Mary Heller, full time instructor,  is from Chicago and holds a terminal Master in Fine Arts degree in Dance from Florida State University (FSU) where she was on full graduate assistantship.  Mary has choreographed professional concert and commercial dance for 17 years including creating the role of the “princess” and choreographing A Soldiers’ Tale performed with The Chicago Chamber Musicians & Bryne Piven, which was performed at DuPaul & Northwestern University.  From 2005-2006 Mary was the Artistic Director of the Marion County Center for the Arts Dance Company, Dance Director of West Port High School’s Marion County Center for the Arts Dance Program and Coach of West Port High School’s Dance Team, the Prowlers.  Mary’s repertory of work has been professionally shown at FSU, numerous theatres, public, private schools and institutions in Colorado, Ohio, Chicago, Florida and Georgia.  She is Artistic Director of her own 10 member pick-up professional dance company whose premiere concert, Satchdance - One People is presently seeking underwriting in Chicago for production.

 Mary was a founding, principle dancer with Winifred Haun & Dancers in Chicago, IL, where she created original roles.  Companies whereby she created original roles as a principle dancer included Ballet Entre Nous, American Danz Theater, and The Joseph Holmes Pilsen Dance Ensemble , all located in Chicago.  Mary was a member of Lynda Davis’s Dance Repertory Theatre at FSU, and has been a guest artist with numerous organizations including The Dayton Ballet.  She has danced in the repertory of such choreographers as Randy Duncan (Save the Last Dance), Susan Marshall, and Jawole Willa Jo Zollar.  Mary has trained under numerous teachers including those at the Martha Graham School of Contemporary Dance in New York. 

Mary was the original director, co-director and instructor of the Buffalo Grove Dance Center at the Buffalo Grove Dance & Gymnastics Center in Buffalo Grove, IL for 8 years.  She was the assistant and student rehearsal director to Suzanne Farrell at FSU in the re-staging of George Balanchine’s Western Symphony.

Mary has filmed numerous dance productions and is versed in Dance Documentation as well as Dance for the Camera.  Her current research is with telematics.  Mary teaches all levels of ballet, jazz and modern dance, teaches Children’s Dance, Choreography, Dance Pedagogy and directs Dance Theatre in the fall at the University of Idaho.

Greg Halloran
Mary Heller
Kerry Parker
Shelly Werner
Diane Walker


Visiting Artists

Alumni