Mary Henley hails from Washington DC and received her training at The Washington School of Ballet under the tutelage of school founder Mary Day. She spent summers studying with Melissa Hayden and the San Francisco Ballet. She has danced professionally with the Louisville Ballet, Chicago City Ballet and Ballet Chicago. Mary also danced with several DC area modern/contemporary companies and also served as their ballet mistress/rehearsal assistant. Mary has performed in works by acclaimed choreographers such as George Balanchine, Kurt Jooss, Ruthanna Boris, Eugene Loring, Lisa DeRibere, Alun Jones, Paul Mejia, and Daniel Duell.

Most recently she was a faculty member at The Maryland Youth Ballet and The Washington School of Ballet where she taught ballet, stretch and Pilates to a variety of ages and levels. Former students have gone on to distinguished careers with The New York City Ballet, Pennsylvania Ballet, Joffrey Ballet, and The Royal Danish Ballet. She is also a certified Pilates trainer.