Jean Hartman & Peg E. Garri

Garri Dance Studio 1958

Peg E. Garri was only eight years old when she began taking dance lessons. She was trained by her older sisters that owned and operated The Garri Studios located in Hollywood. These women operated The Garri Studios for 20 years before they retired. Shortly after Peg received her first dance lesson, she landed her first role in a film called "Starmaker", starring Shirley Temple. Peg found herself working as a lead stock dancer for MGM and Universal Studios. In her teenage years, Peg worked closely with Donald O' Connor and again with Shirley Temple. As the frequency of musicals in Hollywood declined, Peg began performing in Night Clubs and in the Hollywood USO. Nightclub life soon declined as well and her last credit was five years of work on a local television station with The Ina Rae Hutton Show.

In 1958, Peg gave up her career as a professional dancer for her family, thus opening The Garri Dance Studio in Burbank, California with her former dance partner Jean Hartman.

Peg continued to teach dance and to instill the love of dance to her students up until just months before the end of her life. She lost her battle with cancer in December of 2000, leaving the studio to her daughter Marybeth Costanzo. Marybeth continued to operate the dance studio honoring her mother's legacy from 2000 to 2003 until retiring from her obligations as owner.

The new owner, Megan Baade, is no new-comer to the Garri Dance Studio. Megan is a former student and admirer of Peg Garri and will became the new owner as of January 2004. The Garri Dance Studio has remained a second home for Megan since her first dance lesson at the age of three. After dancing at the studio for 15 years, under the instruction of various teachers, Megan extended her training into other creative environments. Megan has performed in local, national, and international venues including her most recent USO Tour to Eastern Europe in 2002-2003. In 2007 Megan Baade received the Burbank Leader Reader’s Choice award for “Best Dance Instructor 2007” & Garri Dance Studio was voted “Best Dance Studio 2007”.  In September 2007, Garri Dance Studio will open a second location in Burbank to better serve their growing Garri Dance Studio family. Garri Dance Studio located on Verdugo will remain open.

Peg, Marybeth, and Megan share one common goal and that is to instill the love of dance in their students and to surround them in a positive environment where they can express themselves creatively and artistically.