Deirdre Kelly is a journalist, author and internationally recognized dance critic. She contributed to the International Dictionary of Ballet and has written for Dance Magazine in New York and the Dance Gazette in London. She was the award-winning dance critic at the Globe and Mail for 16 years, and currently writes as the Globe and Mail Style reporter. Deirdre also writes on dance for www.criticsatlarge.ca, Chatelaine, Elle and NUVO.

Deirdre studied arts and literature at the University of Toronto, as well as dance classes at Toronto Dance Theatre. Her first dance writings were in high school, and in university she was the dance critic at her student newspaper for three consecutive years. She has interviewed many of the leading dancers of 20th century, including Rudolf Nureyev, Mikhail Baryshnikov, Natalia Makarova, Gesley Kirkland, Sylvie Guillem, Sir Kenneth MacMillan, Glen Tetley, Paul Taylor and Gregory Hines. In a past life reading, Shirley MacLaine read that Deirdre was a Russian ballet dancer in Paris in her past life, which explains it all.

Deirdre’s first book, Paris Times Eight, was a national bestseller. She lives in Toronto with her husband and two children, skiing in winter, swimming in summer and dancing whenever she can.