Lilian (Lily) Eselgroth was born in Durham, North Carolina, and began taking dance lessons at the age of four and quickly appointed herself the lead ballet teacher of her family, staging works from the Nutcracker to Firebird in the living room. Lily and her family moved to Asheville, NC, where she trained in the pre-professional program at the Ballet Conservatory of Asheville under Angie Lynn through age 15. In the summer, she ran a camp that included ballet lessons for young neighbors called Busy Bees.
During her sophomore and junior years of high school, Lily attended the UNC School of the Arts in Winston-Salem, NC, in the ballet program. She danced the role of Clara in UNCSA’s 2013 production of The Nutcracker. She did summer intensives at Boston Ballet, Joffrey Ballet, San Francisco Ballet, American Ballet Theater in NYC, Houston Ballet, and IBA. LIly moved back to Cary for her senior year to finish her training at IBA in the PPD program alongside her brother, Clark. That winter, she reprised her role as Clara in the IBA Nutcracker. Sadly, her pre-professional journey ended shortly after due to injury.
However, she returned to IBA during a gap year, when she took over the children’s classes while the teacher at the time, Miss Allexe, was on maternity leave. She continued to work reception and teach as a substitute at IBA but hoped to one day teach full-time. After graduation, she attended Hunter College and took ballet classes through Hunter’s dance program. She worked as a nanny, again finding fulfillment working with children. Lily is thrilled to be back at IBA doing what she loves the most. Her favorite part of teaching is sharing her love of ballet with others and sharing the joy of storytelling through movement.
