Board of Trustees

Marla Brattain Hansen

Artistic Director Emeritus, Founder, Board President

Marla is the Emeritus Artistic Director of Idaho Dance Theatre (IDT), which she and her husband, Alfred Hansen founded in 1989. She has choreographed over 80 ballets for IDT and collaborated with numerous other artists including composers Jim Cockey, David Allen Earnest, Eric Sandmeyer, Eric Alexander, pianists Del Parkinson and Mark Hansen, soprano Laura Rushing Raynes, among many others. She also collaborates with other major arts organizations in Boise, including Opera Idaho, Idaho Shakespeare Festival and the Boise Philharmonic. An acclaimed teacher, Marla was named the American Alliance for Health, Physical Education, Recreation and Dance, “Dance Educator of the Year”, the Idaho Dance Educator of the year in 2017, and was also one of the 2015 Women of the Year honored by the Idaho Business Review. Marla has twice served as a panelist for the National Endowment for the Arts.

Marla is also a Professor Emeritus at Boise State University and was the Director of Dance in the Department of Theatre Film and Creative Writing for over 30 years. She directed the Dance Minor, and the BSU-Idaho Dance Theatre Summer DanceFest workshop. She choreographed regularly for BSU Theatre and Music Department productions including Cabaret, Pippin, Into the Woods, Iolanthe, Cinderella, Thoroughly Modern Millie, Urine Town the Musical, and Pirates Penzance, Spongebob- the Musical to name a few.

Marla began her early professional training as a Harkness Ballet company trainee in New York City. She earned her BFA and MFA in ballet at the University of Utah while apprenticing with Ballet West. She then danced at Portland Ballet Company for three years and choreographed for several Northwest companies. From 1981 to 1989 she danced with American Festival Ballet (now known as Ballet Idaho) in Idaho and was a teacher, ballet mistress, choreographer and acting artistic director. She choreographed the full-length Cinderella and Firebird. In 1988 she received the Idaho Commission on the Arts Artist Fellowship for her Firebird choreography.

honorary

Sally Casler

Community Arts Advocate/Volunteer

Our Mission

We create, perform, and teach dance so that Idaho communities Can experience dance.

To realize this mission, the Idaho Dance Theatre strives to:

Community

• Provide outreach and educational programs to impact the cultural landscape of our community.

• Curate unique experiences that bring the creative process to our audience.

• Bring Idaho’s unique artistic voice to the world stage. 

Artistic Development

• Develop a collaborative platform that challenges choreographers to create and present new dynamic works. 

• Create a space for talented dancers to develop their profession and explore new creative forms.

• Collaborate with international dancers and choreographers both at home and abroad. 

Our Mailing Address:

P.O. Box 6635, Boise, ID 83707

Phone:

(208) 331-9592