Marie Tender was born in Dearborn, Michigan, and raised in Champaign, Illinois. She began dancing at the age of five, training with Champaign Ballet Academy under the direction of Deanna Doty. In 2010, Marie continued at the world-renowned Harid Conservatory in Boca Raton Florida, with a full-tuition scholarship. While at Harid, Marie received the dance study award, and the Jeannot Cerrone award for excellence in dance performance. Marie has also studied at the Ellison Ballet Professional Training Program in New York City.

In 2016, Marie joined Colorado Ballet’s studio company and performed roles in Swan Lake, The Nutcracker, Serenade, Firebird, The Little Mermaid, Michael Pink’s Dracula and Derek Dean’s Romeo and Juliet. Marie was honored to perform Serenade with Colorado Ballet at Vail International Dance Festival in 2017.

In 2018, Marie joined American Repertory Ballet as a company member, where she performed featured roles in numerous classical ballets such as Giselle, the Nutcracker, Beauty and the Beast, and Coppelia, as well as neoclassical works by Mary Barton, Ethan Steifel, and Septime Webre.

Marie is excited to join Dayton Ballet for the 2021-2022 season.