megan connelly
artistic director and head of school
the australian ballet school
Holistic Education in Dance:
Nurturing mind, body and spirit
Bio
Megan is a passionate and innovative leader in classical ballet training and dancer management, and an internationally recognised expert in vocational training and education, dance rehabilitation methods and classical ballet pedagogy with more than 30 years’ experience.
Megan received her early dance training in Melbourne, Australia, taught by luminaries including Anne Woolliams at VCASS and Gailene Stock CBE AM at The National Ballet School. Her most influential training was at the Princess Grace Classical Dance Academy in Monte Carlo where she studied the Vaganova and French systems under the Academy’s founder and world-renowned teacher, Marika Besobrasova.
Megan joined The Australian Ballet in 1991 where she performed many works before following her passion for teaching and achieving a Vocational Graduate Certificate in Elite Dance Instruction from The Australian Ballet School. From 2010 to 2020, while also working at The Australian Ballet, she was a member of the School’s teaching faculty—first under the directorship of Marilyn Rowe AM OBE and, subsequently, former Director Lisa Pavane.
Megan’s diverse experience also includes several years as Assistant to Artistic Director David McAllister, during which time she trained in allied dance health and co-authored the book, Bodywise. From 2010 – 2024 she was Repetiteur and Rehabilitation Specialist at The Australian Ballet. She taught and rehearsed works for main stage performances and was responsible for the technical and artistic development and well-being of company dancers. Megan was part of the team that rehabilitated David Hallberg to return to the stage after a complex injury that almost ended his career as a Principal dancer with American Ballet Theatre and the Bolshoi Ballet.
Megan was awarded a Churchill Fellowship in 2014 to research dance training, coaching and rehabilitation methods at major international ballet schools and companies, which enabled her to benchmark both the School and The Australian Ballet against the best in the world.
In 2024 Megan Connelly was appointed Artistic Director and Head of School, becoming the fifth director in The Australian Ballet School’s 60-year history.