About

Shane Urton, originally from North Carolina, began his career in Chicago at the Joffrey Ballet in 2009. Since 2014 he has had an international career performing with the Royal New Zealand Ballet, The Norwegian National Ballet, and now currently with Opera Ballet Vlaanderen (formerly: Royal Ballet of Flanders). Performing a diverse range of repertoire [ including works by Balanchine, Bausch, Forsythe, Kylian, Naharin, Pite, Ekman, Eyal, and Cherkaoui] has contributed to Shane’s choreographic practice.

He won second place in Dance Open America’s Emerging Choreographer 2021 and was a top ten finalist for BalletX’s Choreographic Fellowship & Kseij Dance Company Choreographer call. His works have been hired for events such as Xynteo’s XChange Norway, BUDA kunstcentrum, Ballet Gala Geraardsbergen, and Junior Ballet Antwerp. His work has also been featured on Canvas TV’s Toots Sessies and on Klara Radio’s app in collaboration with the Royal Museum of Fine Arts Antwerp (KMSKA). Shane also initiated a site-specific dance collaboration with the Munch Museum in Oslo.

Shane often works with a balletic toolkit although he infuses the choreographic material with values and influences from a broader range of artistic expression. Shane recently participated in the New York Choreographic Institute (2023 Spring) where he was thrilled for the chance to further explore dance making.