The Australian Ballet

Sharni Spencer

Principal Artist

Shani 1345 final
Shani 1449 final

Sharni Spencer

(She/Her)

Sharni Spencer was born in Lismore NSW and grew up in Tamworth and Newcastle. She began dance classes when she was three years old and studied at Sally Kefts School of Dance and Marie Walton Mahon Dance Academy before joining New Zealand School of Dance. Sharni joined The Australian Ballet at the beginning of 2008 and was promoted to coryphée in 2012. She was the recipient of the Khitercs Hirai Foundation Scholarship in 2012, and used it to spend three months rehearsing and performing Giselle with Dutch National Ballet. She was promoted to soloist in 2017, to senior artist in 2020, and then to principal artist in 2022.

Sharni Spencer’s Principal Artist position is generously supported by Barbara Duhig

Repertoire highlights

  • Odette/Odile in Anne Woolliams' Swan Lake, 2023
  • Kitri and Queen of the Dryads in Rudolf Nureyev’s Don Quixote, 2023
  • Emeralds and Diamonds Principal in George Balanchine’s Jewels, 2023
  • Juliet in John Cranko's Romeo and Juliet, 2022
  • Waltz girl in George Balanchine’s Serenade
  • Columbine and Pierette in Alexei Ratmansky’s Harlequinade
  • The Sugar Plum Fairy in Peter Wright's The Nutcracker
  • Alice in Christopher Wheeldon's Alice's Adventures in Wonderland©
  • Cinderella in Alexei Ratmansky's Cinderella
  • Giselle in Giselle (Regional Tour)
  • Valencienne in Ronald Hynd's The Merry Widow
  • White Couple in Jiří Kylián's Forgotten Land

Professional accolades

Awards

  • Telstra Ballet Dancer Award nominee, 2013
  • Khitercs Hirai Foundation Scholarship, 2012

Sharni Spencer and Callum Linnane in Harlequinade

You may not know

Sharni has swum with manta rays in Hawaii.