Mary Lynn has over forty years of experience performing, teaching, and directing dance.
Her performing background includes dancing principal roles for several Los Angeles based ballet companies, and dancing with the Houston Ballet and the Frankfurt Ballet.
In 1961, after establishing her school in Riverside, California, Mary Lynn founded Riverside Ballet Theatre. During the following twenty-three years, she trained dancers who went on to dance with every major ballet company in the U.S., as well as with international companies such as the National Ballet of Canada, the Stuttgart Ballet, and the Australian Ballet. Her former students include Darci Kistler, Balanchine's last ballerina, and Stephen Legate, winner of the first Erick Bruhn Award and Principal of the San Francisco Ballet.
Since moving to the San Francisco Bay Area in 1984, Mary Lynn has taught for the San Francisco Ballet, Alonso King's "Lines Contemporary Ballet", and Oakland Ballet. She has participated as a faculty member and lecturer for Regional Dance America.