Grant McLay is a dance practitioner and academic with over thirty years experience in the Creative Industries, performing widely internationally, in Western Contemporary Dance, Classical Ballet, musical theatre, and opera. His professional dance career started as a founding member of Expressions Dance Theatre based in Brisbane, Australia before taking up a contact with the Queensland Ballet Company. Moving to the UK Grant performed on London's West End in the musical The Phantom of the Opera , a role he continued in Australia. He worked with Meryl Tankard s Australian Dance Theatre on their North America and European tour with the Balanescu Quartet. Returning to Europe he worked with companies such as Scottish Dance Theatre, Opera Ireland, Carol Brown Dances (UK), Maiden Voyage Dance Company (Belfast), Emilyn Claid (UK) and extensively with Rex Levitates Dance Company, now Liz Roche Company (Ireland). As well as being a sessional academic at the Queensland University of Technology: Brisbane, Australia he has taught disciplines such as ballet, contemporary dance technique, partnering, and choreographic studies at training institutions such as the Queensland National Ballet, Queensland Ballet Academy, Dance for Parkinson s Australia, 2 Ballerinas, University of Limerick, University of New South Wales: Australia and the University of Western Sydney Nepean in Australia.  Completed a practice-based MA (Ireland) and Doctoral studies at Queensland University of Technology (Brisbane).         Expressions Dance Theatre, QB, Cameron Mackintosh, Australian Dance Theatre, Scottish Dance Theatre, Opera Ireland, Carol Brown Dances (UK), Maiden Voyage Dance Company (Belfast), Emilyn Claid (UK), National Ballet of China,  Liz Roche Company (Ireland).