Quick Facts

Born: Durban, South Africa
Trained: Prudence Bowen Atelier in Sydney, Australia and San Francisco Ballet School
Joined as Corps de Ballet: 2019

Five Things to Know

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2. Shené is a great baker. Her speciality is banana bread and almond cake. During the COVID-19 pandemic, she used her extra time to launch a popular Instagram account for her creations. 
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5. Shené studied drama and acting as a child and moved away from her family at age 12 to train professionally for ballet. She has lived in four different countries to date: Durban, South Africa; Brisbane, Australia; San Francisco, US; and now Toronto, Canada. 
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9. In 2014, Shené competed in Prix de Lausanne in 2014 which is how her career started in San Francisco.
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12. Her repertoire with the National Ballet includes The Sleeping Beauty, Romeo and Juliet, Giselle, The Nutcracker, Etudes, The Dreamers Ever Leave You and Orpheus Alive. 
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14. 5 The way you pronounce her name is “Shen-nay” which is actually also a ballet step but spelt differently! So, when a new choreographer asks for her name they always say without fail, “Shené like the ballet step?”.

Favourite Ballets

1. 1La Bayadère 
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3. 2La Fille mal gardée 
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6. 3Diamonds from Jewels
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9. Cinderella (Christopher Wheeldon)
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12. Coppélia (George Balanchine)