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  1. American Ballet Theatre Curtain Calls

Ethan Stiefel

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Ethan Stiefel Final Performance, July 7, 2012
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Ethan Stiefel Final Performance, July 7, 2012

ABTAmericanBalletTheatrephotosEthanStiefelfinalperformanceKent Beckernot my day job photographyAliLe CorsaireAmerican Ballet Theatre

  • Ethan Stiefel Final Performance, July 7, 2012<br />
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Here are photos of Ethan Stiefel’s final performance on July 7, 2012. Ethan danced the role of Ali in Le Corsaire that night, dazzling the crowd with reckless abandon and bravura dancing including turns in second with a leap in the middle, a spectacular manège of coupé jetés, and endless pirouettes.  <br />
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Ethan started his career in 1989 at New York City Ballet. Having a desire to dance the big story ballets that ABT specializes in, he joined ABT in 1997, adding to a great roster of male dancers consisting of Angel Corella, Jose Manuel Correno, and Marcelo Gomes. At ABT, Ethan expanded his repertoire to include full-length classics to contemporary works by Twyla Tharp, Jiri Kylian, and Paul Taylor. He quickly became a crowd favorite at ABT and established himself as one of the greatest American male dancers. In addition to the classical roles that he excelled in such as Giselle and Sleeping Beauty, I enjoyed his performances in Billy the Kid, Tharp’s Rabbit and Rogue, and Known by Heart. <br />
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Both Stiefel and Angel Corella became artistic directors with Ethan heading the Royal New Zealand Ballet. Both retired from ABT in 2012 to devote more time to their management responsibilities and both left on top of their game. Like Angel’s going away party eight days earlier, Ethan was congratulated onstage by current and former dancers including Susan Jaffe, John Gardner, Amanda McKerrow, and Damian Woetzel. Then during a confetti blizzard, he was given a big hug by his fiancé and Principal Dancer Gillian Murphy. Then followed numerous curtain calls for his appreciative fans before his final exit from the stage.
  • Ethan Stiefel Final Performance, July 7, 2012<br />
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Principal Dancer Marcelo Gomes presents Ethan with a wreath.
  • Ethan Stiefel Final Performance, July 7, 2012
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Ethan Stiefel and Johan Kobborg, Principal Dancer, The Royal Ballet. In November 2012, Royal Ballet of New Zealand (where Ethan is the Artistic Director) premiered a new production of Giselle co-choreographed and co-produced by the two. The new production will be the subject of a feature film that will be distributed worldwide according to <a href="http://www.kobb.org.uk/">Kobborg’s website.</a>
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Kobborg's fiance is Royal Ballet Principal Dancer <a href="http://www.notmydayjobphotography.com/AmericanBalletTheatreCurtainCa/American-Ballet-Theatre/23905687_9LRfq3#!i=1987705202&k=F3LZCQw">Alina Cojocaru,</a> a frequent guest artist at ABT.
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At a young age, Kobborg trained as a tenor but left singing to take up dancing. He began his professional dance training at the late age of 16, attending the Royal Danish Ballet School according to <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Johan_Kobborg">Wikipedia.</a>
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I rescued this image from the digital trash can in December 2012 after inadvertently deleting it from my computer over the summer. I saw that Johan has a Twitter account and after following him, reminded me of the photo. Fortunately, I had the original image on my memory card, uploaded it from the card, processed it, and uploaded to this gallery. I sent a tweet to Johan and got the following response from him: Arghhh thank you, love it !! ;))
  • Ethan Stiefel Final Performance, July 7, 2012
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Gennadi Saveliev and Ethan. Gennadi gave his final ABT performance earlier in the day. <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lXRmhXr_a38">YouTube</a> 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”.
  • Ethan Stiefel Final Performance, July 7, 2012<br />
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Ethan and Damian Woetzel. Both began their careers at New York City Ballet in 1989. Damian retired as a Principal Dancer in 2008.
  • Ethan Stiefel Final Performance, July 7, 2012<br />
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Artistic Director Kevin McKenzie presents Ethan with a wreath.
  • Ethan Stiefel Final Performance, July 7, 2012<br />
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Ethan and fiancé Gillian Murphy embrace in the middle of a confetti blizzard.
  • Ethan Stiefel Final Performance, July 7, 2012<br />
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Ethan gets tossed in the air by Cosaire pirates. His parents are to the left.
  • Ethan Stiefel Final Performance, July 7, 2012<br />
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The curtain closes on Ethan's great career
  • Ethan Stiefel Final Performance, July 7, 2012
  • Ethan Stiefel Final Performance, July 7, 2012<br />
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Maria Riccetto sneaks a peek
  • Ethan Stiefel Final Performance, July 7, 2012
  • Ethan Stiefel Final Performance, July 7, 2012
  • Ethan Stiefel Final Performance, July 7, 2012<br />
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I wonder if a dancer has ever been injured by flowers thrown from an adoring crowd. One of the occupational hazards of being an international ballet star.
  • Ethan Stiefel Final Performance, July 7, 2012
  • Ethan Stiefel Final Performance, July 7, 2012<br />
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Ethan's final exit
  • Angel Corella Final Performance, June 28, 2012<br />
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Angel and Ethan Stiefel. Ethan gave his final ABT performance a week later.
  • Ethan Stiefel, Giselle, July 12, 2008
  • Julie Kent and Ethan Stiefel, Giselle, July 12, 2008
  • Gillian Murphy and Ethan Stiefel, Gillian Murphy 20th Anniversary with ABT Celebration, May 28, 2016
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