Elizabeth Murphy Promoted to Principal Dancer

[Helene]

PNB posted to its Facebook page that Peter Boal announced that Elizabeth Murphy, who danced the Sugar Plum Fairy in tonight's Opening Night performance of George Balanchine's The Nutcracker, has been promoted to Principal Dancer.

Congratulations to her

[Helene]

Here's the press release:

Pacific Northwest Ballet Artistic Director Peter Boal Announces Promotion of Elizabeth Murphy at Opening Night of George Balanchine’s The Nutcracker™.

Seattle, WA – Immediately prior to the overture for George Balanchine’s The Nutcracker™, Pacific Northwest Ballet Artistic Director Peter Boal announced to the opening-night audience that this evening’s Sugar Plum Fairy, Elizabeth Murphy, had been promoted to principal dancer.

“Elizabeth Murphy has been turning heads on our stage since she came to us from Ballet West four years ago,” said Mr. Boal. “Like a young Meryl Streep, she brings a refreshing combination of strength and vulnerability to every role she performs. Unforgettable in Nacho Duato's Rassemblement, Annabelle Lopez Ochoa's Before After, David Dawson's A Million Kisses to my Skin, and as Kitri in Alexei Ratmansky's Don Quixote, we know tonight's debut as the Sugar Plum Fairy will be no exception. Please join me in congratulating Elizabeth Murphy on her promotion to principal dancer.”

Elizabeth Murphy is from Chelmsford, Massachusetts. She studied at Academy of Ballet Arts and the Rock School for Dance Education, and she attended summer courses on scholarship at Pacific Northwest Ballet School and Chautauqua Summer Program. She was an apprentice with North Carolina Dance Theater and also danced with Pennsylvania Ballet before joining Ballet West II in 2006 and Ballet West in 2007. Ms. Murphy joined Pacific Northwest Ballet as a member of the corps de ballet in 2011 and was promoted to soloist in 2013.

Ms. Murphy has danced leading roles in George Balanchine’s Agon, Apollo, Coppélia (Dawn) and A Midsummer Night’s Dream (Hermia); Andrew Bartee’s arms that work; Peter Boal’s Giselle (Moyna, Bathilde); David Dawson’s A Million Kisses to My Skin; Ulysses Dove’s Dancing on the Front Porch of Heaven; Nacho Duato’s Rassemblement; Ronald Hynd’s The Sleeping Beauty (Gold & Silver pas de trois); Jiri Kylian’s Forgotten Land; Annabelle Lopez Ochoa’s Before After; Alexei Ratmansky’s Don Quixote (Kitri); Kent Stowell’s Nutcracker (Flora, Peacock); Twyla Tharp’s In the Upper Room and Nine Sinatra Songs; and Christopher Wheeldon’s Polyphonia. She originated leading roles in Alejandro Cerrudo’s Memory Glow and Mark Morris’ Kammermusik No. 3. She has also danced featured roles in Balanchine’s Diamonds and Serenade and Kent Stowell’s Cinderella and Swan Lake.

At Ballet West, Ms. Murphy danced leading and featured roles in Balanchine’s Agon, The Four Temperaments, Serenade, and Stars and Stripes; William Christiansen’s Nutcracker; Nicolo Fonte’s Bolero; Jiri Kylian’s Sinfonietta; Helen Pickett’s But Never Doubt I Love; and Adam Sklute’s Sleeping Beauty and Swan Lake.

For the remainder of the run of The Nutcracker, Ms. Murphy is scheduled to appear in numerous roles in addition to Sugar Plum Fairy, including Arabian, Dewdrop, Spanish Lead, and Mrs. Stahlbaum. For casting information, visit PNB.org. The Nutcracker runs through December 28, 2015. Tickets are available through the PNB Box Office, 206.441.2424, in person at 301 Mercer Street at Seattle Center, or online at PNB.org.

[ivypink]

I'm so happy to hear this! I love her dancing and have been a fan since her Ballet West days. I kind of suspected a promotion was in the works because she has been prominently featured in videos and posters recently.