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Born and raised in Nova Scotia, Canada, Sarah Murphy began her dance training at Coastal Dance in Dartmouth. Sarah left home at 15 to attend the North Carolina School of the Arts (NCSA), where she was a scholarship student in the contemporary dance program, graduating in 2006. While at NCSA Sarah danced in works by Murray Louis, David Parsons, Teri and Oliver Steele, Brenda Daniels and Sean Sullivan. Currently, Sarah resides in New York where she will receive her BFA from the Juilliard School in 2010. Since her entrance to Juilliard, Sarah has performed in works by David Parker, Adam Hougland, José Limón, Johannes Wieland and Ohad Naharin. Sarah also had the privilege to perform with Sylvain Emard Danse in Europe and Canada during the 2008 world premiere of "Wave". In July, Sarah traveled to Israel to further her training and understanding of Gaga, Ohad Naharin's movement language. Sarah would also like to give thanks to David and Margaret Fountain and the Nova Scotia Talent Trust for their continued support. Nicole Cerutti, LOLAstretch Marketing Intern, had the pleasure of sitting down and talking with Sarah. Here are some segments of their conversation: NC: So what is not mentioned in your bio is that you are a recipient of this year's Princess Grace Award. Congratulations! SM: Thank you! The Gala is coming up this month, which is very exciting! NC: What did you do over the summer? SM: In June I went on tour with the Juilliard School to Caen, Paris, and Dresden. I also went to Israel for four weeks to study with Ohad Naharin at The Batsheva Dance Company summer intensive. NC: That all sounds so exciting! Did you learn or discover anything over the summer that you are trying to apply his year? SM: Furthering my understanding with Ohad's Gaga technique and language has had a profound affect not only on my dancing, but my healing process. It has really helped me redefine how and why I dance, and what dance actually means to me; in part because encourages exploration. For a long time my passion was a burden and brought pain. Through Gaga I have realized that my passion could bring pleasure not pain, and that talent is not a burden but something that should be rejoiced. NC: Do you have any exciting plans for your senior year at Juilliard? SM: Well, being a senior is pretty great. We're given a lot more responsibilities this year. School and life in general are becoming more separate now, which I find exciting. For so long we've been honing our artistic abilities, but now I am refining more who I am as a person and then finding ways to reinsert that into my dance technique. I feel this is creating a sort of final package...hopefully. NC: What are your plans for graduation? SM: I am going to audition for companies in New York, as well as at home in Canada. I may also take a trip to Israel to audition for some companies there. NC: Any thoughts or advice on auditions? SM: Well, the fact that there's a recession makes it a really hard time to be in the dance world. There are so many qualified dancers are all competing for the same jobs. This is where your human skills come into play in terms of planning and timing. Not everyone can find a good balance between dance skills and their out of studio/real-world skills. Also, I'm finding it is important to be an advocate for your art, especially in a society that is not fully supporting it. NC: What is your dream company? What are you looking for? SM: Ideally I want to find a group of people I'm comfortable with, who appreciate my movement quality for what it is, and I feel the same way about theirs. After all this intense training and work in making the "full package," I want to inspire people and be inspired by them as well. I like to be in a laboratory setting of asking questions and finding answers, which is what keeps the work alive. I think that dance has come a long way, but by no means is it done yet. Basically, my dream is to travel and dance, and to do that as long as my body will let me. I want to be happy...and moving and dancing makes me happy. NC: What a lovely way to put it! Thank you so much for your time and insight. Finally, what is your favorite LOLAstretch leotard style? SM: I love the "Scrunch It!" {Sarah in a Sputnik 2 Leotard and Track Shorts. Photo by Nicole Cerutti.} The views expressed in this interview are those of the interviewee and do not represent the views of, and should not be attributed to, LOLAstretch. Archived Featured Dancer Interviews: Winter 2010 -- Emery Le Crone and Stephanie Chrosniak, freelance choreographer and student at SAB
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