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New York Times
21 hours ago
- Entertainment
- New York Times
The Ultimate Swan Song: Gillian Murphy's Thrilling Last Dance
Ballerinas fight for perfection, but real dancers find freedom in imperfection and are more perfect for it. Gillian Murphy, even with her extraordinary technique, is one of those dancers. George Balanchine could have been talking about Murphy when he said: 'Good American dancers can express clean emotion in a manner that might almost be termed angelic. By angelic I mean the quality supposedly enjoyed by the angels, who, when they relate a tragic situation, do not themselves suffer.' Murphy has related many tragic situations in her 29-year career with American Ballet Theater — those of Giselle, Juliet, Odette, the list goes on. But she has always avoided tumbling down a mountain of melodrama. Her choice of 'Swan Lake' as her farewell performance was brave and, it turns out, binding. Murphy left nothing on the stage but a vivid afterimage of spontaneous, spiraling dance beauty. Her last trip around the stage had the force of finality, yet without desperation or sadness. This was a celebration; every moment mattered. Her dancing was ravishing in its fullness as her body stretched without tension in a way that gave her line an aura of infinity. There were moments when she slowed down just enough to emphasize details, like her hands flowing down her face, mimicking tears. It was simple and human, which not only gave Murphy's interpretation depth but underscored a problem with so many other Odettes: Dancers play her too much like a creature, a bird, but she is a princess and knowing that is the difference between acting and artistry. Want all of The Times? Subscribe.
Korea Herald
a day ago
- Entertainment
- Korea Herald
Park Sae-eun, fellow Paris Opera Ballet etoiles bring favorites to Korea
Building on a banner year for international ballet galas in South Korea ― with the American Ballet Theater in April and the UK's Royal Ballet in early July ― the Paris Opera Ballet is also making its return this summer. From July 29 to Aug. 1 at the Seoul Arts Center and Aug. 3 at the Daejeon Arts Center, the POB Etoiles Gala will bring an unprecedented number of the company's top dancers to Korean stages. Leading the gala is Park Sae-eun, who in 2021 became the first Asian dancer to be named an etoile, or principal dancer, at the world's oldest national ballet company. This marks her third time curating the gala, following previous editions in 2022 and 2024. Among the 10 featured etoiles are French ballet icon Mathieu Ganio and rising star Guillaume Diop. Diop made history in 2023 as the first Black dancer named etoile following his full-length performance as Albrecht in "Giselle" ― a milestone that took place in Seoul. 'Given everyone's packed schedules, it's extremely rare to have this many etoiles performing together outside of Paris,' Park said in a recent written interview with The Korea Herald. 'The fact that so many of my colleagues were eager to perform in Korea made all the effort worthwhile.' Visiting Seoul for the first time, Ganio is joining the gala in his first international performance since retiring from the company in March, following 'Onegin.' 'Ganio has long been the definition of the Paris Opera Ballet,' Park said in introducing him. 'His humility and dedication have made him a role model for younger dancers.' 'I'm grateful to Sae-eun for bringing me to Korea,' said Ganio. 'I'm especially looking forward to exploring Seoul. It's a city everyone's talking about these days, full of energy and increasingly influential in Europe as well.' Dancers bring favorites, finest works As in previous years, Park has curated the gala program with a balance of classical and contemporary works, divided into three distinct sections: Programs A and B in Seoul, and Program C in Daejeon. When selecting the pieces, Park said she centered the program on works that each dancer both loves and performs best. Another key priority was to include a medium-length repertoire to go on a fuller emotional and narrative journey. 'As a curator, I want to create performances for Korean audiences that feel like 'a performance that can only happen here and now.'' Park will perform "In the Night" and "The Nutcracker" in Program A and "Sylvia" and "The Sleeping Beauty" in Program B. Ganio will perform 'In the Night' and 'Sonata' in Program A. One of Park's favorites is Jerome Robbins' delicate 'In the Night,' set to Chopin's four piano nocturnes. The ballet features three couples, each portrayed at a different stage of their relationship. Park performs as part of the first couple with Paul Marque, while Ganio dances the second couple with Leonore Baulac. 'Personally, I believe this piece best showcases the distinctive dance style of the POB. For the first couple, it's especially important to express the most tender love where every subtle breath and touch counts,' said Park. 'The second couple represents stability and formality within a relationship,' Ganio added. 'What audiences could look out is how feelings are expressed through restraint. It's a nuanced portrayal that shows love doesn't always have to be passionate to be deeply felt.' Defining moments on and off the stage Park joined the POB as a corps de ballet member in 2011 and has been with the company for over a decade. Reflecting on her promotion to etoile in 2021, she described it as a turning point that brought both 'responsibility and freedom." Another big turning point came with the birth of her daughter in 2023. Park says motherhood has given her emotional space, allowing her to focus more deeply on conveying feeling in her performances. 'I found myself stepping onto the stage with more calmness and with emotional depth. Parenting taught me to focus intensely in short bursts, which has improved the quality and concentration of my practice,' said Park. Meanwhile, 41-year-old Ganio, who chose to retire a year earlier than the usual retirement age, is navigating a turning point now. He is currently participating in postretirement programs offered by the POB to redefine his direction beyond the stage. 'My daily routine isn't very different from my time at the company. The difference is that I perform less frequently in Paris, but more on international stages. I want to look back calmly on my past and create a meaningful transition,' said Ganio. 'Looking back, every moment on stage was sincere and profound. My decision to retire is part of a process of preparing for a new beginning. I want to stay connected to the arts, just in a different way offstage.' Looking ahead to the 2025-26 season, Park is set to perform "Giselle," a role she considers among her absolute favorites. "There are moments when music, movement and feeling all come together as one. My body reacts almost instinctively, and time on stage seems to stand still. In those moments, even the audience's breath feels distant, and I'm reminded, 'Ah, this is why I dance.' Those moments don't come often, but they're why I return to the stage again and again.'
New York Times
5 days ago
- Entertainment
- New York Times
Gillian Murphy, a Ballerina With Joy and Aplomb, Steps Down
Gillian Murphy, one of American Ballet Theater's most enduring stars, was living in rural Pennsylvania with her husband, Ethan Stiefel, and their infant son, getting curbside delivery from a market 20 miles away. Murphy and Stiefel had joked that the two-bedroom cabin in the woods was their apocalypse house, and in a way, it was. When the Covid pandemic hit, they moved there. 'Full isolation,' Murphy said in a recent interview at Lincoln Center. 'But in terms of the timing of it, for me as a mom it was kind of amazing. That being said, I also thought my career was over.' Early in the pandemic, Murphy told Kevin McKenzie, then Ballet Theater's artistic director, that if and when the company made it back onstage it would be time for her to wrap things up. He told her that she had years left in her. 'That conversation was really incredible because I would have come back and maybe done 'The Dream' and retired years ago,' Murphy said, referring to the Frederick Ashton ballet. But 'when I got back in the studio,' she continued, 'I ended up feeling so much better than I could have ever expected. I absolutely love to dance. It's actually a little unclear to me why I was just going to walk away from that.' She knew, though, that she wanted to stop while she was still feeling good and to leave on her own terms. Want all of The Times? Subscribe.
New York Times
14-07-2025
- Entertainment
- New York Times
Ashton's ‘Sylvia' Is a Test of a Ballerina's Versatility
The names of several classic ballets tell you that the heroine is the most important character, but 'Sylvia' is particularly imbalanced. In the version that Frederick Ashton created in 1952, once Sylvia arrives, she barely seems to leave the stage. The role, made for Margot Fonteyn, is a test of stamina and technique but maybe even more so of range. Each part of the story calls for a different attitude, differently expressed. One ballerina must be many. At the Metropolitan Opera House last week, as American Ballet Theater performed Ashton's ballet for the first time since 2016, four ballerinas took up the challenge, making their debuts as Sylvia. There's more to the production than the lead role: Léo Delibes' 1876 score, one of best from the 19th century; the many felicities of Ashton's choreography, sweet, silly and intricate at every scale. But the performance of Sylvia is the focus. 'Sylvia' has one of those flimsy conventional story-ballet plots that's mostly just a scaffolding for dance. A chaste nymph devoted to Diana, goddess of the hunt, Sylvia doesn't just spurn the affection of the shepherd Aminta; she kills him with an arrow. Then Eros, the god of love, strikes her with his arrow, making her moon over Aminta, whom the god revives. But Sylvia is captured by a dumb villain and must escape his Orientalist cave by distracting him with a hoochie-coochie dance and getting him drunk. Rescued deus-ex-machina style by Eros in a boat, she is reunited with Aminta in a big classical celebration. Intentionally old-fashioned in 1952, it's less a love story than a story about Love. The brutish approach of the hunter fails; the delicacy of a pas de deux wins. It's a nice change that the heroine doesn't wait around for her beau or get betrayed by him — in a reversal of 'Sleeping Beauty,' the woman has a vision of the man she must find. But an upshot is that the hero is ineffectual, close to a place holder. Dramatically, Sylvia carries the show. On a technical level, there wasn't a lot to distinguish the four debuting Sylvias. They all got through it admirably. The differences were subtle, and the similarities were related to a general shortcoming: Demonstrations of range were on the narrow side. Want all of The Times? Subscribe.
Korea Herald
09-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Korea Herald
Daniil Simkin would like to 'break free' into ballet's new frontiers
Star ballerino to perform 'Swan Lake' with Universal Ballet It is not always easy to find yourself in the classical stories of ballet, says Daniil Simkin. Yet at the heart of these works, he sees something universally resonant — 'the romantic idea of breaking free from constraints and following one's passion.' The internationally acclaimed ballet star, a former principal dancer with American Ballet Theater and Staatsballett Berlin, is back in Seoul to perform Prince Siegfried in 'Swan Lake' with Universal Ballet. The shows, scheduled for July 19 and 23 at the Seoul Arts Center's Opera Theater, mark Simkin's first full-length performance in Korea. He will dance with Universal Ballet's principal ballerina Hong Hyang-gee. Set to Tchaikovsky's sweeping score, 'Swan Lake' has been reimagined in many different ways since its 19th-century premiere. In Universal Ballet's version, the tragic romance between Prince Siegfried and Odette, a princess turned into a swan by a sorcerer's curse, ends in Siegfried's death. 'Depending on the ending, you have to find yourself in that particular version of the ballet,' Simkin said during a press conference in Seoul on Tuesday. 'So in a way, my Prince Siegfried (here) does not take 'no' for an answer. He follows Odette even if it's into his demise.' Celebrated for his technique and charisma, Simkin is often recognized as a technician, but 'Swan Lake,' he says, demands a different kind of mastery, one that calls for greater subtlety and taste. 'It's about control, not about how many turns you do, but how you finish them. You try to push as a dancer — that's what excites me when it comes to technique. It's, in a way, an analogy to the human condition. But for 'Swan Lake,' you have to make it tasteful. It's more about the bigger picture, the characterization of the role as well.' Still, he hinted with a smile that he would slip in "a couple of small things" here and there. Now, as a freelance artist who mostly performs in gala programs around the world, Simkin finds full-length narrative ballets to be a rare and meaningful opportunity. Earlier that day, he took company class with Universal Ballet dancers — an experience he especially enjoyed for its roots in the Russian style — and said he would get into very good shape. 'It's a great pleasure to still perform full-length works. And to be with such a traditional company, even just for a short time, feels like a privilege and an enjoyment.' Simkin said that, more than the result, he is focused on the process. 'What's important for me is to feel that I'm part of something bigger. This is what drives me right now. All I can do is give it my all, be part of the company, and together strive for something great.' Beyond the stage, Simkin has been expanding his role in the ballet world. In 2021, he founded Studio Simkin, a production company that seeks to reimagine ballet for the digital age. The studio creates works that blend classical technique with new technologies, immersive media and interdisciplinary collaboration, as he sees the untapped potential of ballet in embracing other mediums. 'I'm following my inspiration, my impulse to further our form of dance in new ways,' he said. 'Combining it with cutting-edge technology, expanding dance into immersive spaces, I want to advance our art form and bring it closer to the contemporary human being.'
