Faculty
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Erin Forrest
Artistic Director FABNY, Instructor
Erin Forrest began her ballet training at the O.D.U. Ballet in Virginia with Istvan and Ana Ament of Romania. In 1992, she received an invitation to study with Nina Sakhnovskaya at the Vaganova Academy in St. Petersburg, Russia. While at Vaganova Academy, she was awarded a scholarship to continue her education at the St. Petersburg State Institute of Culture & Arts, studying Ballet Pedagogy, Choreography, and Russian language under Boris Bregvadze and her teacher, Olga Muxhortova.
Following graduation from the Institute of Culture, Ms. Forrest returned to the U.S. to open and manage her own ballet school in Virginia, The Russian Academy of Ballet. She later moved to Boston to teach at Boston Ballet where she instructed beginning through advanced classes for eight years. She was also the audition teacher for Boston Ballet School, an instructor for Young Dancers’ Summer Workshop and Dance Lab, coached dancers for competitions, rehearsed students for performing with the company, translated choreography documents from Russian to English, served as translator for guest teachers, and was an adjudicator for Boston Ballet’s City Dance Outreach Program.
Upon moving to New York City in 2010, Ms. Forrest taught at Joffrey Ballet School and Gelsey Kirkland Academy. She then joined the faculty at Ellison Ballet where she created the Variations Intensive and an Intermediate level for the program. Ms. Forrest later became Head of Faculty and was in charge of the Advanced Ladies class.
In 2014, Ms. Forrest’s students were selected to take part in “Class Concert” with Mikhailovsky Ballet of St. Petersburg, Russia at Lincoln Center where she also assisted in coaching and translating for rehearsals. She has taught and choreographed for Classical Dance Alliance’s “International Youth Ballet Festival” with Oleg Vinogradov, Artistic Director. Ms. Forrest has coached students to perform the lead roles in full-length Giselle in St. Petersburg, Russia, and has produced choreography which was taken on tour around Russia. On two separate occasions, her students have performed at Oleg Vinogradov’s International Dance Day Gala in St. Petersburg.
For the 2016-2017 school year, Ms. Forrest was invited to teach the top level at Kirov Academy of Ballet in Washington, DC, and coached her student, Emma Zoe Harris, to compete in Youth America Grand Prix where she won a silver medal for Senior Classical and a silver medal for Senior Contemporary divisions at the semi-finals. Ms. Forrest was also presented with YAGP’s Outstanding Teacher Award.
In 2017, she moved back to New York City and founded Forrest Academy of Ballet New York, a year-round program designed to train serious dancers for a professional career in ballet. She has coached students and ensembles who have won gold and silver medals in classical and contemporary divisions at National Ballet Competition, Indianapolis International Ballet Competition, and Youth America Grand Prix, and they can can be found dancing around the world at Dutch National Ballet, Stuttgart Ballet, Salzburg Ballet, Joffrey Ballet, Colorado Ballet, Ballet West, Universal Ballet, Ballet Manila, and more.
In 2020 Ms. Forrest created Empire Ballet - a studio company serving as a stepping stone for advanced students gain further insight and learn how to work as a professional dancer.
Most recently, she has served on the jury for Hong Kong's Star of Canaan Dance International Ballet Competition and National Ballet Competition in the USA.
Faculty and guest teachers have included:
Irina Guseva
Eva Janiszewski
Sarah Lamb
Nikolai Levitsky
Aleksandr Lunev
Tally Sessions
Vera Solovyeva
Steven Vaughn
Oleg Vinogradov
Following graduation from the Institute of Culture, Ms. Forrest returned to the U.S. to open and manage her own ballet school in Virginia, The Russian Academy of Ballet. She later moved to Boston to teach at Boston Ballet where she instructed beginning through advanced classes for eight years. She was also the audition teacher for Boston Ballet School, an instructor for Young Dancers’ Summer Workshop and Dance Lab, coached dancers for competitions, rehearsed students for performing with the company, translated choreography documents from Russian to English, served as translator for guest teachers, and was an adjudicator for Boston Ballet’s City Dance Outreach Program.
Upon moving to New York City in 2010, Ms. Forrest taught at Joffrey Ballet School and Gelsey Kirkland Academy. She then joined the faculty at Ellison Ballet where she created the Variations Intensive and an Intermediate level for the program. Ms. Forrest later became Head of Faculty and was in charge of the Advanced Ladies class.
In 2014, Ms. Forrest’s students were selected to take part in “Class Concert” with Mikhailovsky Ballet of St. Petersburg, Russia at Lincoln Center where she also assisted in coaching and translating for rehearsals. She has taught and choreographed for Classical Dance Alliance’s “International Youth Ballet Festival” with Oleg Vinogradov, Artistic Director. Ms. Forrest has coached students to perform the lead roles in full-length Giselle in St. Petersburg, Russia, and has produced choreography which was taken on tour around Russia. On two separate occasions, her students have performed at Oleg Vinogradov’s International Dance Day Gala in St. Petersburg.
For the 2016-2017 school year, Ms. Forrest was invited to teach the top level at Kirov Academy of Ballet in Washington, DC, and coached her student, Emma Zoe Harris, to compete in Youth America Grand Prix where she won a silver medal for Senior Classical and a silver medal for Senior Contemporary divisions at the semi-finals. Ms. Forrest was also presented with YAGP’s Outstanding Teacher Award.
In 2017, she moved back to New York City and founded Forrest Academy of Ballet New York, a year-round program designed to train serious dancers for a professional career in ballet. She has coached students and ensembles who have won gold and silver medals in classical and contemporary divisions at National Ballet Competition, Indianapolis International Ballet Competition, and Youth America Grand Prix, and they can can be found dancing around the world at Dutch National Ballet, Stuttgart Ballet, Salzburg Ballet, Joffrey Ballet, Colorado Ballet, Ballet West, Universal Ballet, Ballet Manila, and more.
In 2020 Ms. Forrest created Empire Ballet - a studio company serving as a stepping stone for advanced students gain further insight and learn how to work as a professional dancer.
Most recently, she has served on the jury for Hong Kong's Star of Canaan Dance International Ballet Competition and National Ballet Competition in the USA.
Faculty and guest teachers have included:
Irina Guseva
Eva Janiszewski
Sarah Lamb
Nikolai Levitsky
Aleksandr Lunev
Tally Sessions
Vera Solovyeva
Steven Vaughn
Oleg Vinogradov
