Shannon Marie Rugani is a versatile and accomplished artist whose dynamic career spans ballet, Broadway, music composition, and production. A native of South Lake Tahoe, California, Shannon’s love for music began at the age of four when she started composing on her great-grandmother’s piano. Alongside music, she developed a deep passion for dance, training in classical ballet, Balanchine, jazz, tap, hip-hop, lyrical, and character dance.

In 2002, Shannon moved to San Francisco on a full merit scholarship to the prestigious San Francisco Ballet School. She joined San Francisco Ballet (SFB) in 2004, becoming one of the youngest members in the company’s history. Over the course of her 11 year career with SFB, she danced for world-renowned choreographers and performed on stages around the world, including in France, Iceland, China, Denmark, and the United States.

In 2014, Shannon transitioned to Broadway, where she joined the original cast of the Tony Award-winning musical An American in Paris. She later performed as the Lise understudy in 2017. After the show closed, Shannon shifted her focus to music and embraced a new identity as a singer-songwriter under the name EMPRESS®.

Shannon is not only a talented performer but also an accomplished music engineer. She produces, records, and engineers all of her own music from her bedroom, blending pop, electronic, and classical elements. Working with Grammy-nominated producer Bart Schoudel, she released her debut EP in June 2021, showcasing her innovative approach to music.

As a composer, Shannon made her classical debut with The Window, a ballet choreographed by Danielle Rowe that premiered with Pacific Northwest Ballet in 2023. She is currently composing her first full-length ballet score, inspired by the life of Marilyn Monroe, which will premiere at Oregon Ballet Theatre in Portland in April 2025.

In addition to her work in music and performance, Shannon has an extensive background in film. She choreographed and starred in the short film PRIMA, which premiered at the TriBeCa Film Festival in 2012. As EMPRESS®, she has continued to win accolades for her music videos, earning first-place honors for Best Music Video at multiple international film festivals globally.

Shannon is also a writer and has contributed articles to Fete Lifestyle Magazine and blogs for Discount Dance Supply’s Dance Life. Currently, she is working on her first middle-grade fantasy novel series and a dark comedy TV series set in the world of ballet.

At the heart of all Shannon’s accomplishments is her greatest joy: being a mother to her daughter, born in January 2024. This new chapter in her life brings her unparalleled fulfillment and continues to inspire her creative endeavors.