John Murphy

(all pronouns accepted)

John Murphy, Artistic Director and Founder of the Cabiri, began dancing at the age of nine for Pacific Northwest Dance under the tutelage of Melissa Hayden. John took a sabbatical from dance in 1984 to obtain a degree in the sciences. During this time, he met James Hillman of the Jungian Institute in Zurich and began a correspondence about the purpose and necessity of mythopoeic theatre and art in modern society. As a result of these conversations, John returned to the arts as a director of local festivals in the Seattle area in the late 90’s. In the process, he founded the Anunnaki Project in 1998 with the intention of propagating secular awareness of human belief systems through the use of “performative mythology.” John has studied martial arts, dance, physical theater and circus arts with a variety of coaches and instructors including Sam Alvarez (Cirque du Soliel, Cavalia), Elsie and Serenity Smith (Cirque du Soliel, NECCA), Fred Deb’ (Drapés Aériens), David Clarkson (Stalker Theatre Company) and Robert Davidson (Robert Davidson Dance Co.). John holds a degree in Comparative Mythology from Western Washington University and is also a Journeyman and ETCP-certified theatrical rigger with IATSE Local 15 in Seattle, WA.