The Wolf Magazine

Issue date: 2/5/10 Section: Fine Arts and Culture

Media Credit: Esther Murphy Colleen Murphy

Media Credit: Esther Murphy Colleen Murphy

Media Credit: Esther Murphy Colleen Murphy

Colleen Murphy is doing what everyone wants to do, but most can’t or won’t — she’s following her dream. Murphy, a budding ballerina and Loyola alumna ’07, is living out the struggling artist stereotype in New York City — dancing her way into any and every audition she can swipe her Metro card to. She is optimistic, considering she has thrust herself into a world of constant rejection.

 “I don’t suffer with rejection issues,” she says. “A smart dancer understands that there are a million dancers and companies and they are all looking for different things.”

Growing up, Murphy was a competitive gymnast, she says, which she thinks helps give her an edge. At Loyola, Murphy was a Spanish major and dance minor and trained under Loyola’s director of Ballet, Laura Zambrano. Zambrano has helped her development tremendously, Murphy says.

“I don’t think Laura understands how much she has helped me.
She has shown me so many things,” Murphy says. “I mean, I learned a lot in undergrad, but now all of a sudden, things click and I feel more prepared for the challenges that lie ahead.”

Murphy, a New Orleans native, left her position in the Atlantic City Ballet to come home for a few months, take more dance classes and make a professional dance audition video to send to companies. Murphy knows how hard it is to land a spot at prestigious dance companies, which is why she tries to remain positive.

“A lot of dancers let [rejection] chip at their self-esteem, but after every audition, whether I make it or not, I walk away with something,” she says. “I don’t understand the thought process of, ‘What if I don’t make it?’”

Like many jobs, a ballet dancer must have a routine, she says. Murphy takes dance classes multiple times a week, and finds that her real teachers are her peers, she says.

While some may feel that its difficult to live off of a beginning dancer’s salary, money is no object to Murphy, she says.

“Money is always there, waiting for me somewhere, I just have to find it,” she says.

“What is most important to me at this point in my life is finding my
true happiness.” 

Murphy wants to be apart of a dance company that focuses on contemporary dance, which is her passion, she says. But until then, she is enjoying the ride and taking notes as she goes.

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