Born in Lisbon, Susana began her dance training at the age of 6 under instructors Vera Varela Cid and, later, Igor Ivanoff. Between 1986 and 1990, she attended the Training Course for Dance Professionals at Fundação Calouste Gulbenkian and, in 1990, she enrolled at Escola de Dança do Conservatório Nacional, completing her training in 1992. In the same year, she joined Companhia Nacional de Bailado. She holds both a master’s degree (2021) and an undergraduate degree in dance teaching (2001) from Escola Superior de Dança. In 2013, she completed the Ballet Teaching Studies course (CBTS) from the Royal Academy of Dance.
In addition to her activity as a dancer at CNB, she has taught classical dance technique, pointe technique, and classical repertoire at various schools and dance academies, and she was a visiting assistant at Escola Superior de Dança between 2018 and 2023 in the modules of Classical Dance Technique, Vocabulary Analysis, Educational Practices, and Physical Condition. Since January 2024, she has participated in the CNB’s Projetos de Aproximação à Dança, teaching pointe technique and classical repertoire masterclasses at dance schools with various teaching approaches. As a guest teacher, she has been teaching at Companhia Quorum Ballet since January 2022 and, as a classical dance technique instructor, in the specialized dance training program at Escola da Companhia de Dança de Almada. She has also collaborated with Estúdios Victor Córdon as a classical dance technique instructor, from April to June in 2023 and again in 2025.
