Suzanne B. Pomerantzeff (Ms. P)
Artistic Director
Suzanne B. Pomerantzeff is the Co-Founder and Artistic Director for the Academy, a non-profit, pre-professional dance academy whose primary focus is to provide professional dance instruction to an underserved urban community known as Mid-Town in the heart of St. Petersburg, FL.
In 1969 Suzanne, along with Lester Jacobsen, founded the Academy and led the classes and summer intensives for the next thirty-eight years. ABA is home to the St. Petersburg Ballet Company and the St. Petersburg Folk Ensemble (Russian folk dance). She established a ballet program at St. petersburg Junior College, (now known as St. Petersburg College), and was responsible for the development of the dance department at the Pinellas County Center for the Arts (PCCA) at Gibbs High School. She currently serves as the Ballet Department chairperson and was instrumental in bringing about the first annual Florida Dance Assessment, which was hosted for its inaugural year at PCCA.
Her background and training include the San Francisco School and the University of Utah, where she earned a BA in Ballet. She performed with the San Francisco Ballet, Ballet West, Tampa Ballet and Virginia Ballet.
Many of Ms P's students have been chosen to compete in the finals of Youth American Grand Prix, and international ballet competition that has been running for the last twelve years. YAGP awarded her the Best Teacher award in 2006 and 2007, and the Best Choreographer award in 2006. In 2003, she received a grant from the SURDNA Foundation to travel to Ireland and produce a ballet on Irish history.
Dancers under her instruction have gone on to perform at prestigious ballet companies including American Ballet Theatre, San Francisco Ballet, Dance Theatre of Harlem, Alvin Ailey American Dance Theatre and David Parsons.
was trained at the San Francisco Ballet School by Harold Christensen and his wife Ruby Asquith, Lew Christensen and his wife Gisella Caccialanza, and Bene Arnold. After graduating from High School she continued her Ballet training at the University of Utah with Willam Christensen, Gordon Paxman, Bene Arnold and Mattlyn Gavers. She graduated with a Bachelor of Fine Arts with an equal emphasis in performing and teaching. Ms. Pomerantzeff and Lester Jacobsen founded the Academy of Ballet Arts in 1969 and have dedicated their professional lives to training dancers who are now performing with San Francisco Ballet, Alvin Ailey, Moiseyev Dance Company, Riverdance, Lion King (Simba, Broadway Co.), David Parsons, Colorado Ballet, Cleveland Ballet, Houston Ballet, RDT, San Diego Ballet, Milwaukee Ballet, Pennsylvania Ballet, Kiel Opera Ballet, Frankfort Opera Ballet, Cirque de Soleil, and Mummenschanz.
