Ethan Stiefel Final Performance, July 7, 2012

Gennadi Saveliev and Ethan. Gennadi gave his final ABT performance earlier in the day. YouTube has a fun video of Ethan as Conrad, Gennadi as Ali the Slave, and Ethan’s fiancé Gillian Murphy, from the Youth America Grand Prix Gala in 2003. Gennadi was the master of a wild trick called a 540, a scissor kick combined with a whipping and turning movement. I see many dancers doing it these days, ranging from ballet to hip-hop. Gennadi does it at the 6:28 mark in the video. YouTube has other examples under the search “540 ballet”.

ABTAmericanBalletTheatrephotosEthanStiefelfinalperformanceKent Beckernot my day job photographyAliLe CorsaireAmerican Ballet TheatreGennadi Saveliev