Marisa DeEtte Whiteman

Joined KCB in 2018, +4 Years – Second Company

Marisa DeEtte Whiteman began classical training at Seiskaya Ballet in her hometown of St. James, New York. At age 14, she was invited by Peter Stark to join the Next Generation Ballet, a pre-professional dance program, during which she also danced in La Traviata with Opera Tampa, and in the YAGP Gala at Lincoln Center. She later continued in the pre-professional program at Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre, where she performed Snow and Flowers with the company in The Nutcracker, and the Putti Couple in Septime Webre’s Cinderella. Subsequently, she trained for a year privately and was awarded Top 12 in the Senior Classical Division at YAGP.

Whiteman has spent summers at San Francisco, ABT, and Orlando Ballet, and has performed at the Hermitage Theatre in St. Petersburg, Russia, Jacob’s Pillow where she was featured in a work by Yury Yanowsky for the Gala Performance, as a Stepsister in a benefit performance of Cinderella with Misty Copeland, and featured as Zelda Fitzgerald with Terpsicorps Theatre of Dance.

Since joining Kansas City Ballet in 2014, Whiteman has moved through the ranks as Trainee, KCB II, Apprentice, and into the Main Company. Some of her featured roles have included Bomb Squad in Twyla Tharp’s In the Upper Room, Lead Duet in Alexander Ekman’s Cacti, and in Devon Carney’s Peter Pan as Tinkerbell. She has also enjoyed performing Kick Girl in William Forsythe’s In the Middle, Somewhat Elevated, Petite Mort by Jiří Kylián, Umbra by Myles Thatcher, George Balanchine’s Diamonds, Emeralds, Rubies, The Four Temperaments and Theme and Variations, among others.

In addition to performing, Whiteman is certified in Progressing Ballet Technique (PBT) and Pilates, and she teaches and coaches students at the Kansas City Ballet School for YAGP and other competitions. This past summer, she took on the role of Marketing Director for Moving Arts, a local summer dance company. Upon completion of an internship with the Kansas City Ballet Marketing Department this fall, she will graduate with a B.S. in Business from Pennsylvania State University.

Whiteman is thrilled to begin her 12th season dancing with Kansas City Ballet.