Sasha Janes was born in Perth, Australia, and received his formal dance training from the Australian Ballet School. He has danced professionally with the West Australian Ballet, Australian Ballet, Hong Kong Ballet, Dayton Ballet and Charlotte Ballet. In 2006, Sasha was commissioned to choreograph his first ballet, Lascia la Spina, Cogli la Rosa, and since then has choreographed numerous ballets for Charlotte Ballet, including Carmen, Dangerous Liaisons, Wuthering Heights, Rhapsodic Dances, performed as part of the Kennedy Center’s Ballet Across America series in June 2013. 

The Washington Post called Sasha “a choreographer to watch.” He was invited to participate in the New York Choreographic Institute’s spring session, where he created Murmuration on the students of the School of American Ballet. In 2013, he created Dominant Curves for Richmond Ballet’s New Works Festival. Sasha was a principal dancer with Charlotte Ballet for eight seasons before being named rehearsal director in 2007 and Associate Artistic Director in 2012, adding the title Resident Choreographer in 2013.

Sasha continues his role as Resident Choreographer, for Charlotte Ballet while also serving as Artistic Adviser and Director of Contemporary Studies for the Chautauqua Institution in New York.

Sasha currently serves as an Associate Professor for The Indiana University Jacobs School of Music, Ballet Department.