Originally from Boca Raton, Florida, Shelby Shenkman began her dance training at Dance Dimensions and the Fort Lauderdale Children’s Ballet Theater under the direction of Angela Mauti. In 2014, she graduated cum laude from Butler University with a BFA in Dance Performance with honors and a minor in Strategic Communication.

After dancing with Louisville Ballet for two seasons as a Trainee, Shelby was promoted to Company Artist in 2016. Since joining Louisville Ballet, she has enjoyed performing a variety of roles, most notably Aurora in Adam Hougland’s World Premiere of Sleeping Beauty, Marie in Val Caniparoli’s The Brown-Forman Nutcracker, the title role in Giselle, Miranda in the Kentucky Shakespeare and Louisville Ballet coproduction of The Tempest, a Stomper in Twyla Tharp’s In the Upper Room, and the Second Principal Variation in George Balanchine’s Emeralds.

Shelby would like to thank her wonderful family and her husband Zach for always supporting her dream. In addition to being a professional ballerina, Shelby is also a wedding and lifestyle photographer. Her newest, and most favorite, role of “Mom” began in January 2023.