Ethan Stiefel (born 13 February 1973 in Tyrone, Pennsylvania) is an American Dancer, Choreographer, and Director. He was a principal Dancer with American Ballet Theatre (ABT) from 1997 till July 2012. He was the artistic Director of the Royal New Zealand Ballet from 2011 to 2014. His wife is Gillian Murphy, also a principal Dancer with ABT.
He won a silver medal at the Prix de Lausanne in 1989 and also received a Princess Grace Foundation-USA grant in 1991. In 1998, Stiefel was nominated for the Benois de la Danse award as one of the rising stars in ballet. In 2007, Stiefel made his debut with the Australian Ballet in Nureyev's staging of Don Quixote, for its Melbourne and Sydney seasons, in the role of Basilio. In 2008, Stiefel was a recipient of the Dance Magazine Award along with Pina Bausch, Sylvia Walters, and Lawrence Rhodes for his role as a leader in the dance field.
In 2000, he starred in the film Center Stage, directed by Nicholas Hytner with original choreography by Susan Stroman and featuring Amanda Schull. He also starred in the sequels Center Stage: Turn It Up and Center Stage: On Pointe. Center Stage features a subplot in which Stiefel's character garners the financial support of a flirtatious female philanthropist (played by Elizabeth Hubbard). A New York Times article entitled "How Much Is That Dancer in the Program?" revealed that Stiefel has a similar real-life sponsorship relationship with wealthy philanthropist Anka Palitz.
In 2004, he created a four-week workshop, Stiefel & Students, for aspiring Dancers where dance students train and perform with professional ballet Dancers. It is held annually on Martha's Vineyard in the month of August. The program accepts students aged 12 to 18. Its rollcall of star guest teachers include Stiefel, Johan Kobborg, Amanda McKerrow, Elizabeth Parkinson, Scott Wise, Marcelo Gomes, John Gardner, Gary Chryst, Ann Reinking, and Alina Cojocaru. The program has been on hiatus since 2008.
In late 2005, Ballet Pacifica, based in Irvine, California, named him as its artistic Director with the aim to relaunch itself as a higher-profile ballet company. However, after the company failed to raise the funds necessary to support their new vision, its executive Director resigned followed by Stiefel himself in April 2006.
In 2007, Stiefel appeared in an episode of Queer Eye to meet a "straight guy" who considers Stiefel his "idol." In 2010 he appeared as himself in season 4, episode 8 of Gossip Girl with Murphy.
In November 2010 Stiefel was announced as the next Director of the Royal New Zealand Ballet. He took up that position in September 2011. Stiefel expanded the international profile of the company, programmed new works, created a one-act ballet Bierhalle, and choreographed a production of Giselle. In March 2014, Stiefel announced that he would not extend his contract with the Royal New Zealand Ballet and would return to the United States.
He is an avid motorcyclist. He grew up riding dirt bikes, currently owns a Harley-Davidson Wide Glide and once drove 3,500 miles across the north-eastern US with Gillian Murphy riding pillion. He is also a Green Bay Packers and Wisconsin Badgers fan. He proposed to Murphy, his longtime girlfriend, in May 2011, after they performed in ABT's spring gala. They were married in September 2015. They have an Abyssinian cat called Selah.
Stiefel has appeared as a guest Artist with many companies throughout his career including the Mariinsky Ballet, the Royal Ballet, the Australian Ballet, Zurich Ballet, Munich Ballet, Hamburg Ballet, National Ballet of Canada, New National Ballet in Tokyo, and Teatro Colón Ballet in Buenos Aires. He gave his final performance as an ABT principal Dancer on July 7, 2012, at the Metropolitan Opera House, as Ali the slave in Le Corsaire. He is widely considered right now to be currently "the greatest male ballet Dancer in the world or "the most advanced male ballet Dancer in the world".
