From his Irish roots to his base in Yorkshire, England, Niall McMahon has had a remarkable career in the world of dance. A former professional dancer with Scottish Ballet and the artistic director of New English Contemporary Ballet, Niall’s journey has spanned continents, from touring with Scotland’s national ballet company to performing in iconic venues such as Moulin Rouge in Paris and the Kayagum Theatre in Seoul.
Following graduation from the Rambert School, London he spent 5 years with Scotland's national ballet company during which time he toured throughout the UK, also completing many successful international tours across Europe, Australia and the USA.
After suffering a serious spinal injury that changed the course of his performing career, Niall continued to appear in shows in Monte Carlo. He performed in the 100-Year Anniversary Show at the Moulin Rouge in Paris and also worked as a resident performer in the Kayagum Theatre in Seoul, South Korea.
Upon returning to the UK, he embarked on a highly successful career as a ballet teacher, technique and artistic coach, also guest ballet master, enjoying significant guesting opportunities with companies including Scottish Ballet, Northern Ballet, Phoenix Dance, Iceland Dance Company, also Phantom of the Opera’s UK touring production.
Between 2005 - 2009 he created New English Contemporary Ballet, a touring company, certainly in UK terms, which was both groundbreaking and artistically much more aligned to many mainstream European dance companies. He collaborated closely with choreographers including Richard Wherlock, Davide Bombana, Patrick Delcroix, Derek Williams and Sharon Watson, he developed a company repertoire focused equally on creating new works in the contemporary ballet style and as such previously unrepresented in the UK.
As specialist ballet coach, he has developed dancers with the Royal Ballet, Birmingham Royal Ballet, English National Ballet, Scottish Ballet, Northern Ballet, New Adventures, Akram Khan Company, National Dance Company Wales, Ballet Cymru, Phoenix Dance, also many West End shows and International Cabaret.
As both pre-vocational and vocational ballet coach, he has extensively prepared and coached dancers for every major national dance school, academy and college across the UK. He has coached dancers for the Prix de Lausanne finals, multiple medallists of the Adeline Genée Awards (The Fonteyn) and winners of Young British Dancer of the Year. Having previously adjudicated the All England Dance finals, London, he is currently a World Finals judge for the Dance World Cup (DWC), also adjudicating many of its international regional and country qualifiers.
He has taught for many of the leading vocational schools in the UK including the Royal Ballet School, Elmhurst Ballet School, The Brighton Academy, Hammond, Dance School of Scotland, Northern School of Contemporary Dance, LIPA. Recent masterclass appearances include Listdansskóli Íslands (National Ballet School of Iceland), DWC Israel, Dance World Cup - Taiwan, also many schools and colleges across Europe and Asia, working mainly with aspiring classical students, whilst supporting pre-vocational training.
He has worked extensively with the Royal Academy of Dance, ISTD and BBO Dance, having served for many years as a board member of the latter. In the capacity of Vocational Panel Assessor for the Council for Dance, Drama and Musical Theatre (CDMT) he has accredited full-time courses in Dance and Musical Theatre at ArtsEd London, Urdang Academy and Laine Theatre Arts.
Having enjoyed a highly successful performing, teaching and directorship career spanning some 4 decades, he maintains his strong professional links across the global dance industry, continually working to develop training and performance opportunities for young aspiring dancers through his work with Dance World Cup.
As Co-Director and Ballet Master of the DWC Contemporary Ballet Company, in association with Richard Wherlock, Niall continues to foster young talent and advance dance education across the globe.
We are thrilled to see Niall’s continued impact on the dance world, inspiring both dancers and choreographers alike!