All in a day and night's work

'Folies Bergere' dancer finds time to teach as well as perform

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By LAUREN ROMANO

VIEW STAFF WRITER

Lori Marshburn was 10 years old when she decided she was going to be a dancer.

"My mom and dad took me to see 'A Chorus Line' and when Cassie walked off the stage I said, 'That's who I want to be,' " she said.

Years later Marshburn did play Cassie, the lead role in "A Chorus Line," with a national touring company.

She now spends five afternoons a week teaching dance at the North Stars Dance Academy, 7071 W. Craig Road, Suite 104, and six nights a week performing in "Folies Bergere" at the Tropicana.

Marshburn has been a professional dancer for over 16 years and said she got her start at a competitive dance studio like North Stars.

"I love teaching but I can't believe I fit it into my schedule," she said.

After she finishes teaching her class, Marshburn takes her 3-year-old daughter Cipriana Leanne to their Centennial Hills home for a bath and some dinner before rushing off to the Tropicana. She is a dancer in the short line as well as the line captain.

"I just want to keep dancing," she said. "My heart's definitely into it."

The Sanford, N.C., native began dancing professionally at the age of 16 at the theme park Carowinds in Charlotte, N.C. She moved closer to the park with her mother and paid for their apartment in order to perform.

"I was still in high school," she said. "I didn't go to my prom or anything like that."

Marshburn has performed in a national tour of "Chicago," at Six Flags Great Adventure in New Jersey and on many cruise ships which traveled to the Eastern and Western Caribbean, Alaska and Hawaii. She also has choreographed and worked as a dance captain for many companies.

Since coming to Las Vegas, Marshburn has performed at Luxor, Harrah's and the Rio. She has been with "Folies Bergere" for two years and has been teaching at North Stars in northwest Las Vegas for almost a year.

"The dance studio hires great teachers. The whole showgirl thing came as, 'Wow, she's a showgirl,' " said Marie Bilodeau, whose daughter is in one of Marshburn's classes.

Marshburn teaches a class which prepares the students for their team auditions. Teams compete against other Stars National Dance studios.

"I think it's fantastic that she can give an insight into what's really out there," said Marty Quillin, the academy's director. "She can teach at the very ground level and can share her love of dancing with the students. A lot of people that are that big of a star can't be bothered."

Marshburn said the students have to be able to perform techniques correctly to make it on the competitive teams. She said her critique is stricter during tryouts than during class time.

"They're learning real dancing, true technique," said Mary Anne Putman, whose daughter is a student of Marshburn's.

Many of Marshburn's students are excited to learn from a professional dancer.

"She shows us that we might be good one day because she's a real dancer," said Savannah Barris, 9, who wants to be a ballerina.

The academy has classes for children ages 3-18. Besides the competitive teams there are ballet classes that present "The Nutcracker" every year at the Nicholas Horn Theatre at CCSN's Cheyenne campus.

"I never turn a student away," said Quillin. "If I don't have a class for them I'll create a class for them."

The academy offers non-competitive classes and Quillin said there is no pressure for students to try-out for a team.

"If they want to dance, they dance," she said.