Stephen Hanna was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. He entered the School of American Ballet (SAB), the official school of New York City Ballet, in the fall of 1992. Mr. Hanna became an apprentice with New York City Ballet in 1997, and later that year he joined the Company as a member of the corps de ballet. Mr. Hanna was promoted to the rank of soloist in February 2004, and in January 2005, he was promoted to principal dancer.

Since joining New York City Ballet Mr. Hanna has danced featured roles in:

George Balanchine's:

• Chaconne
• Cortège Hongrois
• Divertimento No. 15
• The Four Temperaments
• George Balanchine's The Nutcracker™ (Cavalier, Hot Chocolate, Mouse King, Host, and Mother Ginger)
• "Emeralds" and "Diamonds" from Jewels
• A Midsummer Night's Dream (Lysander)
• Robert Schumann's "Davidsbündlertänze"
• Scotch Symphony
• Serenade
• Slaughter on Tenth Avenue
• Stars and Stripes
• Symphony in C (Second Movement)
• Tschaikovsky Pas de Deux
• La Valse
• Western Symphony (Fourth Movement)

Peter Martins':

• Fearful Symmetries
• The Sleeping Beauty (Bluebird, Gold, and Wolf)
• Swan Lake (Benno)

Jerome Robbins':

• 2 & 3 Part Inventions
• The Concert
• Concertino
• Dances at a Gathering
• Fanfare (Double Bass)
• The Four Seasons (Summer)
• Glass Pieces
• The Goldberg Variations
• I'm Old Fashioned
• Interplay
• Piano Pieces

and Richard Tanner's:

• Ancient Airs and Dances
• Soirée

Mr. Hanna originated featured roles in:

• Albert Evans' Broken Promise and Haiku
• Mr. Martins' Octet (NYCB premiere)

Mr. Hanna originated corps roles in:

• Eliot Feld's Organon
• Mr. Martins' Burleske
• Susan Stroman's Double Feature