Perfection is a word only found in the dictionary, so often said, but given the performances by some elite artists and sports figures, sometimes you might feel that it’s found elsewhere as well.
The legendary NFL Football Coach Vince Lombardi was once quoted as expressing, “Perfection is not attainable, but if we chase perfection we can catch excellence.”
If you are going to chase perfection, you should start early.
When watching the Pacific Northwest Ballet principal dancer Elizabeth Murphy you may get a sense that you are watching perfection in motion which would not be surprising since she started dancing at two.
Does that qualify as an early start?
What a wonderful day it will be when many of the female artistic and sports disciplines perform at the same event. All of that beauty in one room may feel like….perfection.
Femcompetitor Magazine would like to introduce our readers to Elizabeth.
Her dance company site pnb.org helps with the introduction. “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 and principal in 2015.”
Very impressive.
As of this writing, this small clip of Elizabeth is available online. Please enjoy.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Jut0vM07mQ
Elizabeth’s admirers and followers are growing.
One such admirer dancemagazine.com has closely followed her career and in 2013 shares their respect for her risk taking abilities. “Last year, Elizabeth Murphy rehearsed nine different roles for Pacific Northwest Ballet’s Swan Lake. Though her favorite was the Spanish dance in Act III, with its repeated backbends and fan work, she danced each ardently. And in the Spanish, she gave a memorable performance, her footwork emphatic in its concluding flurry of steps, her fan underscoring her gestures with sharp, bold strokes.”
Elizabeth shared with patch.com that attending a ballet focused high school just seemed like a natural series of events in her life, because she participated in The Rock’s summer programs for several years before high school.
Upon graduation, she joined Ballet West in Salt Lake City. She started in the second company, a typical step for a high school graduate, and the following year was promoted to the main Ballet West Company. Just a few months ago, Murphy auditioned for Pacific Northwest Ballet in Seattle.
She earned the spot, and started practicing with the company in July.
“Philosophy is a kind of journey, ever learning yet never arriving at the ideal perfection of truth.”…. Albert Pike
Our star is a very bold girl.
In an interview with scholar-in-Residence Maura Keefe, she displayed a sense of humor in explaining that part of the reason she sought partnership with Pacific Northwest Ballet is that they appeared to like tall, athletic women.
It certainly helps if you have princess looks as well.
The quest wasn’t always easy.
According to Elizabeth despite Pacific Northwest continually saying no, she insisted and persisted that she should her dance there.
We’re glad it worked out. It seems like an ideal fit.
“Life is a moving, breathing thing. We have to be willing to constantly evolve. Perfection is constant transformation.”… Nia Peeples
One factor we find consistent in researching high achievers and exceptional performers is that they come from a wonderful village that encouraged and nurtured them.
Why don’t we travel to Elizabeth’s hometown of Chelmsford, Massachusetts?
Chelmsford is a town in Middlesex County, Massachusetts in the Greater Lowell area. As of the 2010 United States Census, the town’s population was 33,802.
An interesting statistic is that only 48.4% are male and the median age of residents in Chelmsford is 39.2 years old. It is located 24 miles northwest of Boston.
Named after Chelmsford, England, the town was incorporated in May 1655.
The leadership at the city site chelmsfordculture.org speaks to their vision and the community’s attractiveness. “We are committed to creating a vibrant and diverse cultural destination in the Town’s Villages by collaborating with arts and cultural organizations and businesses to promote and strengthen the creative economy and partnerships and programming so as to engage the community to participate in our cultural and heritage events.”
Located near the town of Lowell the global travel expert lonelyplanet.com is impressed with their group efforts. “In the early 19th century, textile mills in Lowell churned out cloth by the mile, driven by the abundant waterpower of Pawtucket Falls.
In modern Lowell, 25 miles north of Boston, an influx of Southeast Asian immigrants has diversified the culture (and cuisine) of this classic New England mill town. A short walk away from the historic center into the ethnic neighborhood known as the Acre reveals that Lowell has definitely changed from the city it was 150 years ago. Besides being the birthplace of the textile industry, Lowell was also the birthplace of two American cultural icons, painter James Abbott McNeill Whistler and writer Jack Kerouac.”
Elizabeth’s fabric is woven into the historical American past as she perfects an innovative dance future.
Guess what?
Her own fabrics are selling very well.
By August of 2015, Murphy opened her Etsy shop with the leotards that she hand-made.
She continues to swim, do palates, and work out at the gym.
Perfection has its price and it’s a good one.
As we look to the future in her conversation with patch.com about her dance evolution, Elizabeth smiles, “What I like so much about it is that it can never be perfect, so you are working towards something that may not even be created yet. I definitely want to have as long of a career as I can, because I do love it. I think I always want to stay close to it, because it’s such a big part of my life.”
With a growing fan base, her dance is increasingly becoming a part of our lives as well.
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Sources: brainyquote.com, Wikipedia, fciwomenswrestling2.com, FCI Elite Competitor, photos thank you Wikimedia Commons.
http://www.lindsaythomasphoto.com/onstage/h589DC280#h589dc280
http://dancemagazine.com/inside-dm/on_the_rise_elizabeth_murphy/
https://www.pnb.org/artist/elizabeth-murphy/
http://www.grballet.com/artists/elizabeth-murphy/
http://balletalert.invisionzone.com/index.php?/topic/40413-elizabeth-murphy-launches-leotard-line/
http://patch.com/massachusetts/chelmsford/local-ballerina-makes-it-big
https://www.tumblr.com/tagged/elizabeth-murphy
http://www.danceinforma.com/2016/03/02/18645/
http://valadancewear.com/blog/elizabeth-murphy-joins-pacific-northwest-ballet.html
