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Photos courtesy of John Murch.
Since 2001, Vestavia Hills native John Murch has been living in London and studying ballet at The Royal Ballet Upper School, a prestigious three-year program administered by the University of Roehampton. Photos courtesy of John Murch.
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Photos courtesy of John Murch.
Since 2001, Vestavia Hills native John Murch has been living in London and studying ballet at The Royal Ballet Upper School, a prestigious three-year program administered by the University of Roehampton.
John Murch loves to run, jump and leap, and he’s among the best from his hometown at what he does. However, Murch, a Vestavia Hills native, isn’t a basketball or football player, but instead is an up-and-coming star in the competitive world of ballet.
Since 2021, Murch has been living in London and studying ballet at The Royal Ballet Upper School, a prestigious three-year program administered by the University of Roehampton. One of only 100 students from 17 different countries in his class, Murch will graduate in July and already has his heart and mind set on the next chapter - a life in professional ballet.
“I really want to be in some sort of ballet company, if that’s in Europe, if that’s in America, so right now I’m just trying to audition,” Murch said. “I want to join a company, just enjoy life and take one day at a time. That’s really just what I want to focus on.”
Murch’s road to the Royal Ballet began in Liberty Park. He was introduced to dance by his mother, Wendy, who would spend time dancing with him around the house.
She eventually gave him a DVD featuring some of the masters of the art, such as American ballerina Gelsey Kirkland and Russian legend Mikhail Baryshnikov. Murch said he was captivated by the art form and, even at a young age, knew there was something special about ballet and that he wanted to explore it more.
“I would always play it in the living room and I’d be dancing to it. I always just was drawn to it,” he said.
His mother enrolled him in gymnastics classes at the age of 4 and, soon thereafter, in the creative movement classes at The Dance Foundation in Homewood. Self-described as a hyper child, Murch said the creative movement class was where he first had an opportunity to combine his need to move around with the artistic side of his personality.
“I wanted to move on from gymnastics and into something a little more artistic, so I started doing creative movement classes, like running around with scarves,” Murch said.
As he grew, Murch moved on to other dance programs throughout the area and eventually began studying and performing at the Alabama Ballet from 2015 to 2018. By the time he hit his teens, Murch knew that ballet was not just a hobby — it was his passion.
He came to realize, as well, that he had a true talent, and that ballet could be his opening to life others could only dream about.
“I remember I was about 13 and I was in one of the studios, and that’s when I thought, ‘I can take this seriously and if I work really hard at it now, while I’m young, I can be decent at it when I’m older,’” Murch said.
However, he said, it was difficult at times being a boy interested in ballet in a community heavily focused on sports.
“It’s not really in the culture and it’s not a part of everyone else’s way of life, so I just felt kind of alone in that aspect, but also I didn’t really let it affect me. I felt a little more different than everyone else to begin with,” he said. “It was just kind of something special that I did.”
Wendy Murch said her son’s experience with the Alabama Ballet gave him the foundation he needed to pursue ballet at a higher level, eventually winning scholarships to elite ballet programs in New York and Boston.
“As John progressed as a classical ballet dancer, Alabama Ballet was instrumental in helping him grow as a dancer,” she said. “But as he became a teenager and started winning scholarships to American Ballet Theater summer intensives and Boston Ballet, it became evident that he needed to be more challenged.”
Murch earned a scholarship to The Rock School for Dance Education, a classical ballet school located in Philadelphia from 2019 to 2021, performing in “The Nutcracker” and other productions. With an ultimate goal of studying in Europe, John Murch said The Rock School prepared him before taking that leap.
“That was really a good place for me, because I feel like it was a place for me to train and get better before they put me out there in front of all those different international schools and into the competitions,” Murch said. “It was a really good place for me to kind of get ready.”
Murch said he landed on The Royal Ballet’s radar in 2019 thanks to a bit of trickery by his mother, who suggested a road trip to check out a class in Chicago. He was surprised and delighted to discover the truth when they pulled into the parking lot.
“Basically, I didn’t know what I was auditioning for, which is kind of funny,” Murch said. “I didn’t really ask any questions, and then I saw the sign for The Royal Ballet School.”
While impressed with Murch, The Royal Ballet School recruiters felt he was still a little too young and green. However, they encouraged him to audition the next year, which, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, was done via conference call. This time, he was offered a scholarship at the school.
“The Royal Ballet School requires an enormous degree of dedication, physical and mental stamina as well as good citizenship and character,” Wendy Murch said. “It is one of the top five schools for classical ballet training in the world, and each day students must earn their spot.”
During his three years at The Royal Ballet, Murch has performed in a number of productions, including “The Nutcracker,” “Manon” and a tour of “Romeo and Juliet” in Japan in 2023. Now, as he gets ready to graduate, Murch said he is ready for the next challenge wherever ballet takes him.
“What I’ve learned is that I’m constantly throwing myself into the deep end,” Murch said, with a laugh. “I learned that I’m really resilient and that you can do a lot more than you think you can. Sometimes, you just have to throw yourself into it.”
Wendy Murch said she is inspired by her son’s heart and dedication, and she is excited to see him share his talent with the world.
“John’s dedication has taught me a thing or two about perseverance and faith. His faith is extraordinary, and many times he has told me that God will see him through,” his mother said. “These are his gifts, and he is using them to bring beauty, art and dance to the audiences of the world. I am so proud of him.”
