Ethan Stiefel

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Ethan Stiefel (born 1973 in Tyrone, Pennsylvania) is a principal dancer with American Ballet Theatre (ABT) .[1]

Contents

[edit] Biography

An only son of a Lutheran minister who became a prison warden in New York, Stiefel began ballet training in Madison, Wisconsin at the Monona Academy of Dance at age eight. He studied for two years at the Milwaukee Ballet School and at the Central Pennsylvania Youth Ballet before moving to New York City to attend ABT's School of Classical Ballet and School of American Ballet on scholarship.[2]

[edit] Career

At age 16, Stiefel joined New York City Ballet as a member of its corps de ballet. While there, Stanley Williams enrolled him in the company's men's special class where he trained alongside Nureyev, Baryshnikov and Bujones.[3] In 1992, he took a leave of absence to perform with the Zurich Ballet and returned to the NYC Ballet company one year later as a soloist. By 1995, he was a principal dancer with the company. He ended his tenure with the NYC Ballet in April 1997 when he joined ABT as a principal dancer, where he remains today.[4] His dance repertoire includes many key romantic roles in both classical and contemporary ballet.

He won a silver medal at the Prix de Lausanne in 1989 and also received a Princess Grace Foundation-USA grant in 1991. In 1998, Stiefel was nominated for the Benois de la Danse Award as one of the rising stars in ballet.[5]

In 2000, he starred in the film Center Stage, directed by Nicholas Hytner with original choreography by Susan Stroman.[6]

In late 2004, Ballet Pacifica, based in Irvine, California, named him as its artistic director with the aim to relaunch itself as a higher-profile ballet company. In conjunction, Stiefel announced elaborate plans for tours, a larger permanent ensemble of experienced dancers, a longer season and Christmas performances of George Balanchine's "The Nutcracker" at the Orange County Performing Arts Center. However, after the company failed to raise the USD$6.5 million necessary to realize Stiefel's plans, its executive director resigned followed by Stiefel himself in April 2006.[7]

In 2007, Stiefel made his debut with the Australian Ballet Company in the heritage ballet, Don Quixote, for its Melbourne and Sydney seasons, in the role of Basilio.[8] He is currently the dean designate of the School of Dance at the North Carolina School of the Arts in Winston-Salem and will assume full responsibilities in the 2008-2009 school year.

[edit] Trivia

  • Last name is pronounced "Sti-full" and is German for "boot."[9]
  • Currently dating Gillian Murphy, a fellow ABT principal dancer.[10]
  • Is an avid motorcyclist. He grew up riding dirt bikes, currently owns a Harley-Davidson Wide Glide and once drove 5600 kilometres across the north-eastern US with girlfriend Gillian Murphy riding pillion[11]
  • Is a Green Bay Packers fan.[citation needed]
  • In 2004, created a four-week workshop for aspiring dancers where dance students train and perform with professional ballet dancers. It is held annually on Martha's Vineyard in the month of August. The program accepts students aged 12 to 18. Its rollcall of star guest teachers include Stiefel, Johan Kobborg, Amanda McKerrow, Elizabeth Parkinson, Scott Wise, Marcelo Gomes, John Gardner, Gary Chryst, Ann Reinking, and Alina Cojocaru.[12][13] Program is currently on hiatus stiefel and stars website
  • Danced with the short-lived Mikhail Baryshnikov School of Classical Ballet at ABT.[14]
  • Is considered to be the most advanced male ballet dancer in the world.[citation needed]
  • There is a Center Stage subplot in which Stiefel's character garners the financial support of a flirtatious female philanthropist (played by Elizabeth Hubbard). [15]A New York Times article entitled "How Much Is That Dancer in the Program?" revealed that Stiefel has a similar real-life sponsorship relationship with wealthy philanthropist Anka Palitz.[16]
  • In 2007, Stiefel appeared in an episode of Queer Eye to meet a "straight guy" who considers Stiefel his "idol."

[edit] References

  1. ^ ABT website
  2. ^ ABT website
  3. ^ 2007 Sydney Morning Herald article
  4. ^ ibid
  5. ^ ibid
  6. ^ IMDB page
  7. ^ 2006 Playbill electronic article
  8. ^ ibid
  9. ^ 2000 CNN article
  10. ^ ibid
  11. ^ ibid
  12. ^ 2003 Boston Globe article
  13. ^ ibid
  14. ^ ibid
  15. ^ ibid
  16. ^ 2004 NYT article

[edit] External links

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