Our Tutors
Shane Holohan
Shane started training in acrobatic gymnastics at the tender age of 25. From there he became heavily involved in Gymnastics for All (GFA) as a coach education tutor and went on to become the first National Development Officer with Gymnastics Ireland. He was GFA National Squad Director for two years, choreographing group displays, combining gymnastics, costume, music and lighting. Just last year Shane was an International Evaluator at the FIG World Gym for Life Challenge in South Africa.
Shane moved across into the World of Aerial in 2009. In 2013/14, he attended the Ecole Nationale de Cirque in Montreal where he took their High Performance Teacher Training Programme, specialising in Hand to Hand, Doubles Trapeze, Russian Bar, Banquine and Aerials. In 2013 he set up Taking Flight and grew the studio at the Chocolate Factory, just behind the cinema on Parnell Street. The studio then moved and became full-time at it's Phibsborough location, where it is to this day.
Shane completed a PhD in Arts Practice in the University of Limerick, where he considered how best to support and develop circus artists in building a creative practice. Securing an Irish Research Council Scholarship, he was able to work and collaborate with three international circus schools (ENC, Montreal; DOCH, Stockholm; and NICA, Melbourne); and co-developed a doubles trapeze act with Aisling Ní Cheallaigh and Ronan Brady. Using his learning from this 4-year academic piece of work, he continues to develop Taking Flight's professional development programme: EXPLORE - CREATE - PERFORM.
Hannah Gumbrielle
Hannah is happiest twirling at warp speed in a hammock, but trains and teaches a range of skills across rope, harness, wall running, counterweight, spiral, as well as dance, flying, and static trapeze. Her background in science means she particularly enjoys breaking down the mechanics of aerial and generally geeking out about physics. She has performed as part of Culture Night, the Create Project, IACC's Creative Intensive, been featured in Totally Dublin magazine, and in 2019 she graduated with Ecole Nationale de Cirque, Montreal, in Circus Instruction. When she isn't spinning, she is an illustrator, and is likely covered in paint at any given time.
Instagram: twirlygoth
Monika Palova
Monika is an aerial artist and mentor specialising in fabric and rope, durational performance and choreography. She is influenced by her upbringing in the mountains and forests of Slovakia where she spent countless hours walking, running and climbing, and built her endurance. She attended a four-month long, full-time professional course in London where she trained in aerial rope, fabric, straps and flexibility extensively. She has since trained in Barcelona on multiple occasions in order to extend her knowledge of dynamic skills on aerial rope. She currently resides at Taking Flight where she trains and develops her work. Monika believes aerial arts have a lot to offer to everyone who is interested in movement, regardless of age, ability and level of experience. As a teacher she strives to share her knowledge and experience, create an inclusive and fun atmosphere and help students of all levels reach their aerial goals.
Instagram: monika_palova_
Sean McIlraith
Sean is an aerial artist, focusing on rope and silks, but will dabble in any movement from hand-balancing to flying trapeze, surfing and yoga. She first discovered aerial in 2018 and was so inspired she moved to Barcelona for a year to train in circus full-time. She then returned to Dublin to continue her learnings and develop her own style, and was lucky to have the opportunity to learn how to teach circus in the National Circus School in Montreal. She has been very lucky to learn from incredible mentors all over and enjoys nothing more than breaking down techniques and movements. She has a particular love for dynamic and momentum based movement, and when not in Taking Flight loves to eat cereal, hike and swim.
Instagram: sean.circus
Claire Carroll
Claire is an aerial hoop artist and instructor who started her artistic journey back in 2007 in Bull Alley's Theatre Training College. It was there that she found her love of creative exploration and being on stage.
After an extended career break from performing, Claire found herself falling in love with a big metal circle. Bitten by the aerial bug in early 2018, Claire decided to take up space in every aerial studio in the greater Dublin area. You can now find Claire, happily dangling from the ceiling in Taking Flight, thinking of new ways to add to her collection of hoop bruises.
Instagram: claireanncarroll
Christina Offutt
Christina was raised in a Ballroom dance studio in Seattle. While searching for another form of movement art where a partner isn't a necessity, she came across Taking Flight. She's been happily flying ever since! Christina finds creative spark in finding ways to coalesce her love of theatre, dance, and circus skills into performance. She believes the technical challenges and strength training aerial and circus arts requires is one of the best ways of increasing self-confidence. She is thrilled to share this experience with students.
Lisa Carley
Lisa began practicing aerial fabric and rope in 2017 and immediately fell in love. Having taught English in the post-primary education sector since 2005, she is very interested in applying her teaching experience and passion for education to circus and aerial dance. She is very curious about movement and how different bodies navigate their strengths and limitations. She received an Athletics Ireland coaching qualification in 2009 and is especially interested in aerial dance and circus as an activity to promote inclusion and fitness for all. Her study of poetry and literature is a source of creative impetus and she enjoys exploring the relationship between these two art forms. Lisa also practices aerial cocoon, hoop, and pole. She began teaching aerial fabric in 2020 and joined the Taking Flight team as a tutor for kids and teen classes in October 2021.
Chloe Commins
Chloe is an aerial artist who specialises in aerial hoop and dabbles in fabric, straps, rope and vertical dance. She has been training aerial since 2017, has performed nationally at the RDS, Sugar Club, Electric Picnic and many more festivals including internationally with Bliss Circus Goa India. Chloe joined the team of tutors with Taking Flight in November 2021.
Instagram: curly_crummins
Liam McGlinchey
Liam started aerial training in 2016, and quickly gravitated to Aerial Straps as his favourite apparatus. One of his focuses is on helping people with different abilities find ways they can safely and comfortably use the apparatus. As someone who has had rheumatoid arthritis for thirty years, he had to find his own way of performing many of the techniques and skills, and ways to train around injuries and physical limitations.He brings this personal experience to helping others overcome what may be perceived as a physical limitation on their aerial skills. Liam began his physical training with Martial Arts when he was 12, and was awarded a black belt when he was 17, he taught Martial Arts and Self Defence for 20 years. Liam started teaching Mixed Aerials as part of the Taking Flight internship programme in November 2021, and continues teaching Kids and Teens classes twice a week as well as a regular cirquefit conditioning class.
Instagram: liam.mcglinchey
Gillian Byrne
Hula Hoop, Dance Trapeze and Fire Artist, Circus Tutor, Rigger
An emerging circus artist; with a BA in Drama(Performance) and a deep background in dance, movement, and outdoor pursuits. My involvement with circus arts began in 2016, when I fell in love with a hula hoop while on travels in Canada. Today I perform multi-hoop, fire, aerial; and teach circus and aerial arts across Ireland. Over 2022 I’ve primarily focused on working in “HOUSE!” with Fidget Feet, “Triple Goddess” with Erebidae Circus, an independent collaborative piece kindly supported by the Arts Council, and a dance trapeze piece “Like Water”. When not on stage, I can be found happily rigging events and aerial. I’m deeply inspired by the beauty of remote landscapes, the healing power of nature, and connection to the land in an urbanized and digitalized society.
Instagram: gillybeanbonanza
Betty Duffy
Betty has been an actress, drama facilitator and director for over the past twenty years. She has built a vibrant career in the arts over the past two decades with a focus on acting, facilitating, and directing. She is a qualified drama therapist which informs her “unique” approach to devised theatre and performance. She was a lead artist on Youth Theatre Ireland in 2019 and now in 2023 and continues to work closely with them.
Betty has a broad range of facilitation and directing experience with youth theatres and youth centres including cross-border work with Calipo Theatre Company. She has devised and directed pieces with varied groups of all ages, she directed the Dermot Bolger piece “Waiting to Be Found” for its debut on the Abbey Stage as part of the National Neighbourhood Project. She is an associated artist with Axis Theatre Ballymun and regularly facilitates youth workshops, adults’ projects, and performs and directs in Axis productions.
Betty most recently produced and directed sold out shows, Pure Medicine (Axis Theatre, The Dock), Malignant Humour (Smock Alley); has represented Ireland as an artist for Buzz Europe Network in Germany and has passionately been involved in mentoring different aerial artists for CREATE and devising/directing an ensemble piece within Taking Flight, Education and Performance.
Blá Lally
Bláithin loves to dance, perform, and to have fun doing it. She has a background in dance and music, having trained and performed ballet from the young age of 4, as well as other forms of dance such as Contemporary and Salsa. She found aerial almost 10 years ago, with Aerial Silks, Aerial Hoop, and Floorwork becoming her first loves.
She now enjoys sharing her love of Aerial with child and adult students at Taking Flight. Bláithín has performed in The Helix, at various studio showcases, and as a part of the CREATE 2023 Culture Night Performance. She views dance as an important means of expression without needing words. She loves using dance, aerial, and training to connect fully with her body and quiet the mind.
Julie O'Connell Kent
Julie is an aerial artist who finds grounded movement up in the air. She also is a Counselling Psychologist (D.Couns.Psych, graduated 2018), who has worked in both public health services and private settings. She specialises in working with people experiencing anxiety and who have a history of trauma. Her psychological therapy work is informed by Person-Centred Therapy and Compassion Focused Therapy (amongst other influences).
She has been exploring aerial rope and silks for seven years, recently completing a jaunt around the world training, coaching and performing. She performs and coaches both in Ireland and internationally, in India and Thailand. She was a solo cast member in Aduantas Aerial’s immersive aerial theatre show, To Odin Offered (2022). She is currently developing her own solo aerial theatre show about mental health neoliberalism, Treatment Resistant (2024) and is producing Stop Generating (2024) for the Scene and Heard Festival. She has performed aerial silks and rope at various events, including Culture Night, Phizzfest, and ISL Sign and Song Festival.
She teaches regular aerial classes in Dublin, in Taking Flight. She also has taught regular classes outside of Ireland, in LABracadabra, Thailand. Her teaching style focuses on supporting students to pay attention to and trust their body’s natural movement patterns.
Robyn Byrne
Robyn is a contemporary dancer, choreographer and teacher working across theatre, film, circus & dance. She is a 2023 Next Generation Artist. The current Associate Artist with Tipperary Dance and was the National Dance Residency Partnership artist for 2022.
In 2023, Robyn choreographed MOSH, directed by Rachel Ní Bhraonáin, which won Best Ensemble at Dublin Fringe Festival. In 2021, Robyn co- directed Glimmer alongside Rachel for Live Collision Intl Festival 2021. Robyn’s film work O before I has been screened nationally and internationally, most notably being Leeds Intl Film Festival 2021, Fastnet Film Fest 2021 and Dance Lens Melbourne 2023.
Robyn facilitates movement workshops and mentoring across other art forms. She was an outside eye for Taking Flight’s CREATE 2023 programme. She also teaches regular professional class at Dance Ireland.
As a performer, Robyn’s credits include Emma Martin/ United Fall, Irish National Opera, Junk Ensemble. Alex Iseili Dance, Philip Connaughton, RedBear Productions, Extended Play/Jamaal Burkmar Dance (UK), Jessica Dessner (Italy), Theo Clinkard (UK), Luca Silvestrini (UK), People Festival Berlin, Body & Soul, RTÉ,Sounds from a Safe Harbour, Lifestyle Sports, Tatler Magazine.
Dave Kelly
Dave is a Playologist, Facilitator, Director & Mentor.
Playlologists, are evolved, free, positive, happy, creative & playful beings, who relate to the world and one another in a universal language of play, creative thinking, smiles and laughter: skills that are ideal for motivating, inspiring and mentoring the artists on the Create Project.
Dave is the National Training Co-ordinator with Youth Theatre Ireland. He is responsible for developing & co-ordinating the national training programme. As well as Co-ordinatoring and facilitating on the part-time QQI-accredited Level 6 programme in facilitation training. He is the author of ‘Laying The Foundations: A Guide to Youth Drama Facilitation’ Dave was the Artistic Director of Dublin Youth Theatre from 2014 to 2021.
Philip Condron
From childhood dreams of action heroics to becoming a seasoned stunt performer, his journey has been a testament to perseverance and passion. Initially drawn to martial arts as a means of self-defense against bullies, he soon discovered a deep love for American Kenpo. Despite financial hurdles, Philip pursued martial arts alongside a college education in Fine Art, eventually transitioning into a career in stunts.
His path took a fortuitous turn when a chance-encounter led him to the set of "Into The Badlands," sparking his interest in stunt work. Since then, Philip has immersed himself in the world of action, securing roles in various productions and even attending the prestigious Jackie Chan Training Camp in Beijing.
Through Screen Combat Ireland, he not only shares his expertise but also cultivates a community of aspiring filmmakers and stunt performers. His journey has been fueled by the support of mentors, family, and friends, and he remains committed to advancing action filmmaking while paying forward the guidance he has received.
He is currently on The Mercury Project, as we seek to integrated aerial, dance/movement and theatre.