Graeme Murphy (AO) | |
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Born | Graeme Lloyd Murphy 2 November 1950 |
Occupation | Choreographer |
Known for | Work with the Sydney Dance Company and The Australian Ballet |
Graeme Lloyd Murphy AO (born 2 November 1950) is an Australian dancer and choreographer. With his fellow dancer (and wife since 2004) Janet Vernon, he guided Sydney Dance Company to become one of Australia's most successful and best-known dance companies.
Murphy was born in Melbourne, and grew up in Tasmania, where he took dance classes with Sir Kenneth Gillespie [1] in Launceston. He began his career as a student at the Australian Ballet School at the age of fourteen. In 1968 he became a dancer with The Australian Ballet where he had opportunities to choreograph. He toured America with the Australian Ballet in 1970–1971 and created his first ballet, Ecco le Diavole (Ecco). Ecco was presented at Melbourne's Princess Theatre in July 1971. The piece was set to music by Nino Rota and featured dancers Roslyn Anderson, Roma Egan, Janet Vernon, and Wendy Walker. [2]
Later, Murphy danced with the Sadler's Wells Royal Ballet (now Birmingham Royal Ballet), and Les Ballets Félix Blaska in France. In 1975 he worked as a freelance choreographer. He rejoined The Australian Ballet in the early months of 1976 as both a dancer and as a resident choreographer. He was appointed as artistic director of the Dance Company of New South Wales in November 1976, renamed as Sydney Dance Company in 1979.
Murphy has been compared to the dancer and choreographer Jerome Robbins on account of the way he and his company marketed dance to a wider audience, bringing contemporary dance into a more commercial arena. Aside from his work in ballet, Murphy has also completed choreography for Torville and Dean. [3]
On 18 December 2004, after almost 40 years together as artistic and life partners, he and Janet Vernon married on their rural property outside Launceston. [4]
In 2016 and 2017, Martin Portus (former Director of Marketing and Communication at the Australia Council for the Arts) conducted a number of interviews with Australian choreographers including Graeme Murphy. In the interview, Murphy discusses the highlights of various aspects of his career as a dancer and choreographer: his teenage training at The Australian Ballet School and early work as a classical dancer with the Australian Ballet; his developing interest in choreography and contemporary dance in the early 1970s; the beginnings of his lifelong creative partnership with Janet Vernon; the formation of the Sydney Dance Company and his appointment as artistic director in 1976; his signature productions involving theatrical spectacle, powerful storytelling, collaboration with Australian composers, and innovative set and costume designs; his constant touring overseas and work with Australian ballet; the financial disasters which prompted him to leave the Sydney Dance Company after 31 years; his work and aspirations. [5]
On 26 January 1988, Murphy was named a member of the Order of Australia for "his service to ballet." [6] On 1 January 2001, he was awarded the Centenary Medal for "service to the development of dance in Australia and Tasmania". [7] On 11 June 2012, Murphy was named an Officer of the Order of Australia for "distinguished service to the performing arts, both nationally and internationally, particularly ballet and contemporary dance, as a choreographer and director, and to the enhancement of Australia's cultural environment." [8]
The Helpmann Awards is an awards show, celebrating live entertainment and performing arts in Australia, presented by industry group Live Performance Australia (LPA) since 2001. [9] In 2002, Murphy received the JC Williamson Award, the LPA's highest honour, for their life's work in live performance. [10]
Year | Nominee / work | Award | Result |
---|---|---|---|
2002 | Himself | JC Williamson Award | awarded |
The Australian Entertainment Mo Awards (commonly known informally as the Mo Awards), were annual Australian entertainment industry awards. They recognise achievements in live entertainment in Australia from 1975 to 2016. [11]
Year | Nominee / work | Award | Result (wins only) |
---|---|---|---|
1999 | Graeme Murphy | Male Dance Performer/ Choreographer of the Year | Won |
Sydney Dance Company is a contemporary dance company in Australia. They have Performed at the Sydney Opera House in Australia, the Joyce Theater in New York, the Shanghai Grand Theatre in China, and the Stanislavsky Theatre in Moscow.
The Australian Ballet (TAB) is the largest classical ballet company in Australia. It was founded by J. C. Williamson Theatres Ltd and the Australian Elizabethan Theatre Trust in 1962, with the English-born dancer, teacher, repetiteur and director Dame Peggy van Praagh as founding artistic director. Today, it is recognised as one of the world's major international ballet companies and performs upwards of 150 performances a year.
David Graeme McAllister is the former artistic director and principal dancer of The Australian Ballet.
Dame Catherine Margaret Mary Scott, was a South African-born pioneering ballet dancer who found fame as a teacher, choreographer, and school administrator in Australia. As the first director of the Australian Ballet School, she is recognised as one of the founders of the strong ballet tradition of her adopted country.
Ivor Arthur Davies, AM, known professionally as Iva Davies, is an Australian singer, songwriter, composer, multi-instrumentalist and record producer.
Graeme John Koehne, is an Australian composer and music educator. He is best known for his orchestral and ballet scores, which are characterised by direct communicative style and embrace of tertian harmony. His orchestral trilogy Unchained Melody, Powerhouse, and Elevator Music makes allusions to Hollywood film score traditions, cartoon music, popular Latin music and other dance forms.
Boxes is a soundtrack credited to Sydney Dance Company with Iva Davies, released by Festival Records / Chrysalis Records in November 1985. The work was originally conceived by its composers, Iva Davies and Robert Kretschmer, in collaboration with choreographer Graeme Murphy of the Sydney Dance Company for performance as the ballet Boxes. The first live performance of Boxes was given by the Sydney Dance Company together with Davies and Kretschmer of Icehouse and guest percussionist Masaki Tanazawa in the Opera Theatre of the Sydney Opera House on 7 November 1985.
Leigh Warren is an Australian contemporary dance choreographer and artistic director of Leigh Warren & Dancers (LWD) having previously been at the Australian Dance Theatre. He choreographed and directed the Portrait Trilogy of operas by Philip Glass performed by LWD, the Adelaide Vocal Project and the State Opera of South Australia.
Garth de Burgh Welch is an Australian dancer and choreographer.
Garry Stewart is an Australian dancer and choreographer. He was the longest-serving artistic director of the Australian Dance Theatre, taking over from Meryl Tankard in 1999 and finishing his term at the end of 2021. He is renowned for his unusual, post-modern interpretations of classical ballets.
Kelvin Coe OBE was an Australian ballet dancer and the first male artist to be promoted from the corps de ballet in the Australian Ballet principal dancer. He died of AIDS related illness in 1992.
Daniel Askill is an Australian filmmaker and artist who uses film, photographs, video installation and sculpture in his work. He has directed short films, music videos, commercials and fashion films. He is currently based between Sydney and New York.
Stephanie Williams is an Australian ballet dancer, a member of the corps de ballet of the American Ballet Theatre.
Kevin Jackson is an Australian ballet dancer and choreographer, a principal artist with The Australian Ballet.
Roma Jean Egan was a child actress on Australian television, and an Australian ballet dancer and teacher. She was notably a senior soloist for The Australian Ballet, and variously performed for the Queensland Ballet, Basel Ballet, Ballet Victoria and Royal New Zealand Ballet.
Madeleine Eastoe is an Australian retired ballet dancer. She was a principal dancer at The Australian Ballet.
Josef Brown is an Australian actor, dancer and choreographer. Brown attended The McDonald College of the Arts and the Australian Ballet School, where he was promoted to soloist in 1994. He joined the Sydney Dance Company in 1997 and appeared in and choreographed various productions. Brown originated the role of Johnny Castle in the stage adaptation of Dirty Dancing. For his portrayal of Johnny, Brown won the Outstanding Performance in a Stage Musical accolade at the 2005 Australian Dance Awards.
Henry Byalikov is an Australian reality show personality and dancer. He best known for his appearances on Dancing with the Stars.
Michelle Potter AM is an Australian dance writer, critic, archivist, and curator of historical materials. Her research and writing have focused on but have not been restricted to Australian dance history. She was honoured for her achievements with the award of Member of the Order of Australia (AM) in the 2023 Australia Day Honours List.
Tivoli is an Australian dance musical that pays tribute to the Tivoli variety and revue circuit. It was directed and choreographed by Graeme Murphy from a scenario by Murphy and Kristian Fredrikson, with dialogue by Linda Nagle and Paul Chubb. Music incorporated existing songs from Tivoli productions, original songs by Max Lambert and Linda Nagle, and an original musical score by Graeme Koehne.
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