LEADERSHIP TEAM
A team of leaders/educators who bring diverse experiences and in dance and arts management.
© Jerry Finley Photography
SARAH SHOEMAKER
President
Sarah Shoemaker brings over 25 years of experience in dance, education, business, and film to her role at International Ballet. Her introduction to IB in 2015 was as producer/director of Invitation to the Dance, a film about the special needs dance class at International Ballet that went on to win "Best Overall Film" at the 2020 Tryon International Film Festival, "Best Documentary Feature" at the 2021 Beaufort International Film Festival, and "Best Documentary" at the 2021 Reedy Reels Film Festival. She became the Marketing Director and Associate Executive Director in 2018, Executive Director in 2019, and President in 2024. Since that time she has helped the organization survive pandemic impacts, supported the needs of IB’s artistic team mounting full length productions of Giselle, La Fille mal gardee, La Sylphide, Swan Lake and this season’s upcoming production of Don Quixote. She has helped foster the growth of the Assemblé Guild as they continue to achieve record breaking fundraising goals each year. In 2023, she worked with the IB Outreach committee to launch Project Pirouette, a year-round program that provides free ballet training to students in underserved areas of Greenville. Most recently, she facilitated a partnership with the Meyer Center for Special Children wherein IB will begin a free ballet program in summer of 2025. Mrs. Shoemaker is a former professional dancer, teacher and choreographer who has worked for Charleston Ballet Theatre, the Augusta Ballet, the Ensworth School and Brentwood Academy in Nashville, TN, and numerous projects as a teacher, choreographer, or associate choreographer. She holds a B.S. in Business Administration from The College of Charleston and is a graduate of Leadership Greenville Class 46. She is married to IB and SCGSAH faculty member Thomas Shoemaker and has two children, Oliva and Sam. Her son Sam, a former IB student, is currently attending the School of American Ballet in New York City.
VLADA KYSSELOVA
Artistic Director
Vlada Kysselova is originally from Kiev, Ukraine. She graduated from the Kiev State College of Choreography and holds a bachelor’s degree from Kiev National Linguistics University and a master’s degree with honors in Dance Pedagogy and Choreography from the Ukrainian Academy of Dance at International Slavic University. She danced and toured as a soloist with the National Theater of Opera and Ballet in Kiev, Ukraine, and as a principal dancer with Kiev Theatre of Classical Ballet and Ballet Classique de Paris in France before immigrating to the United States in 2001.
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Since May 2004, Vlada has choreographed and staged full-length productions for International Ballet such as Francesca da Rimini, Swan Lake, The Nutcracker, Lady and the Hooligan, Giselle, La Sylphide, Coppelia, Don Quixote, Paquita, and numerous short works including original choreography for the South Carolina Regional Ballet festival, as well as numerous collaborative works with the Greenville Symphony Orchestra. A founding instructor for International Ballet Academy since its inception in 2003, she has coached and traveled with students for such prestigious ballet competitions as Youth America Grand Prix (Regional and NYC Finals), Serge Lifar International Ballet Competition (Kiev, Ukraine), and the USA International Ballet Competition (Jackson, MS), and her students have received multiple top placements, including “Regional Grand Prix,” in YAGP regional as well as NYC final competitions, and Most Outstanding School in 2008.
LENA FORSTER
Founder
Lena Forster trained at the prestigious School of American Ballet, the official school of New York City Ballet, under George Balanchine. She was one of a specially selected group to attend the University of Cincinnati’s College Conservatory of Music in their first class of dance majors, also later performing with the Cincinnati Ballet. She taught in numerous schools in New York and has been executive director and ballet instructor with the Greenville Ballet and Ballet Spartanburg, acting as Host Coordinator with Greenville Ballet for the Southeastern Regional Ballet Association (SERBA), held in Greenville in 1990.
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Lena and her husband, Jurgen, founded the International Ballet Academy and International Ballet in 2003. She has been awarded the Barbara Stone Foundation award for her work as director and instructor in the International Ballet Special Needs program, which provides a weekly adapted dance class for Special Needs adults in partnership with the Greenville County Disabilities and Special Needs Board (now Thrive Upstate).
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Lena was given the 2022 International Ballet Standing Ovation Award for exceptional dedication and leadership since 2003. Click here to view the video featuring friends and associates thanking Lena for her years of teaching and service.
ADMINISTRATIVE & PRODUCTION TEAM
A dedicated, collaborative and generous team cultivating an environment aimed to preserve and promote classical ballet and the arts.
Adair Kempf
Academy Director
Liz Acker
Director of Administrative Services
Josha Williams
Trainee Program Director
Kelley Addison
Development Director
Liz Blackwood
Special Programs Director
Susan Fuls
Marketing Director
Doug Acker
Director of Artistic Operations
