Kieran Jordan

Kieran Jordan, based in Boston, Massachusetts, is a performer, teacher, and director/choreographer of Irish dance, with a professional freelance career spanning more than 15 years. Born in Philadelphia to an Irish American family, Kieran started Irish step dancing when she was just five years old. She has been performing as a featured solo dancer since her high school years and has toured widely with some of today’s finest performers in Irish music. With a style described as “playfully theatrical” (The Boston Globe) and “wonderfully expressive” (The Living Tradition), Kieran combines nimble footwork and natural musicality with a warm and uplifting presence on stage. She has a particular passion for sean-nós dance, and her innovative recordings, workshops, and performance collaborations have played a major role in bringing the “old style” to audiences and dance communities throughout the US.

In 2001, Kieran initiated a teaching practice focused on non-competitive Irish dance for adults. Her classes — called “a rare find” (Cambridge Chronicle) — were the first of their kind in New England, and won “Best Irish Dance Class in Boston” in 2010 (City Voter). Kieran also teaches in the Irish Studies program at Boston College, and has taught internationally at festivals and summer schools including Willie Clancy Summer School, Catskills Irish Arts Week, Augusta Heritage Festival, Blás, and many more. She has written, directed and choreographed for touring stage productions including Atlantic Steps, the WGBH Christmas Celtic Sojourn, and for her own company, Kieran Jordan Dance. Kieran holds a master’s degree in contemporary dance from the University of Limerick, Ireland, and a B.A. from Boston College in English literature and Irish studies. She also holds the TCRG certification for teaching Irish dance.