August Bournonville’s 1836 ballet La Sylphide, set in Scotland, has long been dear to Ethan Stiefel’s heart. The former American Ballet Theatre principal and Center Stage star danced the lead role of James several times, and for many years trained with legendary Danish teacher Stanley Williams in the Bournonville tradition. Stiefel is also of Scottish […]
After an extensive search, American Repertory Ballet announced yesterday that Ethan Stiefel will become the company’s new artistic director, starting July 2021. The position has been open since former director Douglas Martin’s departure in 2019; executive director Julie Diana Hench has been assuming artistic duties in the interim. Stiefel, a former American Ballet Theatre star […]
Balletomanes, bunheads, and Center Stage fangirls alike, listen up, because there’s a big announcement here for the dance community: on Saturday, June 8, legendary ballet power couple Gillian Murphy and Ethan Stiefel welcomed their son, Ax Nathaniel Stiefel, into the world! Murphy announced the good news on Instagram by sharing a heartwarming video of fellow […]
This video from Sir Frederick Ashton’s The Dream will transport you to a warm, enchanted summer evening. In this clip from an American Ballet Theater performance from 2004, Alessandra Ferri and Ethan Stiefel play Titania and Oberon, rulers of the woodland fairy realm from Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Nights Dream. At once regal and whimsical, the […]
Rounding out her first season as artistic director of The Washington Ballet, Julie Kent called on her longtime dancing partner and friend, Ethan Stiefel, to create an entirely new work for the company. To honor the John F. Kennedy centennial celebrations at the Kennedy Center this spring, Stiefel chose to tap into the 35th president’s […]
In the midst of American Ballet Theatre’s annual eight-week long season at the Metropolitan Opera House, so much focus is on the company’s rising stars. But it’s always fun to look back at some of our ABT favorites from years past. We love this full-length film of the third movement of Clark Tippet’s 1987 Bruch […]
This Sunday, ballet is back on TV with Starz’s new drama “Flesh and Bone.” Though the dark, fictionalized take on the dance world is more Hollywood than reality–and be advised, the content is not appropriate for young viewers–the cast features a range of ballet superstars, including Sarah Hay (Pointe‘s current cover girl), Irina Dvorovenko and […]
Stiefel begins his day in Warren Conover’s men’s class. “I always want to lead by example,” he says. “In class, I try to always do the step exactly as given and use full épaulement.” Ahead lies a packed schedule: teaching, coaching, meetings, rehearsals and a host of administrative details. Stiefel’s tweaked the school’s curriculum since […]