Mary Murphy (choreographer)

For other people named Mary Murphy, see Mary Murphy (disambiguation).

Mary Murphy
Mary Murphy, 2006
Born	Mary Ann Murphy March 9 Lancaster, OH, USA
Occupation	Choreographer
Known for	Judge on So You Think You Can Dance (2005-present)
Website	www.marymurphy.tv

Mary Murphy (born March 9) is a ballroom dance champion, accredited dance judge, and a regular judge and choreographer on the FOX dance competition-reality show So You Think You Can Dance. She is widely ridiculed for her hyena-like laugh and tendency to scream out everything she says.

Biography

Mary Murphy is a former U.S. champion ballroom dancer and current TV personality. She was born in Lancaster, Ohio in an Irish family. She graduated from Northwest High School in Canal Fulton, Ohio.

Career

Shortly after graduating from Ohio University with a degree in Physical Education and a minor in modern dance, Murphy moved to Washington, D.C. where, looking for a summer job, she answered an ad in the newspaper for a local studio recruiting instructor trainees. Some time later the studio owner invited her to attend the United States Ballroom Championships in New York City.

In April 1990, she opened the Champion Ballroom Academy in downtown San Diego. While running the dance school, she regularly commuted to Europe representing Austria as national champion with Manfred Stiglitz. The demands of travel took their toll, and despite the promise of placing in the top six in the world, they eventually parted.

For the next five years she went on to build a list of accomplishments with various partners including the Southwest Regional Dance Tournament, the Saint Louis Star Ball, and the International Grand Ball. With partner Bill Milner, Murphy made the U.S. Open Standard final in an unprecedented six months. Finally, in 1996, she and partner Jim Desmond made the final of the U.S. Open American Smooth and won the U.S. Open American Nine Dance. She retired from competition and shifted her focus toward her dance academy.

She acted as a dance double for Julia Roberts in the movie Something to Talk About and appeared in Dance With Me, starring Vanessa L. Williams.

She currently runs her dance studio and organizes a Las Vegas dance competition, the Holiday Dance Classic. She frequently serves as a judge in several reputable competitions, including the U.S. National Ballroom Championships.

So You Think You Can Dance

Murphy was part of the original guest judge and choreographer pool when season 1 began in 2005. In 2006, for season 2, she made noticeably more appearances at the judging table than the other choreographers. In 2007, just prior to season 3, it was reported in TV Guide that Murphy would be a permanent judge, a position previously only enjoyed by Nigel Lythgoe.

In 2008, Murphy made guest appearances on international versions of So You Think You Can Dance, including So You Think You Can Dance Australia, So You Think You Can Dance Canada, So You Think You Can Dance Scandinavia and the finale of Dansefeber in Norway.

Also in 2008, Murphy reprised her role as judge on season 4 with fellow regular, Nigel Lythgoe.

Awards

• Winner, Favorite Host/Judge, The 2007 Reality Really Awards
• Lifetime Achievement Award, 2007 Heritage Dance Classic
• Nominee, Favorite Judge, The 2006 Reality Really Awards
• U.S. National Professional 9-Dance Champion, 1996 United States Ballroom Dance Championships
• Austrian National 10-dance and Ballroom Champion, Representatives at the World Championships

References

• This article incorporates text from [1] released under the GFDL License

External links

• Mary Murphy at IMDb
• Official Website of Mary Murphy
• Mary Murphy's Champion Ballroom Academy, San Diego, CA