Marilyn York

Marilyn York has more than 30 years of experience in all aspects of dance: performing, teaching, directing and choreography. Her interest in dance was sparked by classic Gene Kelly films. York began taking dance classes at age 11 in a satellite studio of the Washington Ballet. Later, she studied with Capital Ballet Company and was a dance major at Butler University. She also studied jazz with Wally Saunders, Nilo Toledo, Bob Thoma, Luigi and Gus Giordano, and she has performed with numerous DC area theaters, dance companies, night clubs and festivals. York teaches jazz and ballet at the Metropolitan School of the Arts, The Center for Ballet Arts, Russell School of Ballet and The McLean Community Center. She is the inspiration behind, and the producer of, the annual Jazz and Tap Dance Festival, coordinating the talents of several area ensembles into a fun and lively evening of jazz and tap dance entertainment. Her choreography has been selected three times for presentation at the Giordano Jazz Dance World Congress, and for several regional dance projects. She believes jazz dance should be entertaining for its audiences and fulfilling for its performers and that it is here to stay.