Adelaide born Shane Placentino graduated from The Australian Ballet School in 1990 and was accepted into the The Australian Ballet in 1991.

He also worked with Graeme Murphy and Janet Vernon appearing in Murphy's Nutcracker and Beyond Twelve. After ten years with The Australian Ballet, Shane departed in 2000.

He joined The Sydney Dance Company in 2002. His repertoire with the company includes Ellipse, Air and other invisible forces, Salome, Free Radicals, the role of 'Jack' in Tivoli, Underland, Random Play, Some Rooms, Grand, Hua Mulan, Berlin and Ever After Ever.

Dance credits with The Australian Ballet encompass the full classical and contemporary repertoire including Swan Lake, The Sleeping Beauty, Giselle, The Merry Widow, Jiri Kylian's Sinfonietta, Nacho Duato's Jardi Tancat, Stanton Welch's Red Earth, John Cranko's Romeo and Juliet and Kenneth MacMillan's Manon.

In 2008 Shane has assisted and performed in Meryl Tankard's Inuk2 and was appointed the stage manager for Rafael Bonachela's recent work with The Sydney Dance Company.

A move in to the world of opera has seen him embrace the various guises of choreographer and director. For Opera Australia he has assisted on productions of The Merry Widow (2018), West Side Story, Madama Butterfly (2019) and Faust. As Revival Director his work has brought to vivid life the operas Faust (2020), The Merry Widow (2021), Aida, Madama Butterfly (2022) and Turandot.

In May he directs global opera sensation Jonas Kaufmann in Olivier Py's celebrated production of Wagner's Lohengrin. The opera plays May 14th to 24th at the State Theatre, Arts Centre, Melbourne. It is a stunning production, bound to thrill and delight.

Shane Palcentino joined STAGES to describe the task ahead of him in reviving the opera for its Australian season and an indication of what's in store for the fortunate Melbourne audience. He also reflects on a journey through Dance that has lead him to his cherished role as a director/choreographer with Opera Australia.

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