Marie grew up dancing at Minnesota Dance Theatre, performing repertoire by Loyce Houlton, George Balanchine, Lise Houlton, and many local choreographers. After high school, she went to San Francisco, where she earned her BFA in Dance at Alonzo King LINES Ballet. After training under Alonzo King and many founding members of his company, she fell in love with contemporary ballet. There, she also trained in GYROTONIC ® and GYROKINESIS ® and developed extensive knowledge of the body’s functions and movements.

After graduating from college, she moved to Salt Lake City to dance with SALT2 and immersed herself in contemporary dance. Missing the ballet world and California, she moved to Santa Barbara to dance with State Street Ballet and revisited the classical variations of Don Quixote, Sleeping Beauty, and the beloved Nutcracker. Meanwhile, she taught students of all ages and continued to do so after no longer dancing full-time. During the day, Marie works as a paralegal and will be approaching her fifth year as a ballet teacher.