Ballet instructor celebrates 7 decades in dance

DALLAS - A Dallas ballet teacher this year celebrates seven decades of performing.

Madame Suzelle Poole found her love for “artistic movement” during World War II as a child.

“I started my professional ballet career when I was 10 years old. I was always a ballet dancer. I was so happy. I didn’t have any money, but I was so happy,” she said.

Over the years she has danced her way around the globe. She taught famous dancers like Debbie Allen and performed alongside Nigel Lythgoe, co-created of FOX’s “So You Think You Can Dance.”

“I ended marrying the most wonderful opera singer. He had a beautiful voice,” she said. “I perform at nursing homes with some of my students. And one of the dances I do is a dance to his singing.”

Madame Poole said dancers are also taught to love poetry. So through her training she began writing some of her own poems and stories.

“My husband encouraged me to write stories. So I wrote stories about where we’d been,” she said. “I’m quite excited because recently I’ve had one published.”

She believes her husband would be proud of all she’s accomplished. He passed away about 13 years ago.

“He was a great encouragement for me,” she said.

Currently Madame Poole teaches at several dance studios across North Texas, including the Royal Ballet of Dallas. In fact, the studio sends an Uber for her to make sure she gets to and from the studio safely.