When Andrew Murdock left St. Albert in 2003 to study at The Julliard School, his luggage was light — a few pairs of dancing slippers and a Colin Forbes Memorial Scholarship.
Next Friday, he returns to his roots in a heavier role as an internationally recognized dancer and part of the star billing at the Mayor’s Celebration of the Arts Gala.
Murdock was last year’s gala recipient for the Visionary College Award for Emerging Artist but was unable to attend because of prior dance commitments.
However, this year the athletic dancer has made it a priority to not only come home and perform, but to conduct a dance workshop at his old alma mater, Art of Dance Studio.
“It’s a huge honour to be invited home to perform for my family. It’s where everything started for me. There’s no way I would have these opportunities today without the foundation I received in St. Albert,” says Murdock speaking in telephone interview from his New York City apartment.
For the past year, Murdock has been leaping to new heights both at the New York based Aszure & Artists and as guest artist at Les Ballets Jazz de Montreal, or BJM Danse.
However, this past summer he decided to settle once and for all in the city that never sleeps. “I felt the need to define myself as a freelance dancer. I wanted to pick and choose challenging work that would give me a lot of freedom. It means putting yourself out there, but I wanted to work with a variety of choreographers.”
After graduating from Julliard in 2007, he was recruited by Les Ballets Jazz de Montreal. As a part of the experimental dance company, he toured the world dancing in Brazil, France, Germany, Switzerland, Luxembourg, Italy and Korea and even performed in Edmonton in January 2009.
First at Julliard and later at BJM Danse, he worked with Edmonton choreographer Aszure Barton. She wooed him and invited Murdock to join her New York based Aszure & Artists. It was a marriage that strengthened both their artistic endeavours.
“She’s a true collaborator. She uses each person’s idiosyncrasies. Your own story becomes part of her grand story. She creates a nucleolus where you can grow, experience and express new things. There’s no way of knowing the end product because everything happens in the journey. It’s exhilarating.”
In fact, Murdock will perform two short dances at the Mayor’s Gala, one of which is Barton’s. In Plume, an excerpt from Barton’s choreography Busk, he plays a street performer whose saccharin onstage façade hides wrenching heartbreak. “It hits so close to home for me.”
His second dance is No 2, one of Murdock’s original choreographies. “It’s my second time coming home and it tells the story of what my life is like.”
In New York, Murdock just shot a commercial for MAC Cosmetics and will embark on a short tour with Gallim Dance performing at the Big Apple’s Fall For Dance and Portland’s White Bird Festival.
“New York is a fantastic city. I want to grow and see what my limits are.”
