Shane Placentino is a professional dancer, opera director/choreographer and dance teacher. Adelaide-born Shane graduated from The Australian Ballet School and danced with The Australian Ballet, including as a Leading Soloist, over 10 years. He then joined Sydney Dance Company, performing from 2002 – 2008, then stage managing 360° and rehearsal directing 6 Breaths/We Unfold.
Moving to Opera Australia, Shane assisted Graeme Murphy on AIDA and The Merry Widow, and Bruno Ravella for David McVicars’ Faust, touring Australia as part of the opera conference. Shane was revival choreographer for John Bell’s Madame Butterfly for OA’s regional tour and assistant director/choreographer for West Side Story on Sydney Harbour. He has revived Davide Livermore’s AIDA, Graeme Murphy’s Turandot and Madama Butterfly, and Olivier Py’s Lohengrin with Jonas Kaufmann in the title role.
In 2022/23, Shane directed the NYE Gala and Tannhäuser and revived Rigoletto for Opera Australia. Recently Shane worked as a theatre technician for the Sydney season on Wicked The Musical and Sydney Dance Company’s Momenta tour.