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Our Staff
MarLo Dance Studio has amazing instructors who believe in our core values and truly love working with students. They each bring with them a passion to teach, the ability to help each student progress with their technique, and positive energy and influence.
Employment Opportunities- We are interested in both guest and permanent instructors. Contact the studio director, Maria Merriam.
Maria Merriam began her early training at four years of age under renowned local instructor, Alice Stadelman who is also her mother. At age 14 she commenced teaching her first classes; working and training under both her own mother and other instructors in her area. Blended into her young experience, Maria also trained extensively in voice and dabbled in theater whenever she could. While earning her Associate of Arts degree with emphasis in business and music, she taught outreach ballet classes. A move to New York City gave Miss Maria the opportunity to continue her ballet training and experience the dance world on a grander scale. While in NYC, Maria met her husband Robert E. Merriam. They raised five children in Bandon, all of whom danced.
Miss Maria retired from teaching in Spring 2023. She continues to own and operate the adminstration side of MarLo Dance Studio, with on-site manager, Faith Slater.
Faith Slater began her dance training at the age of 3 at MarLo Dance Studio, where she was trained in classical ballet for 14 years, with additional training in lyrical, jazz, and tap for many years. In 2016, Faith attended a Summer Intensive at the Academy of Ballet Fantastique in Eugene, Oregon. Following the intensive, she was invited to join the Academy’s conservatory to continue her training. At age 17, she accepted the offer and relocated to Eugene to pursue her dance education, studying the Vaganova method of classical ballet along with contemporary, jazz, character, and modern dance. Faith became an apprentice with their professional company in 2017, performing in several company productions including Aladdin, The Legend of Sleepy Hollow, An American Christmas Carol, Zorro, and Alice in Wonderland.
In 2018 Faith joined State Street Ballet’s Professional Track Trainee Program in Santa Barbara, CA. Her training in this program consisted of ballet, pas de deux, contemporary, modern, jazz, and improvisation with an emphasis on artistic expression through classical repertoire and contemporary choreography. Faith completed State Street Ballet’s Professional Track Trainee Program in 2019.
In 2019 Faith joined MDS as an instructor and took on the role of Director in 2023. She brings a detail-oriented and supportive teaching style to the classroom, emphasizing strong technical foundations while encouraging each student’s unique strengths and artistic growth. Faith is committed to upholding the highest standards of dance education, no matter the size of our community, or whether a professional career is planned.
Gracie Slater has 20 years of classical ballet training, along with extensive experience in hip hop, tap, jazz, lyrical, contemporary, and ballroom. She joined the MDS staff in 2019 after completing three years of student-teacher training under studio director Maria Merriam. In 2021, Gracie took over the MDS Hip Hop program along with intermediate and advanced tap classes, and has continued to bolster and expand students’ expression within these styles.
In addition to her training at MDS, Gracie has attended the Academy of Ballet Fantastique’s summer intensive 2017 and again in 2018. She has also attended Vibe Dance Center’s 541 Dance Convention in Bend, OR., Santa Barbara Dance Arts’ summer program, and Dance and All That Jazz’s annual convention for several years.
Gracie has performed in a variety of roles with MarLo Dance Studio, including Wendy in Peter Pan (2018), Bartok in Anastasia (2022), and the Cheshire Cat in Alice in Wonderland (2023). She has also been a guest performer in productions such as Ballet Fantastique’s An American Christmas Carol (2017), Dance Umbrella’s Annual Gala (2016, 2023), and Willamette Apprentice Ballet’s Annual Recital. Additionally, she has performed at events including the South Coast Clambake Music Festival and Bandon Feeds The Hungry variety show.
In addition to her dance career, Gracie earned her degree in Small Business Management and Entrepreneurship in June 2022, balancing her academic pursuits with teaching and performing.
Gracie has also discovered a particular joy in teaching adult classes, where she enjoys helping students of all ages build confidence, improve their technique, and experience the joy of movement. She finds it rewarding to guide adults in their dance journey and create a supportive, non-judgmental environment for learning.
Gracie strives to create a positive, encouraging learning environment, where students can improve their technique while exploring their personal expression through dance. She believes that dance is for everyone and aims to motivate her students to bring their best into the classroom.
She has also been invited to guest perform in Ballet Fantastique’s An American Christmas Carol (2017), Dance Umbrella’s Annual Gala (2023), and the South Coast Clambake Music Festival for three consecutive years (2023–2025).
In addition to her performance experience, Sarah served for two years as a teacher’s assistant under studio owner Maria Merriam and completed a year of supervised teacher training under Gracie Slater. She is excited to be joining the faculty this year as an instructor.
Cheryl Kurihara began her formal music training at age five with piano lessons, which eventually evolved into organ lessons. She has fond memories of playing piano and organ duets with her older sister, performing for family and community. Throughout her youth she participated in as many school and church plays as possible. During high school she continued pursuing her love for the arts, performing in musicals, theatre, choirs, and bands. She especially enjoyed helping with choreography for show choir and co-directing youth plays and Bible School music programs for her church.
Her love for the arts and performing continued through college where she became an accomplished musician in piano, voice, organ, flute, and guitar, and became proficient in several band and orchestral instruments as well.
Determined to “do it all”, she also studied ballet and theatre dance. This training became invaluable throughout her career in education, enabling her to incorporate dance in her music classes, and choreograph pieces for her choir and music students and the High School musicals she co-directed.
After college she continued performing and touring while maintaining a private studio. She was keyboardist and vocalist for various bands touring the Midwest and East Coast, and has several original songs and recordings to her credits.
Cheryl performed in Indianapolis Community Theatre productions and counts her role in a Shakespearean Theatre Troupe for the Medieval Festival and her role in the musical “Godspell” as two of her favorites. Her third favorite was the year she was able to tour with Indianapolis Civic Theatre’s ‘Kid Connection’, providing shows for children.
While living in Hawaii, Cheryl was able to expand her horizons by gaining experience teaching infants, toddlers, and preschoolers. She also studied Hula and became a member of Hope Chapel’s Hula Ministry. She considers performing with Jubilate’ Liturgical Dance Company and Hope Chapel Hula Ministry her ultimate dance experiences. She says for her “nothing can compare to dancing barefoot on a sandy beach, under the palm trees and vibrant blue sky, with the ocean beside you”.
Cheryl is passionate about the important and vital role the arts have in enriching a society and its culture. Music, dance, movement, and theatre are integral elements of her teaching methods. She has successfully incorporated them into her curriculums for 0-preK and K-12 students. She is excited to help introduce a new generation to the world of arts here at MDS.
Dinari started dancing in her freshman year of high school where she took to it like a duck to water, and has been dancing in some capacity ever since. She has been a Kundalini yoga practitioner since 1994. She later developed a passion for Pilates principals and body/mind connection, which has taken her from 15 years of rotating musculoskeletal issues to full pain free mobility.
