Hawks Well Theatre, Sligo
Temple Street, Sligo F91 CFY7
Temple Street, Sligo F91 CFY7
Email: [email protected]
Alyssa brings over a decade of experience in publishing, editorial, and marketing communications to her role as Marketing & Communications Manager at Ballet Ireland. She has held senior positions at Simon & Schuster in New York, where she led marketing strategy for authors at the flagship imprint and Simon Element imprint, as well as support at InkWell Management, one of the US’s leading literary agencies. She holds an MFA in Fiction Writing from New York University, where she also served as Fiction Editor at Washington Square Review, and writes a Substack exploring culture, creativity, and life.
Born in the United States, Alyssa relocated to Dublin in 2025 and has since built a portfolio of communications work across Ireland’s arts and wellness sectors. A lifelong ballet student who trained for fifteen years and has recently returned to the studio, she is passionate about bringing new audiences to the art form and communicating the transformative power of dance.
Serena trained at The National Theatre Ballet School in Melbourne, Australia under the direction of Gailene Stock CBE.
Her 13 year career as a ballet dancer started with The Australian Ballet Company in 1985 under the direction of Maina Gielgud where she had the honour of working with some of the 20th century’s Ballet Greats including Erik Bruhn in La Sylphide, Sir Robert Helpmann in Checkmate and Irina Baronova in Les Sylphides with the opportunity to dance soloist roles in a number of ballets including Don Quixote, The Sleeping Beauty, Giselle, Les Sylphides and Aureole.
Moving to Europe, she danced for Ballet companies in Italy, Germany and the UK, performing the principal roles in Swan Lake, The Sleeping Beauty, Coppelia, The Nutcracker, Giselle and A Midsummer Night’s Dream throughout Europe, Britain and the USA.
She was Ballet Mistress for Vienna Festival Ballet between 1992 and 1994 teaching daily class, rehearsing and staging ballets for the company. In 1993 she was commissioned to choreograph and stage Coppelia also playing a key role in designing the sets, costumes and props.
In between tours, Serena was a guest teacher at The Urdang Academy for upper school musical theatre and ballet students.
She danced for the Royal Opera at Covent Garden and in Edinburgh, and for English National Opera at The London Coliseum. Operas included Don Carlos, Rusalka, Don Quixote, Carmen, Rigoletto.
On retiring from the stage in 1998, Serena retrained in technical theatre and toured England and Ireland as a lighting technician for both dance and theatre companies including Ballet Ireland and National Character Dance Company (formerly Romanska).
She then moved into corporate life, working in different sectors and industries as a Personal Assistant, Manager and Consultant Analyst. Freelance consultancy work has included projects for the Department of Health, Sadler’s Wells and The Place.
Returning to the Dance world saw her gain a place at the Royal Academy of Dance’s Professional Dancer’s Teaching Diploma Course from which she qualified with Distinction in 2008.
Serena founded Ballet for You in February 2009 teaching adults from beginners to ex-professionals.
She has developed her own adult syllabus and there are 10 levels to choose from: Adult Beginners (4 levels), Improvers (4 levels) and Advanced (2 levels) as well as her own Ballet Floor-barre. Ballet for You provides Pointe for 4 levels of skill, Variations en Pointe, Repertoire, Men’s class and Pas de Deux. Serena holds a Level 3 Certificate to teach Progressing Ballet Technique and has attended all 6 Royal Ballet School Inspire Seminars.
Holiday Intensive Programmes are offered, covering excerpts from real ballets as well as new choreography. These feed into the performances which are professionally presented every 2 years in London theatres.
Helen Carroll is an accomplished arts, partnerships and philanthropy leader with more than 15 years’ experience developing strategic partnerships, securing philanthropic investment and building audiences across Ireland’s cultural sector. She currently serves as Head of Partnerships & Philanthropy at the National Concert Hall and is a member of the organisation’s Senior Leadership Team. In this role, she leads corporate partnerships, major gifts, trusts and foundations, membership programmes and philanthropic strategy in support of the National Concert Hall’s artistic, educational and strategic objectives.
Prior to joining the National Concert Hall in 2020, Helen was Head of Communications & Partnerships at Business to Arts, where she championed collaborations between the business and cultural communities. Her earlier career included senior marketing, communications and strategic partnership roles with Bord Gáis Energy Theatre, as well as positions within the performing arts and events sectors. Alongside her professional leadership, Helen has contributed to highereducation as a guest lecturer at University College Dublin, sharing expertise in marketing, audience development and arts management. She holds an MBA with Distinction from Trinity College Dublin, a Master’s degree in Cultural Policy and Arts Management from University College Dublin, and a Bachelor of Laws from Trinity College Dublin.
A lifelong advocate for the arts and passionate about ballet, Helen’s love of artistic expression began through classical ballet. She trained extensively through her teenage years, earning Distinction in Advanced 2 (RAD). She also holds RAD teaching qualifications and has taught for many years. Her experience as both a performer and teacher has given her a deep appreciation of artistic excellence, creativity, discipline and the transformative impact of arts education. Passionate about fostering meaningful connections between artists, audiences, communities and supporters, Helen is committed to creating partnerships that expand access to culture, support artistic excellence and deliver lasting social impact through the arts.
(Appointed to the Board June 2026)
Fiona was a Professional Dancer and has worked in some of the most prestigious companies in the world.
Trained at the Royal Ballet School, she became a First Soloist with the Royal Ballet in London. Here she danced numerous Soloist & Principal roles and worked with many distinguished choreographers including Sir Kenneth Macmillan, Sir Frederick Ashton, Sir Anthony Dowell, David Bintley, Jerome Robbins, Natasha Makarova, William Forsythe, Wayne Eagling, Jonathan Burrows, Andre Prokovsky, Ashley Page, Michael Clark, Nils Christie to name a few.
She also worked with Scapino Ballet in Amsterdam, for a short contract – working with some of the top contemporary choreographers in Europe at that time.
After the birth of her first daughter, Holly, she originally took a years leave of absence from the Royal Ballet to join her husband in Hong Kong, where she was invited to be Guest Principal Dancer for the Hong Kong Ballet, and ultimately took a permanent contract for the following three years. Here she danced all the major roles of the company, and had a number of roles created for her.
Deciding to take a new career path, Fiona started up her own dance production company in Hong Kong, named ‘Steps Ahead’ with her partner, Jun Mabaquiao. They saw a need in the events industry at that time for more classically & culturally inspired performance persuading clients to give Ballet, Contemporary Dance, Musical Theatre Pieces, live Opera & Chorus performance, Ethnic Fusion pieces etc – an opportunity which proved extremely successful and popular. This has led to involving her team of performers to collaborate with other high calibre artists from around the world including Stomp, Tap Dogs, Cirque De Soliel & Franco Dragon.
Over the past couple of years, she has periodically returned to the UK where she has been invited to teach at Rambert School in West London and at The Hammond School of Performing Arts, where she is currently still positioned.
Also an experienced Pilates instructor, she regularly runs her own Pilates & dance classes when her schedule permits. She has been invited to judge dance competitions of all disciplines, and has judged for the prestigious RAD Solo Seal exams in HK & also the Max’d Out Dance Competitions and for Y Rock – Jam Festival.
Arthur Pita is an award winning choreographer/director. He is Portuguese and was born in South Africa. He studied at the Johannesburg Art, Ballet, Drama and Music school. He came to London in 1991 where he trained further at London Contemporary Dance School, gaining a Masters degree.
He worked as a freelance professional dancer, then joined Mathew Bourne’s New Adventures performing in ensemble and lead roles internationally. In 2003 Arthur pursued his career as a choreographer.
Arthur has choreographed for prominent ballet companies and ballet stars across the globe. These include THE METAMORPHOSIS starring Edward Watson (South Bank Award for dance, National Dance Award for best modern choreography and Olivier nomination) for The Linbury Theatre Royal Opera House and The Joyce Theatre New York, SALOME, BJORK BALLET (Unbound Festival, Sadlers Wells SFB season) for San Francisco Ballet, CASSE NOISETTE (party scene) for Paris Opera Ballet, THE WIND for the Royal Ballet, A DREAM WITHIN A MIDSUMMER NIGHT’S DREAM (Olivier nomination) for Ballet Black, FACADA a duet for Russian ballet stars Natalia Osipova and Ivan Vasiliev Sergerstrom Centre for the Arts California, Stanislavsky Theatre Moscow, London Coliseum and City Centre New York, RUN MARY RUN for Natalia Osipova and Sergei Polunin, Sadlers Wells and international tour, THE MOTHER for Natalia Osipova at Queen Elizabeth Hall, Gorky Arts Theatre Moscow and Sochi Philharmonic, VOLVER VOLVER a solo for Ed Watson for Men In Motion at London Coliseum and La Versiliana Festival Tuscany, LA BALA a solo for Thiago Soares performed at Theatre Municipal of Rio de Janeiro Brazil, JIGGLING FROM THE ZILLS for Irek Mukhamedov for Men in Motion, London Coliseum, THE BALLAD OF MACK AND GINNY for Edward Watson and Wendy Whelan as part of Other Stories The Linbury Theatre Royal Opera, Fall for Dance City Center New York, CRISTAUX for Ballet Black, THE TENANT starring James Whiteside and Cassie Trenary at The Joyce Theatre NYC, Lake Placid Center for the Arts, CRISTAUX A, B AND IN C for Edward Watson, Maria Kowroski, Sarah Lamb and Robbie Fairchild for the Ballet Festival curated by Kevin O’Hare at The Joyce Theatre NYC, AGNES DEI a dance film for the Royal Ballet starring Leo Dixon. Coming up, GOOD VIBRATIONS for Houston Ballet.
For his own company Ballo Arthur Pita, BOOMSHE SHEBOOM, BUGGER, A FAIRY TALE and CAMP at The Place Theatre. GOD’S GARDEN a co-commission from DanceEast and ROH2 at Jerwood Dance House DanceEast and Linbury Theatre Royal Opera House and UK tour, THE LITTLE MATCH GIRL Jerwood Dance House DanceEast, UK tour, Sadlers Wells, Taiwan/China tour, THE WORLD’S GREATEST SHOW at Greenwich Dance, Jerwood Dance House and Royal Opera House, STEPMOTHER/STEPFATHER (5 National Dance Awards nominations), The Place and UK tour and TEN SORRY TALES for DanceEast and Sadlers Wells.
Other commissions include, SNOW WHITE IN BLACK (National Dance Award Modern Repetoire) for Phoenix Dance Company performed at Sadler’s Wells, AND THEN GONE for Bare Bones performed at the Linbury ROH , THE STEPFATHER for CandoCo Dance Company, MISCHIEF (TMA Award Achievement in Dance) a collaboration with Theatre Rites commissioned by Sadler’s Wells and Dance Touring Partnership, The New Victory Theatre Broadway, DANCING IN THE DARK for Images of Dance, ROMEU E JULIETA for Dancando com a Diferenca (Madeira), UTOPIA a site specific commission for the International Dance Festival Birmingham, THE ART OF THE IKETTES for Intoto Dance, GOD’S for London Contemporary Dance School Graduation, MOJO for Theatre Rites/Barbican, Salzburg Festival, New Victory Theatre Broadway A SHIELA DANCE for Sally Rousse, Minneapolis, DEATH DEFYING DANCES for Body Traffic, Broad Theatre LA, The Joyce Theatre NYC, ALICE IN CALIFORNILAND for Axis Dance Company, Oakland California, SUMMER WINTER AND THE RITE OF SPRING for Balet Moskva, Meyerhold Center Moscow.
As a collaborator Arthur has choreographed for MAPPA MUNDI, WOMEN BEWARE WOMEN, DETROIT, OUR COUNTRY’S GOOD for the Royal National Theatre, CALEDONIAN ROAD, BECKY SHAW, MACHINAL and THE TREATMENT for the Almeida Theatre, LA BOHEME and SHOW BOAT for Raymond Gubbay at the Royal Albert Hall, IDOMENEO with Placido Domingo for Los Angeles Opera, FRANKENSTEIN for Derby Playhouse, LA FORZA DEL DESTINO for the Lithuanian State Opera , Israeli Opera Tel Aviv, THE GAMBLER for Opera Zuid , CARMEN for The Royal Opera House, Den Norske Opera, also filmed in 3D, LA DONNA DEL LARGO and THE RISE AND FALL OF THE CITY OF MAHAGONNY for The Royal Opera House, WEST SIDE STORY for Municipal Festival of Larnaca in Cyprus, STREET SCENE (Evening Standard Award Best Musical) for The Opera Group and Young Vic, Theatre du Chatelet Paris, Teatro Real Madrid, THE WINTER’S TALE for Royal Shakespeare Company(Stratford, London and New York), LA CENERENTOLA for Garsington Opera, ORFEO ED EURIDICEfor Minnesota Opera and THE GLASS MENAGERIE for the Young Vic, THE DEATH OF KLINGHOFFER for ENO, The Metropolitan Opera NY, THE BODYGUARD The Musical for the Adelphi Theatre West End, LES LIAISON DANGEREUSES, ELEGY, ST JOAN for Donmar Warehouse. Film, TV, commercial and pop video work include the finale number for SUNSHINE ON LEITH directed by Dexter Fletcher, Alex Garland’s EX MACHINA, CHARLIE’S ANGELS directed by Elizabeth Banks, VICTORIA BEER commercial starring Isaac and Esteban Hernandez, IN YOUR HANDS pop video for Charlie Winston, JUPITER ASCENDING directed by Lana and Lilly Wachoski, BLUE MURDER pop video for The Feeling, THE PURSUIT OF LOVE directed by Emily Mortimer for BBC/Amazon, TOM JONES for ITV and PERSUASION to be released on Netflix.
Filmed productions include, THE METAMORPHOSIS, RUN MARY RUN, THE MOTHER, THE FORCE OF NATURE, NATALIA OSIPOVA for Sky Arts and THE LITTLE MATCH GIRL for Sadlers Wells Digital Stage.
Recently, Arthur participated as a judge for BBC Young Dancer 2022.
Amanda trained at The Royal Ballet School, where she was awarded the Nora Roche Award. She began her professional career as a student apprentice with The Royal Ballet before joining Sadler’s Wells Royal Ballet. She later danced as a soloist with London City Ballet and English National Ballet performing principal and soloist roles in major classical and contemporary works.
Over her twenty year career, Amanda toured internationally performing in Ballets by MacMillan, Ashton, Balanchine, Deane, Nureyev, Hampson, Tetley, Morris and Marston amongst many others. Notable roles include Odette/Odile (Swan Lake) Giselle, Sugar Plum Fairy (The Nutcracker), Cinderella, Paquita and Raymonda.
After retiring, Amanda gained the Professional Dancers’ Teaching Diploma with distinction at the Royal Academy of Dance. She has since taught at vocational and pre-vocational levels across the UK, including positions at the Royal Ballet Upper School’s Associate Programme, English National Ballet School, and The Brighton Academy. Her teaching focuses on developing strong classical foundations, musicality, and confident artistic expression in every student.
Amanda brings to her teaching not only deep technical knowledge but also empathy, humour, and a lifelong commitment to nurturing the next generation of dancers. Her experience both on stage and in the studio allows her to support students with insight, warmth, and a passion for excellence.
Amanda is also qualified in Sports Massage and remedial bodywork, with additional expertise in sports psychology, anatomy and nutrition, allowing her integrate injury prevention and dancer well-being into her teaching.
Born in Madrid, Pilar began her dance studies at the Real Conservatorio de Danza, at the schools of Lola Morales and Carmina Ocaña and finished her training at the prestigious School of American Ballet founded by George Balanchine in New York. She graduated in ‘Choreography and Dance Techniques’ by the Ministry of Culture.
Her professional career began in the Ballet de la Comunidad de Madrid, directed by Victor Ullate where she became principal soloist.
In 2003, she joined the Zürich Opera Ballet, directed by Heinz Spoerli, where she danced as a principal dancer and spent a season at the Basel Ballet, under the direction of Richard Wherlock. Her repertoire includes soloist roles in classical ballets such as Don Quixote, Giselle, Les Sylphides, Paquita, Nutcracker, Swan Lake, Coppélia and Cinderella, as well as in pieces by choreographers such as George Balanchine, Maurice Bejart, Jiri Kyllian, William Forsythe, Nacho Duato, Christopher Wheeldon, Paul Lightfoot, Hans Van Manen, Niels Christie and Ling Hwai Min. She has participated in international galas and in 2004, the specialised press named her Dancer of the Year.
Since 2010, Pilar has devoted herself entirely to teaching. She teaches classical ballet at the school of the opera of Zurich, at the Zürich university and at Tanzwerk101. She has been invited to the ballet companies of Bern and the Cathy Sharp Dance Ensemble, as well as at the Zürcher Hochschule der Künste and at the International Campus Valencia Danza.
Born in Dublin, Muirne has had an extensive performance career in ballet, contemporary and dance theatre in Ireland and abroad. She has been commissioned by Dublin City Council, Coisceim Dance Theatre, Dublin City Arts Office as well as receiving Arts Council funding for her own original work. Choreography for theatre and opera credits include: INO’s La Cenerentola, nominated for Best Production Irish Times Awards 2020 and the critically acclaimed Hamlet for the Gate Theatre in 2019/2020 which transferred to St Anne’s Warehouse New York.
Most recently Muirne choreographed Janet Moran’s Quake for the Dublin Theatre Festival 2023 and Irish National Opera’s critically acclaimed production of La Boheme in the Bord Gais Theatre. Muirne restaged the production with director Orpha Phelan for Le Corum, Montpelier in April/May last year. She has been a major contributor to large-scale spectacles and pageantry in Ireland and her choreography and staging include: The World Festival of Families (Croke Park, 2018), Laochra – GAA 2016 Centenary (Croke Park 2016), Opening Ceremony of the UEFA Europa League Final (Aviva Stadium 2011), Ryder Cup (K Club 2007) and Opening Sequence for the Special Olympics (Croke Park 2003).
Muirne is Performance Director for St Patrick’s Festival Community Arts and is Artistic Co ordinator of Creative Places Darnndale, incremental in the setting up of the Made in Darndale Summer Arts Festival. Muirne frequently guest teaches professional dance class for Irish Modern Dance Theatre and the Introduction to Dance intensive for drama students at the Lir Academy.
Muirne obtained an MA first-class honours in Dance from University of Limerick in 2015 and has just published her book: In Focus – Dublin City Ballet which is based on some of the research from her MA thesis.
(Appointed to the Board March 2025)
Joel trained on full scholarship at the Central School of Ballet London. He was also awarded full scholarships to The Royal Danish Ballet, Copenhagen and American Ballet Theatre in New York City.
Joel had a long professional career and performed at all of Londons top theatres: The Royal Festival Hall, The London Palladium, The Royal Albert Hall, The Royal Opera House and across the world (Japan, Australia, Korea, USA, South Africa, Denmark, Italy, Israel, Monaco, Turkey, Malaysia, New Zealand, Spain, Ireland, Greece) in Principal and Soloist roles. Working with London City Ballet, Atlanta Ballet, K-Ballet (Japan) English National Ballet, South African Ballet Theatre and Cape Town City Ballet to name a few.
Having danced all the classical ballets; Swan Lake, Nutcracker and more, he was lucky enough to work with Dame Gillian Lynne, Andrew Lloyd-Webber and Trevor Nun in the West End revival of CATS at The London Palladium and the world tour where he performed the iconic Role of Mr Mistoffelees.
Whilst performing Joel staged many youth ballet full productions in South Africa and and taught in the school attached to the company he was performing in. This is where his passion for teaching was really developed.
After completing the Professional Dancers Teaching Diploma, Joel has taught at The Royal Ballet School (International Summer Intensive at White Lodge and the associate programs for the last 6 years), The Urdang Academy (specialism in classical ballet), BodyWork, London Studio Centre, Ballet Boost, the RAD (London and international summer programs), Pineapple Studios Covent Garden and The Ballet School Notting Hill. Teaching the professionals of “American in Paris” West End cast, The South African Ballet Theatre Company and open professional class at Danceworks and Pineapple. He feels lucky to have taught every level of ballet.
Loughlan joined the Royal New Zealand Ballet (RNZB) in 2010 and rose to become a company Soloist, enjoying a decade-long career performing in New Zealand and internationally. Appointed RNZB Choreographer in Residence in 2018, he has received Creative New Zealand’s Tup Lang Award for choreography, a Warren Douglas Scholarship and the Ballet Foundation of New Zealand’s Harry Haythorne Choreographic Award. In 2019, he was recognised as a ‘Distinguished Graduate’ of the New Zealand School of Dance.
Loughlan’s critically acclaimed productions include Hansel & Gretel (2019, RNZB), The Firebird (2021, RNZB), Cinderella (2022, RNZB), Half | Life (2022, Lo|Co Arts), and Woman of Words (2023, RNZB). He has created and staged works for Alberta Ballet, BalletCollective Aotearoa, BalletX, Oregon Ballet Theatre, Queensland Ballet, and Singapore Ballet, among others.
He has also taught and choreographed at the Australian Ballet School, Canada’s National Ballet School, New Zealand School of Dance, and Palucca University Dresden. In 2022, he was invited to present an evening-length programme of works (Coloratura, Curious Alchemy, Storm Surge, Time Weaver, Verse) for the New Zealand School of Dance’s Performance Season.
Loughlan has created numerous live and digital projects for a diverse range of creative partners, including TV3’s Dancing with the Stars, as well as Auckland Arts Festival, BalletCollective Aotearoa, Chamber Music New Zealand, iD Fashion Week, New Zealand String Quartet, Te Papa National Museum, Tempo festival, Vogue Australia, Wānaka Festival of Colour, WGT LUX festival, and Zambesi fashion house.
His dance-films have been screened at numerous international film festivals, including the Film Society of Lincoln Center, San Francisco Dance Film Festival, and the Short Film Corner of the Cannes Film Festival. His film Inklings received first prize in the dance category at the Berlin Filmhaus Awards in 2022.
In 2025, Loughlan Prior’s dramatic ballet The Firebird makes its return to stages across New Zealand, and his production of Hansel & Gretel will enter the repertoire of Canada’s Royal Winnipeg Ballet. He will also create new works for Ballet Ireland and West Australian Ballet.
Email: [email protected]
Stephanie has worked in digital marketing and web development for almost 20 years, running campaigns in Ireland for Arnott’s, Bank of Ireland, Failte Ireland, Vodafone, and many more. In Ireland, Stephanie worked for Mindshare (Group M), iProspect (Carat), and OMD as well as running The Alignment Collective serving clients in the UK, US, Australia and across the EU.
Born and raised in San Francisco, Stephanie is also an international theatre director and instructor. She was the Artistic Director of Fortune’s Fool Productions, known for Free Shakespeare in the Iveagh Gardens, and she taught movement and theatre history at The Gaiety School of Acting.
Dominic was born in Sheffield and trained at Central School of Ballet in London in 2008. Upon graduating in 2011 he joined Northern Ballet and subsequently Scottish Ballet.
In 2013 he moved to Ireland to work with Ballet Ireland. Working closely with Morgann Runacre-Temple and Ludovic Ondiviela. In 2014 he Joined Theatre Vorpommern in Germany, further expanding his artistic development working with international choreographers such as Brian Arias, Vera Sander and Robert Glumbeck. In 2018 Dominic joined Mainfranken Theater Würzburg under the new directorship of Canadian choreographer Dominique Dumais.
Since 2020, Dominic has been a freelance artist with notable performances including the 2020 Alina Cojucaru Gala at Sadlers Wells by Juliano Nunes, An original creation Rasa by Daniel Proietto with Opera Ballet Vlaanderen and Three Sisters by Ilya Jivoy for Origen 2025. In 2022 he returned to work with Ballet Ireland performing works by Johan Inger, Ohad Naharin, Christopher Bruce, Filipe Portugal, Marguerite Donlon and Morgann Runacre-Temple.
In 2024, Dominic assumed the role of Rehearsal Director at Ballet Ireland.
Dearbhalla Baviera is a certified Leadership Coach and Coach Supervisor, following a career in Management Consulting with Deloitte (Dublin) and EY (London).
Dearbhalla specialises in Conscious Leadership – supporting and developing leaders to show up in this complex world of ours. This is combined with her focus on Women in Leadership and developing Emerging Female Leaders.
As a Coach Supervisor, Dearbhalla is committed to advocating for standards and ethics in the coaching industry.
(Appointed to the Board April 2024)
After training at the School of American Ballet, Myrna became a member of the New York City Ballet. Later, she was a Soloist with the Bonn Ballet in Germany, as well as a Principal dancer in the Miami City Ballet and Béjart Ballet Lausanne.
As an international Principal Guest Artist, Myrna has performed choreographies including George Balanchine, Jerome Robbins, Vladimir Vassiliev, Gheorghe Iancu, Yanis Pikieris, Paulo Manso de Sousa, Lynne Taylor Corbett, Susanna Egri, Renato Zanella, Luc Bouy, Paolo Mohovich and more.
Some of her important performances included the prima ballerina role in Aida at the Arena di Verona for several years, Balanchine’s Rubies as a Guest Artist in Capetown, South Africa, Aida and Carmen Gala for Placido Domingo in Japan, Aida from Franco Zeffirelli at Teatro alla Scala in Milan, a Bulgari event with Roberto Bolle at Terme di Caracalla in Rome, Gala des Etoiles in Luxembourg performing Balanchine, and the 20-year anniversary of the Miami International Ballet Festival.
As a Guest Teacher, Myrna has taught classes at the Basel Ballet School, the San Francisco Ballet School, the School of American Ballet, New York City Ballet, Orsolina 28, Art Studio Danza etc. She also coaches competition ice skaters to help improve their artistic performance quality. Recently, Myrna was a jury member for the Prix de Lausanne 2021 and 2022 for the Miami International Ballet Competition.
She is the founder of her own company balletXtreme where she is the Director and also a performer.
Niamh began dancing in Dublin with the Dunbar School of Dance and the Goode School of Dance. She then moved to the U.K. to continue her training at Tring Park School for the Performing Arts. During her time there she toured the U.K. with Encore Dance Company and the National Youth Ballet of Great Britain, dancing works by Sir Kenneth MacMillan, Cathy Marston, and Drew McOnie.
Niamh joined Ballet Ireland in 2018 and has since performed works including The Nutcracker, Swan Lake, Carmen, The Glasshouse, and Bold Moves with the company.
Additionally, Niamh has worked throughout Europe with Bregenzer Festspiele, Chrysalis London, Irish National Opera, Laura Macken Dance, Sophie Adams Ballet Company, and Róisín Whelan Dance. She has danced for TV and film with RTÉ, Merlin Productions, Trinity College Dublin, and the Irish Department of Foreign Affairs. Niamh was also the Irish representative at the 2019 Young Rural Retreat, led by Christopher Hampson, which focused on leadership skills within the future of the dance industry.
Alongside performing, Niamh has always had a passion for teaching. She was the teacher of Ballet Boost Associates in Belfast for 2021 and 2022 and continues to guest teach for them regularly. She also teaches in dance schools around Ireland and offers workshops in ballet, repertoire, and pilates. Niamh studied with STOTT Pilates and became a certified instructor in 2020.
Ruaidhrí was born and raised in Co. Derry. He started training with Roberta McCormick and Laura Walker before moving to London to attend Central School of Ballet. During his third year, as part of Ballet Central, he performed in works by Christopher Hampson, Christopher Gable and Christopher Bruce.
After graduating, Ruaidhrí danced with Milwaukee Ballet and Ballet Victoria. In 2017, he joined the Baltic Opera Ballet, where he was a principal from 2019. Notable roles include: Albrecht in Giselle, Nutcracker Prince in The Nutcracker, Prince Charming in Cinderella, Lysander in Midsummer Night’s Dream and Principal Couple in Cuatro Estaciones de Buenos Aires.
Ruaidhrí also works as a choreographer with work being commissioned by Irish Modern Dance Theatre and main stage productions by the Baltic Opera Ballet. He has been a resident artist with Dance Ireland and Galway Dance Project. His work has been performed across Ireland, UK, Europe and Japan and has been supported by Arts Council Northern Ireland. Ruaidhrí is also an awardee of Theatre & Dance NI’s INVEST scheme for future arts leaders.
In 2023, Ruaidhrí founded and is the Artistic Director of Six Dance Collective, to promote ballet as an adventurous art form in NI, producing original ballet White Doves which premiered at The MAC, Belfast in Aug 2023.
Ruaidhrí joined Ballet Ireland in 2024 and he has performed in Walking Mad by Johan Inger, Stepping Over by Filipe Portugal and in the company’s productions of Cinderella and Nutcracker Sweeties.
As Partner and Head of Markets for EY Ireland and a member of the Irish leadership team, Graham has overall responsibility for the Irish firm’s integrated growth strategy and go-to-market approach across all service lines and sectors. He is responsible for the delivery of exceptional service to clients across the island of Ireland, delivered by a 3,000-strong team across six locations.
Prior to Graham’s role as Head of Markets, he was a Corporate Finance Partner in the firm’s Strategy and Transactions practice, working with both global and local companies throughout Ireland.
With significant experience across banking, energy, financial services, agri-food, public, retail, transport, real estate and telecom sectors, he advised clients on corporate finance transactions, debt and equity shareholder and valuations.
Before joining EY, he worked as Corporate Finance Director for a leading banking institution.
Graham is a Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in Ireland and an Associate of the Institute of Taxation in Ireland.
(Appointed to the Board October 2023)
Róisín is a Civil Servant and has been Head of the Governance Division in the Department of Transport since February 2022.
Róisín has previously held roles in policy, operations and corporate functions across a number of Government Departments including the Department of Transport, the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform, Department of Health, the Permanent Representation of Ireland to the EU (Brussels) and the Department of Agriculture.
Róisín is a graduate of University College Dublin with a BA (Hons) in History and Politics and an MA in Irish Political Studies. She is also an Associate of CIPD.
(Appointed to the Board June 2023)
Johan Inger made his breakthrough as a choreographer in 1995 after a very successful dancing career at the Nederlands Dans Theater (NDT). Inger’s choreographies have won numerous prestigious awards. Between 2003 and 2008 he was the artistic director of the Cullberg Ballet, and between 2009 and 2015 he held the position as Associate Choreographer with NDT.
Johan Inger is now an established and renowned choreographer who has shared his works with numerous dance companies around the world. The Swede Johan Inger (Stockholm, 1967) had his dance training at the Royal Swedish Ballet School and at the National Ballet School in Canada. From 1985 to 1990 he danced with the Royal Swedish Ballet in Stockholm, the last year performing as a soloist. Fascinated by the works of Kylián, Inger was convinced that the next step in his dance career should take him to Nederlands Dans Theater. In 1990 the hour had come. He joined Nederlands Dans Theater I and was a high-profile dancer in this company until 2002.
When Inger tried his hand at Nederlands Dans Theater’s annual Choreography Workshops (now Switch), Jiří Kylián noticed his talent for choreography. After four workshop pieces Inger was asked in 1995 to make his first choreography for Nederlands Dans Theater 2. The resulting Mellantid marked his official debut as a choreographer. It was part of the Holland Dance Festival and was immediately a resounding success. It brought him the Philip Morris Finest Selection Award 1996 in the Contemporary Dance category. In 2001 Mellantid was nominated for the Laurence Olivier Award in the Best New Dance Production category.
Since his debut, Inger has made various works for Nederlands Dans Theater. For his ballets Dream Play and Walking Mad he received the Lucas Hoving Production Award in October 2001. Walking Mad as it was later performed by Cullberg Ballet was awarded the Danza & Danza’s Award 2005. Inger himself was nominated by the VSCD Dance Panel for the Golden Theatre Dance Prize 2000 and received the Merit Award 2002 of Stichting Dansersfonds ’79.
Inger left Nederlands Dans Theater for the artistic leadership of Cullberg Ballet in 2003. Over the following five years he created various pieces for this company. In the summer of 2008 Inger stopped as artistic leader for Cullberg Ballet so as to devote himself entirely to choreography and produced ‘Position of Elsewhere’ (2009) for Cullberg Ballet. In the years 2009-2015, Inger became ‘associate choreographer’ for the Nederlands Dans Theater creating regularly for both NDT1 and NDT2 (Dissolve in This, Tone Bone Kone, I New Then, Sunset Logic, B.R.I.S.A and One on One).
As of 2015, Inger also started to make his own versions of more narrative ballets and created his Rite of Spring, Carmen, Peer Gynt and Petruschka. Inger is now established as an independent choreographer.
His works belong to the repertoire of numerous dance companies over the world such as:
Nederlands Dans Theater, Cullberg Ballet, GöteborgsOperans Danskompani, Royal Swedish Ballet, Ballett Theater Basel, The Norwegian National Ballet, Compania Nacional de Danza, Les Ballets de Monte Carlo, Aterballetto, Ballet Vlaanderen, Ballet Staatstheater Nurnberg, Lyon Opera Ballet, Stanislavski Theater, Ballet BC, Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, Charlotte Ballet, National Theater Mannheim, Gauthier Dance Company, Theater Dortmund, Ballett des Saarländisches Staatstheater Saarbrücken, Staatsoper Hannover Ballet, Ballet du Rhin, Hungarian National Ballet, Semperoper Ballet Dresden, Aalto Ballett Essen, Hessisches Staatstheater Ballett, Finnish National Ballet, Hubbard Street Dance, Cedar Lake, Ballet Chemnitz, National Dance Company Wales, Icelandic Dance Company, Luzerner theater, Bern Ballet, Staatstheater Mainz, Ballet du Capitole – Toulouse.
Kate is the Rehearsal Director for London City Ballet (under the direction of Christopher Marney), and is an independent dancer, performer, stager and dance coach.
Kate spent 14 years as a dancer for Matthew Bourne’s New Adventures, working her way from Ensemble to Principal, to Dance Captain, to Resident Director. Kate had the opportunity to be part of the creation in four Matthew Bourne productions, including Sleeping Beauty; The Red Shoes; Romeo+Juliet; and The Midnight Bell. She has performed in 10 different productions for New Adventures, and has performed over 30 different roles, including lead roles in Sleeping Beauty (Aurora), Romeo+Juliet (Juliet, Nurse), The Red Shoes (Vicky Page), The Car Man (Rita), and Cinderella (Cinderella).
Before working for New Adventures, Kate collaborated with a range of classical and contemporary companies and choreographers across the UK, Europe, and the USA.
Alongside her performing career, Kate has also been working as a ballet coach and Rehearsal Director. Kate spent a few years guesting and working full time at Central School of Ballet as Ballet Tutor and Rehearsal Coach, working with students of all ages to help them understand the fundamentals of ballet technique. Kate has a passion for helping her students to grow as technically capable dancers, but also as self assured, resilient and brave artists and performers.
For London City Ballet, Kate has had the great privilege of working on repertoire by Kenneth Macmillan and George Balanchine, and has been endlessly influenced by being in the room with many of the world’s most inspiring choreographers and stagers, including Alexei Ratmansky, Amar Ramasar, Laura Morera, Ashley Page, Deborah Wingert and Robert LaFosse.
Jeremy is a partner in the Commercial & Business team at Hayes solicitors. He practises predominately in insolvency, commercial litigation and dispute resolution, acting for a variety of companies and financial institutions in contract law cases and enforcement and recovery actions in the High Court. He also advises clients in high value complex Commercial Court proceedings.
Jeremy also specialises in intellectual property matters, including the advising global clients on registration and protection of trade marks and related rights in Ireland and Europe. He has also advised extensively on trade mark disputes before the Irish Courts including one of the most recent leading intellectual property cases in Ireland, and disputes before the EU trade mark body. Jeremy also advises clients on a wide range of commercial and business law matters in particular company law obligations, and company law enforcement.
(Appointed to the Board March 2023)
Aszure Barton, whose choreography has been equated to “watching the physical unfurling of the human psyche” by the US National Endowment for the Arts, started tap dancing at the age of three. Born in Edmonton, Alberta, Aszure moved to Toronto at 14 to attend Canada’s National Ballet School. Hungry to push buttons and boundaries, she satiated her propensity for rebellion by gathering friends and creating dances. These processes with her classmates led to the inception of the Stephen Godfrey Choreographic Showcase, which is still ongoing today, and Aszure has been making work ever since. To date, she has collaborated with celebrated dance artists and companies including Mikhail Baryshnikov, Teatro alla Scala, Alvin Ailey American Dance Theatre, English National Ballet, American Ballet Theatre, Nederlands Dans Theater, Hubbard Street Dance Chicago, National Ballet of Canada, Martha Graham Dance Company, Bayerisches Staatsballett, Malpaso Dance Company and many others. Her works, described by the New York Times as “offer[ing] an entire world, full of surprise and humor, emotion and pain, expressed through a dance vocabulary that takes ballet technique and dismantles it to near- invisibility,” have been performed on countless international stages, including the Palais Garnier, Mariinsky Theater, The Kennedy Center, The Alicia Alonso Grand Theater, Studio 54, and Lincoln Center. She has also choreographed for film and theater (including the 2006 Broadway production of The Threepenny Opera, starring Cyndi Lauper and Alan Cumming and directed by Scott Elliott), and her work has been featured on Sundance’s Iconoclasts TV Series alongside Alice Waters and Mikhail Baryshnikov.
Interested in the world outside a system of institutions, Aszure ventured away from a traditional career in ballet after a year of apprenticing with The National Ballet of Canada. With the assistance of the Canada Council, she left her home country to travel through Europe to observe choreographers and dancers in the midst of process, fulfilling her unconventional quest for creative freedom. She then returned home for a part time-apprenticeship with Les Ballets Jazz des Montréal, but after a few years, she decided to move to New York City in order to pursue the making of her own work. There she freelanced with numerous independent choreographers (including Wendy Osserman) who nurtured her wildness and encouraged her sense of humor; she was also introduced to improvisation and the development of authentic movement. She simultaneously worked supplemental jobs until she was able to found her own company, aimed at establishing an autonomous, collaborative platform for process-centered creation. Aszure Barton & Artists made its official premiere at the Montréal Fringe Festival, followed by an inaugural season at New York’s Joyce SoHo, a venue dedicated to showcasing work by exciting emerging artists. Soon after, Barton became the first Artist-in-Residence at the Baryshnikov Arts Center under the Martha Duffy Fellowship, and so began her longtime collaboration with Mikhail Baryshnikov, who believes her to be “one of the most innovative choreographers of her generation.” First invited to make a new work at BAC (Over/Come, “disturbing and delicious” – San Francisco Chronicle), followed by a commission for Baryshnikov and Hell’s Kitchen Dance (titled Come In), Aszure found herself dancing and touring with the company while also growing AB&A into an interdisciplinary collective.
As a creator, Aszure seeks to embrace growth and make art that is universal, sensitive, and courageous. With an ever-evolving emphasis on presence and awareness, she aims to cultivate a space where conscious creativity meets regeneration, an inclusive environment where communal, cooperative energy can thrive. Her work explores human behavior and connection in audacious and irreverent ways while simultaneously respecting and dismantling classical and contemporary forms; by layering the mind with tasks and challenges, she strives to uncover the body’s inherent wisdom and its affinity for expression. One of her earliest works for AB&A, Lascilo Perdere, is known for its “tongue duet,” where two dancers perform connected teeth-to-
tongue; this “shows us that if two people can accomplish so many complicated maneuvers slowly and tenderly, without ever breaking the intimate, awkward, possibly painful connection, they have ceded much to gain something far greater,” according to The Village Voice. Her Awáa is another exploration of humanity; it focuses on motherhood and other life-giving forces, and has been hailed as “an extraordinary work, full of fantasy and surprises, yet grounded in recognizable behaviors,” by the Washington Post.
It is these themes and practices that have propelled Canadian-American Aszure Barton into the field as a ground-breaking, award-winning choreographer. She is a Bessie Award Honoree and a grateful receiver of the prestigious Arts & Letters Award, joining the likes of Margaret Atwood, Oscar Peterson, and Karen Kain. In 2014, she won the Gross Family Prize for her work Awáa, and this year she received the Ken McCarter Award for Distinguished NBS Alumni. Her work was voted Best Choreography on the 2022 Europe Critic Survey, and she was just awarded with Most Interesting Choreography in Berlin’s Jahrbuch Tanz for two of her works, BAAL and human undoing. She has also been proclaimed an official Ambassador of Contemporary Dance in Canada. As an educator, Aszure is regularly invited to collaborate with and give workshops at private, public and independent art institutions and forums around the globe. She has developed a close working-relationship with The Juilliard School, invited to create over 7 dances since 2003, and she recently served as Artist in Residence at The University of Southern California under the direction of William Forsythe. Her teaching, “like her choreography and her dancing, is fearless. She’s a risk taker and a speaker of truths” (Palm Beach Daily News).
A highly experienced Marketing Communications leader with specialist expertise in strategic planning and creativity, Leo is currently the Senior Director of Strategy & Insights at the Kellogg Company (Europe).
Leo Moore was also the Global Director of the Creative Systems team at Meta, leading the global strategy, channel, and content teams for Meta’s Creative Shop. Whilst at Meta, Leo worked with some of the world’s most entrepreneurial businesses to develop powerful performance campaigns, drive business transformation and build replicable creative solutions.
Prior to Meta, Leo held senior positions in strategic planning, media management and sales at BBDO, McCann, Diageo and RTE. He also lectured in Strategic Planning on the Postgraduate Diploma in Advertising & Digital Media at the Technical University Dublin.
Outside of work you will either find him listening to music or playing tennis, ideally with his family.
(Appointed to the Board September 2022)
Róisín began her professional training at the Northern School of Contemporary Dance where she completed her Bachelor in Performing in Arts and Masters in Performance, graduating with first class honours and receiving the Kathleen Tatterstall leadership Award. Róisín went on to join Black Box Dance Company, touring Denmark and Sweden throughout 2018 and 2019.
In 2019, Roisin joined Matthew Bourne’s New Adventures professional company for their UK tour of Romeo & Juliet where she performed for seven months in cities across the UK. From October 2019, Róisín joined the company as a dance artist, teaching company class and the company’s work to children and adults across the UK. Following this tour, Róisín joined Arielle Smith’s Project Dot. for their UK tour of L.O.V.E and in 2020 joined Balbir Singh Dance Company to perform across multiple shows and facilitate company projects.
In 2021, Róisín has worked with Iseli-Chiodi Dance Company on their new show Turnstile, Minte Wolde Dance and The Silence of Mercy, and will be working with Laura Macken, IMDT Dancer from the Dance festival and Laois Dance Platform later this year whilst creating her new works. In 2020, Róisín received a Dance Ireland Emerging Artist Award and Ballet Ireland’s Emerging Choreographer Award. Róisín is successfully funded by Arts Council Ireland as a Bursary and Professional Development Award recipient (2020 & 2021). Róisín also received Business to Arts funding from the Bank of Ireland, and a Begin together fund to create Man Down. Róisín has been supported by LD Dance Shawbrook, Dance Ireland and Backstage Theatre Longford as artist in residence (2020).
Róisín joined Northern Ireland Opera as an Emerging Choreographer for their 2021/22 open studio season.
Amelia is a passionate and experienced classical ballet teacher, and former professional dancer, who is committed to ensuring that the next generation of young people have the opportunity to experience the joy and transformational power of dance. She believes in creating positive and safe environments where young people can develop their artistic confidence, and advocates for wider access routes into the arts.
As a dancer, Amelia trained at The Royal Ballet School and Tring Park School for the Performing Arts, where she performed with The Royal Ballet Company and Northern Ballet Theatre. She went on to work and tour extensively with Ballet Ireland, Scottish Ballet, Ballet Cymru and Peter Schaufuss Ballet Company, as well as working with Arielle Smith, Drew McOnie, Jenna Lee and International Arts Collective for various productions worldwide.
After her successful career as a dancer, Amelia undertook the Royal Ballet School’s Diploma of Dance Teaching and currently teaches for the Royal Ballet School’s Associate programme in Manchester, and for Birmingham Royal Ballet’s Dance Track department. She has also taught for multiple organisations including Ballet Ireland, Ballet Boost, ACE Dance and Music, English National Ballet’s Youth Co, Elite Ballet Project, Laine Theatre Arts, and as Movement Rehearsal Director at Mountview for Arielle Smith.
In 2025, Amelia became the Associate Artistic Director of the National Youth Ballet of Great Britain.
Karen is former Marketing Director at EY Ireland, one of the global Big Four professional services firms.
As a strategic leader within EY, Karen’s role focused on delivering a robust marketing strategy and plan to support the firm’s revenue targets and build its brand reputation. During her 14-year tenure with EY, Karen. She established a number of new initiatives, evolved the firm’s digital marketing strategy and led the brand refresh of Ernst & Young to EY in Ireland.
Earlier in her career, Karen worked at University College Dublin in marketing and research. In addition, she was a Business Partner with Jen Doherty Bridal Designer which resulted in winning the award for Irish Bridal Designer of the Year in 2006.
Recently, Karen has been a guest speaker on the Masters of Advertising course at TU Dublin. She was a former Committee member of the PM Forum Ireland. She is a graduate of University College Dublin and holds a Masters degree in Media Studies from University of Ulster.
(Appointed to the Board March 2022)
Hailed by London’s The Daily Telegraph as “the Nureyev of contemporary ballet”, Christopher Bruce’s position as one of Britain’s leading choreographers, working with both classical and contemporary companies worldwide, was acknowledged in March 1993 when he received the International Theatre Institute Award for excellence in international dance. This followed a host of other awards throughout a rich career, including the first Evening Standard Award for Dance in 1974 due to his contribution to British dance, both as a performer and as a choreographer. In 1996, he received the Evening Standard Award for Outstanding Artistic Achievement in Ballet. In June 1998, he was named a CBE by Queen Elizabeth II.
Christopher was born in England in 1945 and started studying dance at 11 years old. After studying at the Rambert School, Christopher joined Ballet Rambert, where he quickly became the leading male dancer. In 1977, Christopher was was appointed the Associate Director and was Associate Choreographer from 1979 to 1987, where he created over twenty works for the company. Between 1986 and 1991 he acted as associate choreographer for London Festival Ballet (later English National Ballet), and in 1989, became resident choreographer for Houston Ballet. In 1994, he became the Artistic Director of Rambert Dance Company and led the company for 10 years.
As a choreographer, Christopher Bruce was undoubtedly stimulated by the variety and experimentation of Ballet Rambert in the 1960s, creating over twenty works for the company. During his career, he has choreographed for a wide range of productions including musicals, plays for the Royal National Theatre and the Royal Shakespeare Company, operas, television, and video.
Although his productions have been mounted throughout the world, Mr. Bruce has developed special relationships with a number of companies, including Houston Ballet, Netherlands Dance Theater, Royal Danish Ballet, Cullberg Ballet, English National Ballet, Gulbenkian Ballet, and Le Ballet du Grand Theatre de Geneva. Among his best known works are Cruel Garden, Ghost Dances, Sergeant Early’s Dream, Intimate Pages, The Dream is Over, Swansong, and Rooster, all of which have been televised.
Born in Dublin, Hayley started ballet at the Celbridge School of Ballet and was a member of the Irish National Youth Ballet for a number of years. At the age of 16 she decided to further her training at Northern Ballet School in Manchester. Subsequently, Hayley transferred to the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland to complete her training and graduated with a BA in Modern Ballet in 2015. After graduating, Hayley completed a Professional Graduate Programme at Northern Ballet in Leeds. She also participated in rehearsals and performances with the company in their productions of The Nutcracker and Swan Lake. Hayley returned to Ireland in 2018 and joined Ballet Ireland touring the country and performing in the company’s production of The Nutcracker.
Hayley was first introduced to Pilates as a ballet dancer studying at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland. She fell in love with the benefits of Pilates not only for her ballet technique, but also for her overall health and well being. Hayley gained her Advanced Diploma in Matwork Pilates at the National Training Centre in association with Pilates Ireland.
Marguerite is an innovative, contemporary choreographer and performer based in Berlin. Known for her humour and profound creativity, her work thrills an unusually broad audience. With stylistic innovation, Irish wit and the combination of different art forms, Marguerite Donlon has pushed artistic limits to secure a place in the international dance scene.
A native of Ireland, Donlon’s childhood was marked by traditional Irish dance; only at the age of 16 did she begin professional ballet training. Her first engagement was with the English National Ballet. In 1990, she was invited as a soloist to the Deutsche Oper Berlin where she worked with dance legends such as Natalia Makarova, Rudolf Nureyev and Sir Kenneth MacMillan. Donlon, however, found her place working with and dancing the repertoire of the most influential contemporary choreographers, including William Forsythe, Maurice Béjart, Meg Stuart, Bill T. Jones and Jiří Kylián.
From 2001–2013, Marguerite was the ballet director and house choreographer at the Saarländisches Staatstheater (Saarland State Theater). The company, known as the Donlon Dance Company, impressed audiences with its own unique style and quickly became a respected and sought-after ensemble invited to perform throughout Europe, the USA and Asia. Donlon is also the initiator and artistic director of the International Dance Festival ‘N.O.W. Dance Saar’, launched in 2006.
In 2009, Marguerite founded ‘iMove’, a highly motived and successful youth dance company comprising of 24 young people from various cultural and ethnic backgrounds with little or no dance background. This ongoing project has proven what dance can do to bring these diverse groups together in harmony.
Donlon created a variety of dance works in the past 12 years showing her versatility yet loyalty to true self expression. For this she has been critically acclaimed worldwide. Part of that variety has been the refreshing re-interpretations of ballet classics.
The Yearbook ‘Dance’ paid several tributes to her and the company over the years announcing them as ‘Best Company of the Year’, ‘Best Production’, ‘Best Dancer’, or ‘Most important work for the arts’.Giselle-Reloadedwas nominated for the ‘Prix Benois de la Danse’ with its mixture of contemporary dance and Irish traditional dance which has become a strong motif in her work. Romeo und Juliawas nominated for the German Theatre Prize ‘Die Faust’.
Marguerite Donlon has created choreographies for dance companies worldwide. Her work has been performed most recently by prima ballerina Svetlana Zacharova and the Bolshoi Ballet. She has also created for companies such as the Nederlands Dans Theater 2 (NDT), the Stuttgart Ballet, Berlin Ballet, Hubbard Street Dance Company in Chicago, Rambert Dance in London, the Companhia Nacional de Bailado (CNB) Portugal, Staatstheater am Gärtnerplatz Munich, Musiktheater im Revier (MiR) Gelsenkirchen and The One Grand Show, Friedrichstadt-Palast Berlin.
Donlon sees dance as a social connector and a tool to communicate on various levels. In 2012, she launched a large scale environmental awareness project about the growing problem of plastic in our oceans. After meeting environmentalist David De Rothschild and brainstorming together, she created a dance piece called Blue. She also created an interactive sculpture which involved 8.000 children collecting plastic bottle tops to fill the sculpture. This sculpture Plastic Oceanwas subsequently invited to Frankfurt to open the Eco Arts Festival and later was invited to tour Greece to help promote awareness to the problem. As a result, Donlon was invited to the world summit for water pollution in Berlin to talk about how dance can reach so many people through a positive approach and how this can influence scientific and political endeavours.
Before leaving Saarbruecken and her company after 12 years, Marguerite Donlon created the ‘ZeichenTanz’ or ‘Sign Dance’. This project enabled hard of hearing audience members to better enjoy dance performances through the signing of music. She is currently working to introduce “ZeichenTanz” to other companies and theatres in Germany. Donlon is a pioneer at heart and her tool to reach out and communicate is through the performing arts. She is open minded and enjoys pushing boundaries together with teams of passionate people.
In addition to her artistic activities, Marguerite was awarded Medal of Merit by the Minister President of Saarland for her outstanding artistic work for the Saarland. In 2017, she received a Civic Reception in honour of her distinguished career as a ballet director and her acclaimed achievements in the world of dance. She was appointed by the Deputy Prime Minister of Ireland to be a member of the Global Irish Network in 2012. In 2009, Donlon was invited to be a member of the Presidium of the Federal German ballet and dance theatre directors conference (BBTK) and was invited as an honorary member in 2013. In 2014, she became an accredited PCT and RD1st Business Coach and Leadership Mentor and combines her creative work and coaching skills in the world of business to enhance creative thinking and team building.
Filipe was born in 1978 in Lisbon where he studied ballet at the National Conservatory of Portugal.
After finishing his studies he was invited by the director Jorge Salavisa to join the National Ballet of Portugal as a member of the Corps de Ballet. After six years, he left the company as a soloist to join the Ballett Zürich under the direction of Heinz Spoerli where he had danced for seven years. He left Ballett Zürich as a principal dancer to return to Portugal with the same category but his stay was only for a short period of time. A year and a half later he returned to Zürich where he danced as a principal dancer under the direction of Christian Spuck.
Filipe made his debut as a choreographer in Portugal for a choreographic workshop with the piece Anfractus (2001), which was chosen to become part of the company’s repertoire. After that he has choreographed Alleged Dances (2007) for the Junior Ballet Zürich, Road B (2007) for Zürich Ballett and Sonata (2008) again for the Junior Ballet, all under the direction of Heinz Spoerli.
Under the direction of Christian Spuck, he created for the Young Choreographers a piece called Silk Road (2013) and was asked to create a duet for the Sylvester Gala 2013, Liebestod. The year after he created another piece for the Young Choreographers Different Trains (2014) and was invited to create for the Junior Ballet Zürich, Tauwetter (2014). Shortly after this, he made his first creation for Ballet Zürich under Spuck’s direction, called Diaologos.
Filipe also created Masqueradein 2015 for the Zürich Opera Ballet and two pieces for the Dance Academy Zurich (TAZ) under the direction of Oliver Mats and Steffi Scherzer: Uncontrolled (2015) and Piazzola (2015). In 2017 he created a duet for the Junior Ballet Zürich Behind the Mirror and for Ballett Zürich disTANZ.
2018 was the year of his North American debut with Stepping Over which he created for Charlotte Ballet. He also created Heavy Lightness for the evening of Noverre-Young Choreographers 2018 at the Stuttgart Ballet, O não efémero for young Portuguese talents and Echo of Elements for Junior Ballet Zürich. In 2023, Filipe created All That Remains for Ballet Ireland.
In 2024, Filipe became the Artistic Director of Tanz und Kunst Königsfelden in Baden, Switzerland.
Ohad Naharin is the House Choreographer of Batsheva Dance Company and creator of the Gaga movement language.
Naharin was born in 1952 in Mizra, Israel. His mother is a choreographer, dance teacher and Feldenkrais instructor, and his father was an actor and psychologist. He joined Batsheva Dance Company in 1974 despite having little formal training. During his first year, guest choreographer Martha Graham invited him to join her own company in New York. Between 1975 and 1976, Naharin studied at the School of American Ballet, The Juilliard School, and with Maggie Black and David Howard. He then joined Maurice Béjart’s Ballet du XXe Siecle in Brussels for one season.
Naharin returned to New York in 1979 and made his choreographic debut at the Kazuko Hirabayshi studio the following year. From 1980 until 1990, Naharin presented works in New York and abroad, including pieces for Batsheva Dance Company, the Kibbutz Contemporary Dance Company, and Nederlands Dans Theater. At the same time, he worked with his first wife, Mari Kajiwara, and a group of dancers in New York. Naharin and Kajiwara continued to work together until she died from cancer in 2001.
In 1990, Naharin was appointed Artistic Director of Batsheva Dance Company, and in the same year, he established the company’s junior division, Batsheva – the Young Ensemble. He has since created over thirty works for both companies. After almost thirty years of leading Batsheva, Naharin stepped down as Artistic Director in 2018, and continues to serve as the Company’s House Choreographer.
In addition to his stagework, Naharin also developed GAGA, an innovative movement language based on research into heightening sensation and imagination, becoming aware of form, finding new movement habits, and going beyond familiar limits. GAGA is the daily training of Batsheva’s dancers and has spread globally among both dancers and non-dancers.
Naharin trained in music throughout his childhood and continues to infuse his work with a unique musicality. He collaborated with the Israeli rock group, The Tractor’s Revenge (Kyr, 1990), Avi Balleli and Dan Makov (Anaphaza, 1993), Ivri Lider (Z/na, 1995), and Grischa Lichtenberger (Last Work, 2015). Under the pseudonym Maxim Waratt, he composed music for MAX (2007) and edited and mixed the soundtracks for Mamootot (2003), Hora (2009), Sadeh21 (2011), The Hole (2013), Last Work (2015) and Venezuela (2017).
Naharin’s work has also been featured in several films. In his 2007 documentary, Out of Focus, Director Tomer Heymann filmed the process of restaging Decadance with Cedar Lake Contemporary Ballet. And in 2015, the Heymann Brothers released their comprehensive documentary about Naharin, Mr. Gaga, to critical and audience acclaim.
A citizen of both Israel and the United States, Naharin currently lives in Israel with his wife, dancer and costume designer Eri Nakamura, and their daughter, Noga.
Zoë is a dance artist and choreographer from Dublin. Since completing her professional training with the English National Ballet School in London, she has danced for companies and choreographers all over Europe. Her first professional engagement was with Ballet Ireland in 2009. During her time with the company she danced the title roles of Carmen and Juliet which were both choreographed by Morgann Runacre-Temple and performed in theatres all over Ireland and the UK.
Zoë subsequently went on to be professionally engaged with English National Ballet Company, Peter Schaufuss Ballett (Denmark) and Ballett Vorpommern (Germany). Zoë’s choreographic practice has been supported by The Arts Council of Ireland and Dance Ireland.
In 2016 Zoë choreographed and performed in the short Dance film Ballet Átha Cliath, which was directed by Howard Jones and featured an original score by Irish band Cloud Castle Lake. The film has most recently been accepted to the LA dance shorts film festival in the USA. In 2017 she was shortlisted for a best dancer nomination in Germany’s Der Faust Awards for her role of Rebecca in Ralf Dörnen’s Rebecca’s schatten a ballet adaptation of the Daphne du Maurier novel, Rebecca.
In August 2018 Zoë joined The Royal Ballet of Flanders as a full time member of the ensemble.
Morgann trained at the Central School of Ballet and the London Contemporary Dance School. She was awarded the Dance East Rural Retreat Award for Future Dance Leaders during the 2016/2017 season.
The Netherlands-based choreographer now works across dance, theatre, film, and opera. Her works include Averno with Stuttgart Ballet, Hotel with Birmingham Royal Ballet, Kingdom of Back with Northern Ballet, Romeo & Juliet, Carmen, and Nutcracker Sweeties with Ballet Ireland, Wolf at Graz Opera and Alberta Ballet, Coppélia and Tremble for Scottish Ballet, Give My Love to the Sunrise for English National Ballet, and Barbara for Ballet du Capitole.
As a choreographer for opera and theatre, Morgann has worked with directors such as Jaz Woodcock-Stewart (Civilisation), Sam Brown (The Barber of Seville at Welsh National Opera), and Jeff James (Persuasion at the Royal Exchange). She was also assistant choreographer to Annie B. Parsons for the musical Lazarus by Enda Walsh and David Bowie, directed by Ivo Van Hove.
Alongside Jessica Wright, Morgann Runacre-Temple directed Scottish Ballet’s first feature film, The Secret Theatre, which won Best Dance Film at the Critics’ Circle National Dance Awards in 2021. Their collective, Jess & Morgs, was nominated by the Critics’ Circle at the 2021 National Dance Awards for Outstanding Creative Contribution.
Their production of Coppélia for Scottish Ballet won Best Classical Choreography at the 2023 Critics’ Circle National Dance Awards, the 2023 UK Theatre Awards for Achievement in Dance, and was nominated for Best Dance Production at the 2023 Sky Arts South Bank Awards.
Jessica and Morgann created Arena for the Paris Opera Ballet in March 2026. Their next work, Prey, will premiere with the Dutch National Ballet in 2027.
Ludovic was born in Perpignan, France. He trained in Marseille Studio Ballet Colette Armand and two years later won a scholarship in the 2001 Prix de Lausanne to study at The Royal Ballet Upper School. Other awards included a Silver Medal at the 2000 Concours International de Danse, Paris, and a Gold Medal at the Roseta Mauri Competition in 2002. In his graduation year he performed the lead in Wheeldon’s Le Voyage and a Principal couple in Concerto at the School’s annual matinee.
He went on to join the Royal Ballet and his repertory included Bronze Idol (La Bayadère), Hans-Peter/Nutcracker (The Nutcracker), Tom Thumb (Tales of Beatrix Potter), Alain (La Fille Mal Gardée), Kolia (A Month in the Country) and Puck (The Dream). He created roles in Children of Adam, Chroma and ‘Trespass’ (Metamorphosis: Titian 2012), and various other creations by Wayne McGregor, Liam Scarlet and Christopher Weeldon.
His choreography regularly features in The Royal Ballet’s Draft Works, Young Choreographer’s evening, and across several galas around Europe. Ludovic created Dopamine (you make my levels go silly) for the 2013 Ballet Black season and Berlin for ‘Men in Motion’. Since leaving the Royal Ballet in October 2014, Ludovic created and directed his first full-length work Cassandra which opened at the ROH Linbury Theatre. He has choreographed 4 times 4 for the Gandini Company which opened in November 2014 at the Royal Opera House as part of the London Mime Festival.
In 2015 he created Lost for Ballet Ireland. He then created The Memories of Francesca Woodman for the Northern Ballet Choreographic lab and in March 2016, Ludovic created Sliver of Sky for Amnesty International which was performed at Sadlers Wells, London. More recently, Ludovic has choreographed for various commercials, including a collaboration with Jordan Scott / RSA films.
Ludovic created a new Virtual Reality project in collaboration with DJ Seth Troxler and film director Ryan Hope, and a new work commissioned by Makeshift company, Insomniac’s Fable which premiered in Helsinki in 2018.
Ludovic created Giselle for Ballet Ireland in 2017.
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Martin was born in Munich, Germany, but much of his life has been spent in rehearsal studios, theatres, airports, and the temporary homes that dancers transfer between one experience and the next. His formal training began at the Royal Ballet School in London, where he learned not only how to dance, but how to endure repetition, resilience, pursue excellence, and trust that thousands of unseen hours of hard work eventually reveal themselves on stage.
Over the following two decades, Martin built an international performing career that carried him from Europe to North America and back again. He danced with Rambert Dance Company, Hubbard Street Dance Chicago, The National Ballet of Canada, and Ballet BC, performing works and creations by many of the choreographers who have defined contemporary dance over the last half-century:
Christopher Bruce taught the craft of curation. Crystal Pite taught the power of structure and imagination. William Forsythe challenged assumptions and perceptions. Jiří Kylián revealed poetry and musicality in movement. Mats Ek embraced the humour of imperfection. Ohad Naharin demanded honesty and presence.
Along the way there were premieres, revivals, standing ovations, bruised bodies, and the daily privilege of making a living through dance. In 2003, Martin’s efforts were recognised when he was awarded the UK Critics’ Circle National Dance Award for Outstanding Male Artist (Modern).
As much as Martin loved performing, he became equally fascinated by the process behind the performance. He was drawn to rehearsal rooms, where choreography is tested, refined, forgotten, rediscovered, and eventually transformed into something that appears effortless under stage lights. This led him to work as a répétiteur, choreographic assistant, and rehearsal director. He restaged Ashley Page’s full-length ballet Alice with the Croatian National Ballet and served as Assistant Choreographer on productions of Orfeo ed Eurydice for Scottish Opera and Krol Roger for the Royal Opera, Covent Garden. These experiences cemented his understanding that great performances are built long before an audience takes its seat.
After years of being coached, challenged, and inspired by others, Martin began passing that knowledge forward. He has taught dancers with Ballet BC, Charlotte Ballet, Scottish Ballet, Ballet Ireland, and numerous independent artists, helping dancers navigate the demanding space between technical mastery and artistic freedom. His approach is grounded in the belief that technique is not an end in itself, but an essential tool for articulation and expression.
In 2015, Martin joined Ballet Ireland as Rehearsal Director, becoming responsible for the artistic preparation and day-to-day life of the company. Two years later, he was appointed General Manager. The transition from studio leadership to organisational leadership was less of a departure than it appeared. Both roles required the same qualities: vision, discipline, collaboration, and an ability to bring people together in pursuit of a shared goal.
Today, Martin’s career spans performance, creation, coaching, curation, management and leadership. What remains unchanged is a lifelong commitment to dance – not simply as an art form, but as a way of understanding people, fostering connection, and creating experiences that resonate long after the curtain falls.
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Dublin-born Anne Maher is one of Ireland’s most respected voices in ballet and dance, with an international career spanning over thirty-five years. Trained initially by Myrtle Lambkin in Dublin, she has worked with the major figures of Ireland’s ballet world, including Irish Ballet Company founder, Joan Denise Moriarty and Dublin City Ballet’s Janet Lewis.
Anne was awarded a scholarship by the late Princess Grace of Monaco, to study at L’Acadamie de Danse Classique in Monte Carlo under Marika Besobrasova. Following her training in Monaco, Anne danced for the British Ballet Theatre in London and as Principal Ballerina touring all over Europe with Wiener Ballett Theater. Her roles include Odette/Odile (Swan Lake), Sugar Plum Fairy (Nutcracker), Juliet (Romeo and Juliet), Queen of the Willis (Giselle), and a range of various modern works.
Anne returned to Ireland in 1997 to found Ballet Ireland, which she continues to develop as a successful and vibrant national touring company. She also founded Irish Ballet Forum, a resource organisation that provides master classes, intensive courses and information for Ireland’s aspiring young dancers.
Anne continues to be one of this country’s biggest advocates for ballet and dance. She is former chairperson of Dance Ireland and a former board member of Theatre Forum Ireland.