Quick links
Useful resources
Sign up to our newsletter
Be the first to hear about news, special offers and more...
Posted on November 1, 2010
Ethan Stiefel, currently a principal dancer with American Ballet Theatre, has been appointed artistic director of the Royal New Zealand Ballet. He will take up the position on September 1, 2011.
“I am enormously appreciative and enthusiastic about having been appointed the next artistic director of the Royal New Zealand Ballet,” Stiefel said, calling it “an exceptional opportunity to professionally and personally evolve and to contribute to the art for I truly love.” He praised the company’s achievements and potential, adding that he and his partner, ABT’s Gillian Murphy, “are ready for this new chapter in our lives and wholeheartedly make a commitment to the new adventures and prospects it holds.” Stiefel, who has relatives in New Zealand, aims to boost RNZB’s international profile, particularly in the US. He hopes “to make the RNZB a primary international ambassador of New Zealand and its inherent qualities.”
Photograph: Ethan Stiefel in Balanchine’s Prodigal Son. Photograph by Roy Round.