Staff

Marie Robertson - Director & Co-Owner, Tap & Jazz Instructor
Marie and her twin sister, Maggie were born in Yokohama, Japan and raised in Newport, Rhode Island where they began studying dance at the age of six.  Both continued their education at Stephens College in Columbia, Missouri.  Here they received a B.F.A. in Dance as well as a B.A. in Mathematics.  Marie was an apprentice in the Mid-Missouri Dance Company at Stephens as a student.  Upon graduating, she was fortunate to become a member and featured soloist (for her mentor) in the Harriette Ann Gray Dance Company in residence at the college.  Marie taught classes in Modern, Tap, and Jazz in the Dance, Theatre, and Physical Education Departments at Stephens for many years.  Because of her knowledge and experience in performing different ethnic styles of dance as a student, Marie was able to teach East Indian at Stephens as well as at Stephens Summer Camp at Perry-Mansfield in Steamboat Springs, Colorado.  Marie is happily married and has a lovely daughter, Marisa, who shares her mother's love of dance.  As Director, Marie schedules and coordinates all of the programs at Dancearts.  She currently teaches all levels of Tap and Jazz and stays busy doing choreography for recitals as well as the Junior and Senior Competition Teams.  In the summer, Marie enjoys teaching dance at Stephens to the students enrolled in the Summer Theatre Institiute as well as continuing to teach at Dancearts.  Marie truly enjoys teaching and sharing her passion for dance to students of all ages.

Maggie Dethrow - Modern Instructor & Co-Owner
Maggie was born in Japan, along with her twin sister Marie, and grew up in Newport, Rhode Island.  She began dancing at the age of six and went on to study dance at Stephens College, in Columbia, Missouri.  Maggie studied Modern Dance with Harriette Ann Gray, founder of the college's dance program.  She also studied Ballet, Tap, East Indian, Jazz, Choreography, etc.  In 1973, she earned her B.F.A. in Dance and joined the Harriette Anny Gray Dance Company and the dance faculty at Stephens.  Maggie performed and toured with the Company for several yearts throughout Missouri, Colorado, and the Chicago area.  She joined the Dancearts Staff in 1985 and is currently part-owner of Dancearts, teaching four levels of Modern Technique, as well as choreographing for competition and recitals.  She also still teaches at Stephens College, part-time.  Maggie is involved with the Stephens Theatre Department, along with her sister Marie, teaching dance to thearte majors during their summer program.

Marisa Robertson - Hip Hop, Jazz & Tap Instructor, Co-Owner
Marisa has been dancing at Dancearts since the age of 5.  She competed for 12 years with the competition team and has taught various styles of dance at Dancearts for 10 years.  Marisa has studied at Steps in NYC, and was awarded a summer internship at Broadway Dance Center in NY and Performing Arts Center in LA.  Marisa's been acknowledged for her innovative and polished choreography, as well as her teaching ability.

Kari Hannan - Ballet Instructor
Kari came to Columbia in 1997.  Her ballet training began in Omaha, Nebraska under the direction of Valerie Roche, a London native, whose affiliation with the Royal Academy of Dance gave her a solid basis in RAD technique.  To move to each level, a RAD examiner from London would fly to Omaha to assess technique.  In high school, Kari became a member of the Corps with The Omaha Ballet under the artistic direction of Robert Vickery and Robin Welch.  This professional company had annual peformances of the famous ballet The Nutcracker which was performed with a full symphony orchestra, and taken on tour throughout the Midwest.  She also performed in other popular ballets that were brought to the Omaha stage by this company, such as Coppelia and The Firebird.  Kari continued her training when chosen as one of a 100 dancers in the nation to study with the Boston Ballet where she received the honor of studying with Artistic Director Bruce Marks, a formal principal dancer with the American Ballet Theatre, and choreographer Jamie Jamison, who staged Brigadoon with Gene Kelley.  Kari joined Dancearts in June of 2001.  As a studio ballet instructor, she understands the need for today's dancer to be versatile in their technical training and to be exposed to all schools of classical ballet (Vaganova, Cecchetti, Balanchine, etc.).  As well as teaching Ballet to all levels, Kari also choreographs for recital and the Junior and Senior Competition Teams. 

Marcia Clarahan - Business Manager
Originally from Iowa, Marcia has been in Missouri for 24 years and involved with Dancearts for the past 18 years.  What started out as taking class, turned into teaching Kinderdance and Creative Movement, and part-time behind the desk.  She has been involved with almost every aspect of the studio at one time or another including advertising, desktop publishing, maintenance, computer upkeep, accounts receivable, back stage manager during recitals, and photo assistant.  When asked about working at Dancearts, she said, "The people are great and it's the first job I haven't gotten bored with!"

Additional Teachers & Staff (2009-10)