Ethan Stiefel

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Ethan Stiefel (born 1973 in Tyrone, Pennsylvania) is a principal dancer with American Ballet Theatre.

Stiefel began his dance training at age eight in Madison, Wisconsin. He studied for two years at the Milwaukee Ballet School and at the Pennsylvania Youth Ballet before moving to New York City to attend ABT's School of Classical Ballet and School of American Ballet on scholarship. At age 16, he joined the corps de ballet of the New York City Ballet. In 1992, he took a leave of absence to perform with the Zurich Ballet and returned to the company one year later as a soloist. He ended his tenure at the NYC Ballet as one of its principal dancer. Stiefel joined ABT as a principal dancer in April 1997 where he remains today.

Stiefel won a silver medal at the Prix de Lausanne in 1989 and was also the recipient of 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 2000, Stiefel starred in the film Center Stage, directed by Nicholas Hytner with original choreography by Susan Stroman.

In late 2004, Ballet Pacifica, based in Irvine, California, named Stiefel its artistic director as part of a wider plan to relaunch as a higher-profile ballet company. In conjunction, Stiefel announced plans for tours, a larger, permanent ensemble of experienced dancers, a longer season and performances of George Balanchine's "The Nutcracker" at the Orange County Performing Arts Center. However, after the company failed to raise the USD$6.5 million necessary to realize Stiefel's plans, its executive director resigned followed by Stiefel in April 2006.

[edit] Trivia

Is an avid motorcyclist.
Is a Green Bay Packers fan.
Last name is pronounced "Shtee-full" and is German for "boot."
Currently dating, Gillian Murphy, a fellow ABT principal dancer.
Created a four-week workshop 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.
There is a Center Stage 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.