Greensboro Performing Arts, Founder and Artistic Director

Suzanne is a native of Raleigh, North Carolina. In 1996 she received a Bachelor of Music in Piano Performance from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro with secondary studies in vocal performance and dance. Not only is Suzanne an experienced teacher – having taught music, dance, gymnastics and theatre arts at other artistic institutions in NC for the past 15 years, she also has a extensive performance background in musical theatre as a dancer, singer, actress and accompanist. Suzanne has taught both MUSIKGARTEN© and Orff Scheulwerk©, and is currently completing the Dalcroze Eurhythmics Certification at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh, PA. Other specialized classes include the Zena Rommett Floor Barre© and the Lynn Simonson Jazz Technique©, also taught by our school director, Suzanne Vandergrift, who is certified in these methods practiced by professional dancers worldwide.

In August 2003, Suzanne partnered with Harald Petrini and David Tolbert from Pleasant Ridge Christian Fellowship in their vision to develop and grow a community Fine Arts Program that celebrated God through the arts. In September 2008, at the closing of Pleasant Ridge Fine Arts Academy, Suzanne, along with a dynamic community of teachers, ventured out to continue their vision at Greensboro Performing Arts. The academy now has grown to over 250 students involved in Music, Dance & Theatre Classes, led by the giftings of five dance instructors and five music teachers.