Faculty

Suzanne was born in Durban, South Africa where she received 13 years of ballet

training in the Royal Academy of Dance classical ballet method. Upon completion of

all her RAD ballet examinations she was accepted at the Royal Ballet School in

London, UK where she furthered her training. 

She then went on to have a 10 year career as a professional ballet dancer with PACT Ballet Company in Pretoria, South Africa. After ‘retiring’ from the stage she made the transition to a ballet teacher after studying and passing her Royal Academy of Dance Teacher’s examination.

Suzanne has 31 years of teaching experience. For 23 years she was the owner,

director, teacher and choreographer of Suzanne Holmes School of Ballet. 

Suzanne immigrated to the USA in 2018 and continued her love of teaching ballet in

California. She relocated to Nashville TN in 2020 and is enjoying sharing her lifelong passion of ballet with students at NS Dance Academy.

Krissy Dodge has a professional career that spans over 22 years. In 2003, she graduated with high honors from Point Park University with a BA in Dance Performance with a concentration in Classical Ballet. 

She then joined the Nashville Ballet as a second company member and quickly made her way up the ranks to Apprentice, Company and then Principal. She enjoyed a decade long career where she performed numerous principal roles with the company including original works by Artistic Director Paul Vasterling. 

After retiring from the stage in 2013 she was asked to join the NB faculty and has worked with the second company, Professional Training Division and Pre-Professional Program for the past 12 years. Mrs. Dodge has also choreographed numerous original works for the Professional Division that were performed in their Contemporary Showcases. 

She adores teaching and ensures her classroom is a safe place to grow, be challenged and to passionately progress artistically as well as technically. 

“My favorite parts of teaching are inspiring a love of dance in each student that is unique to them, cultivating a passion for knowledge of the craft and respect, but most of all helping them embrace their individuality in dancing.”
— Krissy Dodge

Krissy Dodge has a professional career that spans over 22 years. In 2003, she graduated with high honors from Point Park University with a BA in Dance Performance with a concentration in Classical Ballet. Originally from Montana, Thom Yzaguirre began his formal dance training at Minnesota Dance Theatre and School. Thom trained in both ballet and modern dance and worked his way up from scholarship student to Company 2 dancer.

Thom went on to receive scholarships with the Tidewater Ballet Academy, Milwaukee Ballet, Joffrey Ballet and the School of American Ballet. Among his many teachers were Bonnie Mathis, Gene K. Hammett, Susan Borree, Robert Joffrey, Michael Bjerknes, Stephen Jenkins and Elaine Thomas.

He has danced professionally with Duluth Ballet, Ballet Arizona, as a soloist with Louisville Ballet and as a principal with Nevada Dance Theatre and Nashville Ballet. He has worked with a variety of directors including Loyce Houlton, Vassili Sulich and Janek Schergen. He has also danced a wide range of choreography by a host of dance masters including Antony Tudor, George Balanchine, Lynne Taylor-Corbett, Graham Lustig, Paul Vasterling and Choo San-Goh. 

Mr. Yzaguirre has been a guest teacher for the Academy of Nevada Dance Theatre (Las Vegas), Kentucky Governor’s School for the Arts (Louisville), Nashville Ballet, The Foundation of Arts (Jonesboro, AR), American Academy of Dance (Hendersonville, TN) and Tennessee Association of Dance (TAD) Tennessee Dance Festival. Thom was the recipient of the 2014 Judith Woodruff

Professional Development Award and the 2018 Outstanding Dance Educator from TAD. Mr. Thom, as he is known to his students, was the Ballet Director of Franklin School of Performing Arts for 23 years and during that time had a hand in training hundreds of students, many of whom went on to continue their dance education in college and/or went on to dance professionally. Mr. Yzaguirre currently splits his time between Tupelo, Mississippi and Nashville,

Tennessee. In Tupelo, he is the Artistic Director of Civic Ballet (CB), a pre-professional ballet company and Master Instructor for CB’s home studio, North Mississippi Dance Centre. In Nashville, he teaches for several private dance studios and works with competitive figure skaters at Nashville Skating Academy (Centennial Sportsplex). Thom Yzaguirre is an ABT® Certified Teacher, who has successfully completed the ABT® Teacher Training Intensive in Pre-Primary through Level 7 +

Partnering of the ABT® National Training Curriculum (NTC). ABT® NTC is a breakthrough 9 level program for the development and training of young students that embraces sound ballet principles and incorporates elements of the French, Italian and Russian schools of training.