Riley Marco

Riley Marco grew up in Shorewood, Illinois where she began dancing at two years old. She was a competitive dancer for 11 years and trained in various styles of dance at local studios. Riley went to Minooka Community High School and was a part of the Minooka Varsity Dance Team her Junior and Senior year. Her senior year of high school MVDT placed in the top three at the IHSA state competition. Riley attended the University of Tennessee, Knoxville and was a four year member of the dance team. She graduated summa cum laude with a Bachelor of Science Degree in Kinesiology. 

During her time on the University of Tennessee Dance Team they won a national championship and finished in the top three six times. Her senior year of college Riley was recognized as an E. Lynn Harris All SEC Spirit Team Member. Along with national recognition Riley danced on the sidelines of a variety of different sporting events including basketball, volleyball, and football, with crowds exceeding 100,000 people. Riley grew as a choreographer throughout college when she was given the opportunity to co-choreograph various sideline routines and the 2023 UDA home routine dance, titled “Voice of God.” Riley was also given the opportunity to choreograph a competitive pom routine for Minooka Varsity Dance Team for their 2023/24 season. She gained experience teaching in various styles of dance and acro as a three year instructor at Revolution Dance Studio in Knoxville, Tennessee. 

Following her college graduation, Riley auditioned for the Chicago Bulls dance teams, the Luvabulls, and will be a part of their 2024-25 team. Riley is thrilled to be able to pour into the students at Thrive and cannot wait to see all of their growth in the years to come.

If you have any questions for Riley regarding any class work, choreography or any other inquiries feel free to email at her at riley@thrivedanceproject.com