Etta Jane Bertschinger (née Murfitt; born 29 July 1966) is a British dancer, choreographer and the associate director of the New Adventures educational strand. She has worked for

Matthew Bourne Sir Matthew Christopher Bourne (born 13 January 1960) is a British choreographer. His productions contain many classic cinema and popular culture references and draw thematic inspiration from musicals, film noir and popular culture. Popular ...

for over 20 years in a variety of different roles. She teaches throughout the UK and abroad for dance companies and dance institutions, as well as being a freelance faculty member of the

London Contemporary Dance School London Contemporary Dance School (informally LCDS) is a contemporary dance school located in London, England. Previously part of the Conservatoire for Dance and Drama, since 2022 LCDS has been independently registered with the Office for Stud ...

and Young Place.

Career

Murfitt trained at the London Contemporary Dance School. Murfitt is a founding member of Images Dance Company, and has also danced with the Scottish Dance Theatre, Arc Dance Company and Aletta Collins Dance Company. She teaches widely, teaching as the Rehearsal Director for Shobana Jeyasingh Dance Company. Etta Murfitt is a freelance faculty member of London Contemporary Dance School and the Young Place, both in London. Apart from her extensive work with Matthew Bourne, Murfitt has also appeared on TV in shows such as Mrs Hartley & The Growth Centre and Aletta Collins' Storm (both produced by BBC TV) and choreographed Le Nozze di Figaro (Holland Park Opera), The Way of the World (Wilton's Music Hall) and A Midsummer Night's Dream (Albery Theatre, London). Murfitt has danced with

's companies AMP and New Adventures for over 20 years. She has created many roles in Bourne's work, including Clara In "Nutcracker", Rita in "The Car Man" and Peg Boggs in "Edward Scissorhands". She currently also serves as Artistic Associate and Associate Director for all the companies' productions. She has worked with New Adventures since its foundation. Murfitt was appointed

Member of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...

(MBE) in the

2022 Birthday Honours The 2022 Queen's Birthday Honours are appointments by some of the 15 Commonwealth realms of Queen Elizabeth II to Orders and decorations of the Commonwealth realms, various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by citizens of those ...

for services to dance.

Acting

Murfitt has played and created many roles in Bourne's work including the original productions of the following:

Credits

Choreography

Her choreography credits include *

Le nozze di Figaro ''The Marriage of Figaro'' (, ), K. 492, is a ''commedia per musica'' (opera buffa) in four acts composed in 1786 by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, with an Italian libretto written by Lorenzo Da Ponte. It premiered at the Burgtheater in Vienna ...

directed by Martin Lloyd-Evans for Holland Park Opera *

The Way of the World ''The Way of the World'' is a play written by the English playwright William Congreve. It premiered in early March 1700 in the theatre in Lincoln's Inn Fields in London. It is widely regarded as one of the best works of Restoration comedy ev ...

directed by

Selina Cadell Selina Jane Cadell is an English actress. She is the younger sister of actor Simon Cadell and granddaughter of actress Jean Cadell. She is the great niece of the Scottish artist Francis Cadell. Biography Cadell was born in London. She has be ...

Wilton's Music Hall Wilton's Music Hall is a Grade II* listed building in Shadwell, built as a music hall and now run as a multi-arts performance space in Graces Alley, off Cable Street in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. It is one of very few surviving music ...

* Restaging AMP's Nutcracker! (

Sadler's Wells Sadler's Wells Theatre is a London performing arts venue, located in Rosebery Avenue, Islington. The present-day theatre is the sixth on the site. Sadler's Wells grew out of a late 17th-century pleasure garden and was opened as a theatre buil ...

) * Restaging AMP's The Infernal Galop for Images of Dance (2007) and Sarasota Ballet, Florida (2008) *

A Midsummer Night's Dream ''A Midsummer Night's Dream'' is a Comedy (drama), comedy play written by William Shakespeare in about 1595 or 1596. The play is set in Athens, and consists of several subplots that revolve around the marriage of Theseus and Hippolyta. One s ...

with

Dawn French Dawn Roma French (born 11 October 1957) is a British actress, comedian and writer. She is known for writing and starring on the BBC sketch comedy series '' French and Saunders'' (1987–2007) with her best friend and comedy partner Jennifer Sa ...

, directed by Matthew Francis at the

Albery Theatre Albery is a name. It may refer to: Given name * Albery Allson Whitman (1851−1901), African American poet, minister and orator Surname * A. S. Albery, British politician * Bronson Albery (1881−1971), English theatre director and impresario * Do ...

* Restaging New Adventures Dorian Gray in Japan July 2013 * Kneehigh Theatre. choreographer The Wild Bride (2013) * Kneehigh Theatre. choreographer Dead Dog in a Suitcase Everyman theatre Liverpool (2014) * New Adventures. Associate Artistic Director & Choreographer Sleeping Beauty * Shakespeare's Globe A Midsummer Nights Dream (2016) * New Adventures. Associate Artistic Director & Choreographer The Red Shoes (2016)

Film Credits

* Film credits include: * Clara in '' Nutcracker!'' (

BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...

/ NVC) * Rita in '' The Car Man'' (

Channel 4 Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television channel owned and operated by Channel Four Television Corporation. It is state-owned enterprise, publicly owned but, unlike the BBC, it receives no public funding and is funded en ...

) * Rehearsal Director ''

Swan Lake ''Swan Lake'' ( rus, Лебеди́ное о́зеро, r=Lebedínoje ózero, p=lʲɪbʲɪˈdʲinəjə ˈozʲɪrə, links=no ), Op. 20, is a ballet composed by Russian composer Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky in 1875–76. Despite its initial failu ...

'' (

) * ''

Late Flowering Lust ''Late Flowering Lust'' is a television film starring Nigel Hawthorne, based on the poetry of John Betjeman. Produced by Caroline Speed and directed by David Hinton, it first aired on BBC2 on 8 May 1994. The film features performances by the dan ...

'' (BBC) *

Roald Dahl Roald Dahl (13 September 1916 – 23 November 1990) was a British author of popular children's literature and short stories, a poet, screenwriter and a wartime Flying ace, fighter ace. His books have sold more than 300 million copies ...

's ''

Red Riding Hood "Little Red Riding Hood" () is a fairy tale by Charles Perrault about a young girl and a Big Bad Wolf. Its origins can be traced back to several pre-17th-century European folk tales. It was later retold in the 19th-century by the Brothers Gr ...

'' (BBC) * ''Mrs Hartley and the Growth Centre'' (BBC) * ''Storm'' (Aletta Collins/BBC Dance for the Camera)

Stage Credits

Her stage credits include: For NA and AMP: Associate Director and creation of the role of Peg Boggs in

Edward Scissorhands ''Edward Scissorhands'' is a 1990 American gothic romantic fantasy film directed by Tim Burton. It was produced by Burton and Denise Di Novi, written by Caroline Thompson from a story by her and Burton, and starring Johnny Depp as the title ...

(London, UK tour, Japan,

Korea Korea is a peninsular region in East Asia consisting of the Korean Peninsula, Jeju Island, and smaller islands. Since the end of World War II in 1945, it has been politically Division of Korea, divided at or near the 38th parallel north, 3 ...

, USA, Australia, Athens,

Antwerp Antwerp (; ; ) is a City status in Belgium, city and a Municipalities of Belgium, municipality in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It is the capital and largest city of Antwerp Province, and the third-largest city in Belgium by area at , after ...

), Associate Director for restaging of

Highland Fling The Highland Fling is a solo Highland dance that gained popularity in the early 19th century. The word 'Fling' means literally a movement in dancing. In John Jamieson's 1808 ''Etymological Dictionary of the Scottish Language'', the Highland Fl ...

(

, UK tour and Japanese tour) Associate Director and recreation of the role of Clara in Nutcracker! (London, UK tours, Far East tour and US tour), Associate Director and creation of the role of Rita in The Car Man (Old Vic, UK tour, European tour, US tour and Japanese tour), Rehearsal Director for the original production of

at Sadler's Wells and UK tour, roles including French & Spanish Princesses and The Queen in Swan Lake (West End, Los Angeles, Broadway), Rehearsal Director and creation of the role of Judy in Cinderella (West End and Los Angeles), creation of the role of Madge in Highland Fling, The Infernal Galop, The Percys of Fitzrovia, Deadly Serious and Town & Country; Clara in the original production of Nutcracker! (Opera North and Sadler Wells) and Matron/Queen Candy in 2007/08 production; founder member & dancer with Images Dance Theatre Scottish Dance Theatre; Arc Dance Company; and created the role of Netta in This is the Picture with Aletta Collins Dance Company for Dance Umbrella.

References

External links

* Etta Murfitt on * Etta Murfitt o
Twitter
* Articles that include Etta Murfitt b
LaTimes
* Etta Murfitt o
Highland Fling
{{DEFAULTSORT:Murfitt, Etta British ballerinas Living people English choreographers British women choreographers English television actresses 1966 births Members of the Order of the British Empire People from Walthamstow Actresses from London