IT’S THE END of an era at the storied American Ballet Theater, as celebrated principal dancer Gillian Murphy steps down after a dazzling career spanning three decades. In her final performance, the British-born, South Carolina-raised ballerina put an exclamation point on her twenty-nine years with the New York City-based company when she took the stage one last time as Odette-Odile in Swan Lake at the Metropolitan Opera House on July 18, 2025.
“Gillian is a serious artist. We will all miss her incredible work ethic, her exacting attention to detail, her strength, and her joy of dance,” says Susan Jaffe, artistic director for American Ballet Theatre. “As a company member, she has always acted with integrity, no matter what the circumstances. Gillian embodies patience, compassion, and generosity. She has always led by example, and her leadership will be missed.”
While she may have tied the bow on this distinguished chapter of her creative life, Murphy’s journey of discovery isn’t over. As for what comes next, the lauded artist plans to remain connected to her craft by coaching dancers at American Repertory Ballet, where her husband, Ethan Stiefel, is the artist in residence. Murphy says she is looking forward to spending more quality time with Stiefel and their six-year-old son, Ax, and hopes to reconnect with friends she’s lost touch with during her demanding career.
“How supported I felt by my colleagues and the audience really does feel celebratory and also bittersweet,” she told Vogue magazine of her farewell performance, reprising the role she danced in American Ballet Theater’s 2005 PBS television production of the landmark Tchaikovsky ballet. “It was my own choice to retire, and it feels like the right time, so I feel really good about it, but at the same time, I’ve always loved to dance, since I was really little. I always dreamed of being a ballerina. It’s not easy to walk away from that.”
Since first taking the stage with American Ballet Theatre in 1996, Murphy has cemented her sterling reputation in the dance world through leading roles in time-tested classics like Romeo and Juliet, Giselle, Don Quixote and The Sleeping Beauty, along with new works by contemporary choreographers like Alexei Ratmansky, Mark Morris, Michelle Dorrance, and Christopher Wheeldon. In addition to receiving industry honors such as the prestigious Prix de Lausanne Espoir and Princess Grace Foundation Award, she has performed around the world as a guest artist with Mariinsky Ballet, the Royal Swedish Ballet, the Staatsballett Berlin, the Kiev Ballet, the Australian Ballet and more.
“There hasn’t been a year in my career that I didn’t feel like I was learning constantly,” Murphy, forty-seven, told the New York Times ahead of her crowning performance in the physically demanding role. “Even with my very final Swan Lake, I’m planning to explore and discover something new.” – JEZY J. GRAY
