Join us in congratulating longtime volunteer Susan B. Buck, Boca Ballet Theatre’s 2026 Volunteer Woman of the Year! Each year, non-profit organizations in Palm Beach County and northern Broward County are invited to select one nominee for this prestigious award. All nominees will be honored at an annual luncheon celebrating local women dedicated to service and voluntarism in their communities. We are thrilled to include Susan amongst these incredible women!

Since moving to Boca Raton and joining BBT for its open adult dance classes in 2002, Susan has been an important figure in bringing Boca Ballet Theatre’s many performances to life! From the rehearsal studio to backstage to the heat of the limelight, Susan has volunteered her time and talent in all spaces and stages of the production process, contributing not only her dance and technical theater background but also her expertise in educating young people.

Susan developed a love for ballet at a young age, inspired by her great aunt, who was a dancer herself. Today, Susan brings that love to the rehearsal studio, where she serves as an assistant to our Artistic Directors and choreographers, notating choreography, setting musical cues, and working with our dancers as they learn and block choreography.

Backstage, if you look closely, you’re likely to spot Susan camouflaged in the darkness, scurrying to set and strike props for each production as our Prop Mistress—a Herculean task for full-length ballets like The Nutcracker and La Bayadère, which have many props for our dancers to use! With a musically-gifted father who worked in theater tech, Susan cultivated a passion for working backstage early. There’s a sense of fulfillment to making sure props and sets make their way smoothly to the stage, Susan recently shared, ensuring the magic of each production.

In addition to serving as an important part of our technical crew backstage, Susan has also appeared onstage in character roles in narrative ballets like The Sleeping Beauty, Swan Lake, and Romeo and Juliet, amongst many others! Susan holds a particular love for Romeo and Juliet’s ballroom scene with its dramatic music and movement.

With a Master’s in Education and decades of experience in Duval and Broward County schools, Susan also brings her vast teaching expertise to BBT! During The Directors’ Summer intensive at BBT, she has contributed to our dancers’ enrichment classes, developing curriculum and syllabi. In the rehearsal studio and backstage, she uses her twenty-four years of experience as a dance teacher to mentor students as they learn rehearsal etiquette, miming and acting, blocking onstage, and how to conduct themselves professionally to ensure each production goes smoothly. Outside of Boca Ballet Theatre, Susan is a certified Power Pilates Instructor as well as a Volunteer Choir Member, Choir Director, and Ba’al Tekiah (the expert “Master of the Blast” who is responsible for sounding the Shofar) at her Synagogue. It’s clear that bringing the joy of music and movement to our community is part of Susan’s calling!

We hope you will join us in congratulating Susan Buck as Boca Ballet Theatre’s Volunteer Woman of the Year! We thank her for her time, service, and dedication to furthering our mission of sharing the art of dance with the Boca Raton community!

Congratulations to Susan B. Buck: BBT's 2026 Woman Volunteer of the Year!