Qingdao, 2026
Brinsley has taught at HD Qingdao School in Shandong, China since January 2026, and the work has extended beyond the classroom to the school’s stage. He was selected to present the 2026 Opening Ceremony alongside Renee Zhang, Kindergarten Principal, welcoming the whole kindergarten, its staff and its families at the start of the academic year.
Presenting to an audience of very young children and their parents asks for much the same thing a concert platform does: pacing, projection and the composure to hold a room. The bilingual setting adds one more demand, because every cue has to land twice, once in each language, and the energy cannot drop in between.
2026 Opening Ceremony Presented with Renee Zhang, Kindergarten Principal
Graduation and Promotion Ceremony Co-presented with the graduating children
At the graduation and promotion ceremony Brinsley shared the microphone with the graduating children themselves, each pupil taking their own lines in front of a full hall. For most of them it was a first appearance on stage, and they needed a steady co-presenter beside them.
