About
Inspired by Gene Kelly who did it all, dancing, acting and directing. I am a professional champion ballroom dancer, danced on Broadway and experienced actor/ award winning filmmaker. 19 years in NYC of teaching/coaching experience including coaching stars like Antonio Banderas, Idina Menzel for film and television.
With scholarships in acting, directing and dancing ("National Shakespeare Conservatory", "Steps on Broadway"), she worked her way up to becoming an award winning filmmaker, ballroom dance champion and actor and now holds dual citizenship, American and German.
Ms. Hettinger’s current award-winning feature “Prince Harming” deals is currently in the festival circuit and so far has won 3 awards and been nominated 9 times. She directed, produced, wrote and acted in it: (https://www.imdb.com/title/tt7146874/?ref_=nv_sr_1trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZUm-IfHlwiU)
Her first feature “Mango Tango” (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0985056/?ref_=nv_srin 2009 alsowon a number of film festival awards, had limited theatrical runs in the US, Germany and Canada, was chosen in 2016 to be part of the Cinemateque Quebecoise and is being distributed by Filmhub via 14 VOD platforms World Wide. (https://www.amazon.com/MANGO-TANGO-Marianne-Het...and others). She wrote, directed and produced three short films:
1) St Vitus Dance (https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1767369/?ref_=fn_al_tt_2 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YiZpy5dC8iU
2) https://www.imdb.com/title/tt2364770/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mv55H6CDjkI
3) https://www.imdb.com/title/tt3626362/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w9UNNqHVQr0
and developed her own TV- talk show format, “Hallo New York” (13 episodes, https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCT5UeQEebPh61Tdn3GrxISg), which ran in Germany and has a YouTube channel. Marianne is an actor and championship dancer and choreographer (www.dancewithmarianne.com) , a member of SAG-AFTRA, the National Board of Review and "Film Fatales" (http://www.filmfatales.org/members/mariannehett...), a collective of female feature directors who support the creation of more films by and about women.
Following in Gene Kelly’s footsteps as a dancing director, she has created her own niche with her quirky humor in films that strive to make a difference,
I enjoy sharing my passion of dancing and acting and the growth I witness as I work with my students - as I teach I learn - I have worked with so many different people from all walks of life, teachers, doctors, train operators and professional actors and dancers. It never gets boring, I always find new approaches because everybody is uniquely different.
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Frequently asked questions
What is your typical process for working with a new student?
Have a conversation what they're looking for and develop a custom made plan for the lessons. The plan might change as they progress and learn more. We start where you are. Humor and joy are always included.
What education and/or training do you have that relates to your work?
Acting: Training: National Shakespeare Conservatory, Diaan Ainslee, Allen Savage, Gotham City Improv. Years of coaching at Individual U (IU) and privately
Dancing: Steps Dance studio scholarship, Merce Cunningham Company scholarship, Ballroom: Dancing with the Stars' Nick Kosovich, Louis vanAmstel and many others
Professional ballet dancer, jazz, modern, tap, belly dancing
Ballroom: Swing (Eastcoast, Westcoast, Jive), Salsa (Mambo, on 2, club style), Bachata, Merengue, Cha Cha, Rumba, Bolero, Samba, Foxtrot, Tango (American and Argentine), Quickstep, Waltz (Slow and Viennese), Hustle, Peabody, Paso Doble,
Do you have a standard pricing system for your lessons? If so, please share the details here.
Sliding scale.
How did you get started teaching?
In order to pay for moving to New York to further my studies, I taught acting and dancing in high school as a teenager.
What types of students have you worked with?
All types, from age 3 to 91. From all walks of life, doctors, mechanics, subway operators, Goldman Sachs executives, billionaires, orphans, Professional actors, athletes and dancers, some of them famous some not
Describe a recent event you are fond of.
An editor for Japanese television, who worked nights started taking my dance classes. He claimed he had two left feet. Overweight, pale and out of shape, he said there was a Japanese proverb, if you do something 1000 times you’ve become somewhat of an expert at it. He actually marked lesson after lesson off, he ended up taking 1000 of my lessons Which took a couple of years and then recently, he took his thousandth lesson. He quit his night job and started teaching salsa dance ! He dropped 80 pounds and everyone wants to dance with him now. He’s a happy camper:-)
What advice would you give a student looking to hire a teacher in your area of expertise?
Look at their professional credits, and make sure they are a decent person and truly want to help you learn with no ego involved.
What questions should students think through before talking to teachers about their needs?
Picture yourself doing something you love and describe it to the teacher - they can help you get there.