Marilyn Peek is a unicorn. Her dance teaching method doesn’t follow the traditional path and that’s why she has such loyal students. So much so, multi-generations of dancers, grandmothers, mothers and daughters, have come through her studio. Now, after 59 years of teaching, Peek (known as Mrs. Peek by her dance students) is hanging up her dancing shoes.

“It was such a hard decision,” said Peek. “It’s going to be hard to deal with. It’s become my life.”

It’s bittersweet, she said. “It’s hard to retire from a job you love. It’s the only job I’ve had my entire life. I thought I’d do it forever. I didn’t think I’d ever get to the point that I’d say ‘I’m done.’”

Peek started dancing when she was three. “My mother put me in dance because she always wanted to dance but wasn’t able to. She sacrificed a lot for me. She wanted me to take lessons so I could become like Shirley Temple.”

She taught herself to sew, Peek said. “She made my costumes. She also taught herself piano so she could play for us.”

Peek teaching one of her dance classes. Courtesy photo

 When Peek was 16 she started teaching dance with her sister. “We said ‘let’s do it,’” she said. “We had that studio in Roy for 10 years. I wanted to be a stay-at-home mom so I retired then.”

The elementary school started having all kinds of clubs and classes after school, said Peek. “I started to teach dance. It began to grow and grow. It became too big and the school said I couldn’t do it anymore so I found a studio.”

Peek taught for 10 years in South Ogden. “The owners sold the building,” she said. “Meanwhile COVID happened. I thought maybe I should be done.”

However, Peek said she found another studio. “I taught for five years through the ups and downs of COVID. We had to have masks during recitals and every 50 minutes we had to stop and wipe things down. Kids had to practice at home.”

Peek’s daughter Ginger Hawkes started dancing with her mom when she was three. “She was my mom but also my dance teacher,” she said. “We used to joke that Mrs. Peek was two different people and I loved them both.”

It’s been a full circle moment, Hawkes said. “My mom was always Mrs. Peek (at dance) and when she started teaching my children they never called her grandma in class. They’d say ‘that’s my grandmother but she’s Mrs. Peek.’”

It’s her true passion, said Hawkes. “Mom believes in students having a very traditional dance experience. She stuck to that traditional form and people loved her for it.”

The number of kids she taught is baffling, she said. “She makes everyone feel like they can dance but that they could do other things too. That although they loved dance it didn’t have to be their career.”

Mom likes to be involved in everything, Hawkes said. “At other studios lots of the assistants would go home but not her. Her name was on the sign and she felt responsible for the classes that were taught and what she wanted to come out of them.”

Debbie Stalder’s daughters and now grandchildren have danced with Peek. “We love Mrs. Peek,” she said. “She had high expectations but she made kids all feel loved, valued and important.”

Stalder liked that Peek didn’t have competitions. “Kids were well taught and well performed and ready for recitals.”

“I thought about waiting to retire when I hit 60 years of teaching,” said Peek. “But I turned 75 and I’ve had a few friends who passed away or had dementia. I decided I’d like time to enjoy retirement while I could.”

Peek said she doesn’t have anything specific planned for retirement. “There are so many things  that I put on the back burner. I have a hard time just sitting around. Dance was always on my mind – it’s part of my brain. I’ll just have to enjoy life in a different way. You are what you feel.”