Stephen Brennan started dance training at the Elliott-Clarke School in Liverpool, underwent further training at Bush Davies Schools in East Grinstead, Sussex, before graduating from Central School of Ballet, London. His performing career has spanned thirty-five years, dancing with many of Europe’s ballet companies including London Ballet Theatre, Malmö Stadsteater Balett (Sweden), The National Norwegian Ballet and The Scottish Ballet. Throughout his career Stephen has performed worldwide; guest appearances have included performances in Japan, Greece, Switzerland, Spain and the USA.

Stephen joined Ballet Ireland in 1999 and since his appointment as Education Officer a year later has developed the company’s extensive outreach programme, which includes an associate programme for national schools, performance workshops geared around current repertoire and an annual summer school, hosted across all the provinces of Ireland during the summer months. He has choreographed two short works for Ballet Ireland, ‘Figaro, Factotem’ (2003) and ‘School for Lovers’ (2004), and some forty works for performance by children and young adults.

In addition to his work with Ballet Ireland, Stephen fulfils frequent engagements as guest teacher and coach throughout Ireland. He has collaborated numerous times with productions for Irish National Youth Ballet and currently oversees the INYB Boys’ Associate training programme. Stephen has been teaching adult ballet for CoisCéim’s Broadreach programme since 2010.

Born in Cork, Kilian O’Callaghan trained at Audley School of Dance and Joan Denise Moriarty School of Dance before moving to Royal Ballet School in London.  He then progressed to The Scottish Ballet where he toured UK, Europe, Hong Kong, and Perth Western Australia, and the Spoleto Festival in Charleston South Carolina.  He returned to Perth to join the West Australian Ballet as Soloist Dancer, touring extensively in Western Australia and Northern Territory. In 1988, Kilian joined Royal New Zealand Ballet and was soon promoted to Principal Dancer.  While there, he led the company on tours of New Zealand and Australia, USA and Europe.  His roles included the Prince in Nutcracker and Cinderella, Bluebird in Sleeping Beauty, James in La Sylphide, Tybalt in Romeo & Juliet, Albrecht in Giselle, Franz in Coppélia, and title roles in Petrouchka, Wolfgang Amadeus, and Hamlet.  He also danced lead roles in works by George Balanchine, Jack Carter, John Cranko, Robert North, Garth Welch, and Gray Veredon, and created several major roles. Kilian was fulltime tutor at the New Zealand School of Dance for several years, and has freelanced as tutor, choreographer and judge in New Zealand, Australia, UK, and Ireland. Since his return to Ireland in 2008, he has been working with Irish National Youth Ballet as tutor and choreographer, and has taught all over Ireland, including with Cois Céim.  The INYB have performed in many of Kilian’s ballets, including the full-length productions of The Nutcracker and Cinderella.