On Pointe On Stage - 'Swan Lake' Greenville Debut A Tour De Force For International Ballet

Composed by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky, “Swan Lake” was performed for the first time nearly 150 years ago by the Bolshoi Ballet in Moscow. It has graced the world’s stages ever since.

In May, the classic will make its Greenville debut at the Peace Center Concert Hall, accompanied by the Greenville Symphony Orchestra, and presented by the Upstate’s own International Ballet.

“This is the first time that a full-length ‘Swan Lake’ has ever been performed in Greenville. I still find myself shocked that we're really doing it,” says Sarah Shoemaker, President of International Ballet.

“It's very exciting. The Tchaikovsky score is gorgeous … the Greenville Symphony Orchestra … the amazing dancers … the magic of bringing it all together in a live setting … There’s nothing like it.”

International Ballet was founded in 2003 by Lena Forster, who trained at the School of American Ballet, the official school of New York City Ballet, under George Balanchine.

The academy in Greer would teach a style of dance that originated in Russia called Vaganova, a classical ballet technique that trains dancers known for their precision, endurance and athleticism.

Ukrainian dancer Vlada Kysselova is among the co-founders of the academy and ballet company. Now the Artistic Director, she has spent the past year helping to plan the production and readying young dancers for their roles in “Swan Lake.”

“The girls in our pre-professional company are working and training so hard. I go into rehearsals and am so impressed. The precision is beautiful,” Shoemaker says.

“Vlada never raises her voice. She never yells at them. But she’s detail-oriented. She will stop the music and have the girls dance a section again and again. And it works. It elevates them.”

Those 22 dancers, high school students, will make up the corps de ballet; 16 professional guest artists will join them.

“Visually, the corps de ballet moves like one body,” Shoemaker says. “When you see birds in the sky, and they all do the same thing, together, at the same time ... That's what the corps de ballet should look like. The audience will gasp at the beauty. It’s an emotional experience.”

Dancers in the lead roles – Prince Siegfried, the Swan Queen Odette, and sorcerer Baron Von Rothbart – will come from the San Francisco Ballet.

“I think people will be awestruck to see dancers of this caliber. San Francisco Ballet is one of the best dance companies in America,” Shoemaker says.

Three alumni from International Ballet Academy, who now dance with other companies, are among the guest artists.

Since its founding, Shoemaker says that International Ballet has retained its commitment to productions, technique, and classes for everyone from moms with toddlers to serious young dancers, adults and professionals.

Other things have changed – including Shoemaker being tapped to lead the organization.

“I didn't seek out this position. Now, it feels like an honor,” she says.

The transition began when a key staff member left the ballet. Shoemaker says she volunteered to help out.

Instead, Forster asked her to work part time. Then, just six months later, Forster announced that she wanted to retire. She asked Shoemaker if she would prepare to take the reins.

“I had a panic attack. I'm not exaggerating,” says Shoemaker, who moved to Greenville 10 years ago with her husband and children after a career as a dancer, dance instructor and actor.

“Part of me knew that my whole life had led up to something like this. It was a service. An amazing woman built this; she wanted to retire; the organization needed leadership; and I knew I could do it.

“I was like, ‘Okay God, I'll say yes.’”

Forster sold the dance academy to the Board of Directors of the nonprofit ballet in 2018. The next year, she retired. Shoemaker became Executive Director, then President.

“I’m proud of Lena for being able to hand over her organization and trust that we would be okay,” Shoemaker says.

Neither Forster nor Shoemaker expected that a full-length production of “Swan Lake” would come a few years later.

“We're excited that Greenville is able to support something like this. It’s next level. It’s going to be incredible,” Shoemaker says.

International Ballet presents three stage performances each year: a mixed repertoire in the fall; “The Nutcracker,” which sold out three shows at the Peace Center last December; and a spring ballet, this year the ambitious “Swan Lake.”

With the Peace Center as its venue, the symphony performing the score, guest artists, sets and dozens of costumes, staging the four-act ballet will cost more than $200,000, Shoemaker says.

“The costumes are incredibly difficult to make, and they all have to be exquisite. There’s a lot of sewing going on,” she says.

“This is only possible because of the generous financial support of the community and the number of talented dancers in our company.”

Last summer, the organization began to repay that support with outreach.

“We are more than a school that exists to serve our dancers and their families. We are receiving enough funding from enough organizations for enough purposes that we have a responsibility to serve the community,” Shoemaker says.

International Ballet’s Project Pirouette expands opportunities for children who otherwise might not be exposed to ballet; an Accessibility Class, still taught by Forster, provides dance lessons to adults with intellectual disabilities; and Storytime Ballet is a collaboration with the Greenville County Library System.

“Just like the dancers on the stage, we work to try to make beautiful things happen,” Shoemaker says. “We’re in the business of uplifting the community. I love Greenville, and I love so many things that Greenville’s doing, and we just want to be part of that.”

Right now, she and the rest of the staff at International Ballet are working to make sure that every seat is filled on May 25 and 26 when the curtain rises on “Swan Lake” at the Peace Center.

“When we're listening to that score live, in that venue, with that ballet … I know how special it’s going to be.”

"Swan Lake" will be performed at 7:30 p.m. May 25 and at 3 p.m. May 26 at the Peace Center Concert Hall, at the corner of Broad Street and Main Street in Downtown Greenville. To purchase tickets, call (864) 467-3000, visit the on-site box office, or go to https://www.peacecenter.org/events. (Make certain to use only the official Peace Center website to purchase tickets.)

This article originally appeared on Greenville News: On Pointe On Stage - 'Swan Lake' Greenville Debut A Tour De Force For International Ballet