribute to George Harrison.
Murphy danced Odette/Odile in the PBS telecast of ABT’s Swan Lake and also appeared in the PBS telecast of ABT’s Le Corsaire. During November 1999, she participated in the Melissa Hayden Project, part of the Balanchine Foundation’s video series filming dancers who worked with George Balanchine, teaching their roles to young performers. The Foundation filmed Hayden teaching Murphy the pas de deux from Stars and Stripes and Donizetti Variations. In 2013, she starred as Giselle in the New Zealand Film Commission’s movie of Ethan Stiefel and Johan Kobborg’s production of Giselle at the Royal New Zealand Ballet. In 2015, Murphy was featured in the Ric Burns American Masters documentary American Ballet Theatre: A History.
Her career includes performing as a guest artist with the Australian Ballet, the Staatsballett Berlin, the Kiev Ballet and the Mariinsky Ballet, the New York City Ballet, the Royal Swedish Ballet, and three years as Principal Guest Artist with the Royal New Zealand Ballet when her husband, former ABT Principal Dancer Ethan Stiefel, directed the company.
Graham Spicer, aka ‘Gramilano’, is a writer, director and photographer based in Milan. He was a regular columnist for Opera Now magazine and wrote for the BBC until transferring to Italy. His articles have appeared in various publications from Woman’s Weekly to Gay Times, and he wrote the Danza in Italia column for Dancing Times magazine. Graham was the historical advisor on Codice Carla, the 2023 documentary on Italian ballerina Carla Fracci.
Graham also works as a dance photographer, and his photos have appeared in many books, theatre programmes, and magazines, including Dancing Times, Dance Spirit and Ballet2000, as well as all the major Italian newspapers.
He is a member of the Dance Section of The Critics’ Circle.
