Ariella (Aria) Maree Rush (born Mary Marie Stoehr June 9, 1956 in

Canton, Ohio Canton () is a city in Stark County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. It is the List of cities in Ohio, eighth-most populous city in Ohio, with a population of 70,872 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. The Canton–Massillo ...

)State of Ohio Vital Records is an American

ballroom dancer Ballroom dance is a set of European partner dances, which are enjoyed both socially and competitively around the world, mostly because of its performance and entertainment aspects. Ballroom dancing is also widely enjoyed on stage, film, and tel ...

noted for dazzling and complex dance routines with her various professional dance partners, the most notable being Keith Knox, from 1976 through 1981. Fred Astaire Dance Studios Rush and Knox were best known for their

tango Tango is a partner dance and social dance that originated in the 1880s along the Río de la Plata, the natural border between Argentina and Uruguay. The tango was born in the impoverished port areas of these countries from a combination of Arge ...

, cha-cha and

mambo Mambo most often refers to: *Mambo (music), a Cuban musical form *Mambo (dance), a dance corresponding to mambo music Mambo may also refer to: Music * Mambo section, a section in arrangements of some types of Afro-Caribbean music, particul ...

routines, as well as, high-energy swing dancing. Rush made appearances all over the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

including

Disney World The Walt Disney World Resort is an entertainment resort complex located about southwest of Orlando, Florida, United States. Opened on October 1, 1971, the resort is operated by Disney Experiences, a division of the Walt Disney Company. ...

Orlando, Florida Orlando ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Orange County, Florida, United States. The city proper had a population of 307,573 at the 2020 census, making it the fourth-most populous city in Florida behind Jacksonville, Florida, Jacksonville ...

Universal Studios Universal Studios may refer to: * Universal Studios, Inc., an American media and entertainment conglomerate ** Universal Pictures, an American film studio ** Universal Studios Lot, a film and television studio complex * Various theme parks operat ...

Six Flags Over Georgia Six Flags Over Georgia is a amusement park in Austell, Georgia, United States. Opened in 1967, it is the second park in the Six Flags chain following the original Six Flags Over Texas, which opened in 1961. Six Flags Over Georgia is one of t ...

Six Flags Over Texas "Six flags over Texas" is the slogan used to describe the six sovereign countries that have had control over some or all of the current territory of the U.S. state of Texas: Spain (1519–1685; 1690–1821), France (1685–1690), Mexico (1821� ...

, the

Roseland Ballroom The Roseland Ballroom was a multipurpose hall, in a converted ice skating rink, with a colorful ballroom dancing pedigree, in New York City's Theater District, New York, theater district, on 52nd Street (Manhattan), West 52nd Street in Manhattan ...

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

and the Fox Theatre in

Atlanta, Georgia Atlanta ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Georgia (U.S. state), most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. It is the county seat, seat of Fulton County, Georg ...

. Rush is also credited under other aliases, including Arianna, Aria Rose, and Maree Champion.

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution ''The Atlanta Journal-Constitution'' (''AJC'') is an American daily newspaper based in metropolitan area of Atlanta, Georgia. It is the flagship publication of Cox Enterprises. The ''Atlanta Journal-Constitution'' is the result of the merger ...

Rush and Knox competed in professional

ballroom dancing Ballroom dance is a set of European partner dances, which are enjoyed both socially and competitively around the world, mostly because of its performance and entertainment aspects. Ballroom dancing is also widely enjoyed on stage, film, and te ...

, and were named the 1979 Southeast Rising Star Champions at the National Dance Championships held at the Peachtree Plaza Hotel in

Atlanta, GA Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County and extends into neighboring DeKalb County. With a population of 520,070 (2024 estimate) living within the city limits, At ...

. Marietta Daily Journal This win qualified them to compete in the most prestigious of all international dance competitions,

Blackpool Dance Festival The 8-day Blackpool Dance Festival is the world's first and most famous annual ballroom dance competition of international significance, held in the Empress Ballroom at the Winter Gardens, Blackpool, England, since 1920. It is also the largest ...

; however, an injury forced Rush's early retirement.

Early life

Rush grew up as Marie Stoehr in

Marietta, Georgia Marietta is a city in and the county seat of Cobb County, Georgia, United States. At the 2020 census, the city had a population of 60,972. The 2019 estimate was 60,867, making it one of Atlanta's largest suburbs. Marietta is the fourth largest ...

, and started dance and piano lessons at the age of five. She actively participated in talent shows throughout her childhood, appearing as a very young guest numerous times on Freddie Miller's television broadcasts, ''Stars of Tomorrow'' and ''Dance Party''.WXIA-TV, Atlanta, GA

WAGA-TV WAGA-TV (channel 5) is a television station in Atlanta, Georgia, United States, serving as the market's Fox Broadcasting Company, Fox network outlet. Owned and operated by the network's Fox Television Stations division, the station maintains st ...

, Atlanta, GA She briefly competed in

beauty pageant A beauty pageant is a competition in which the contestants are judged and ranked based on various physical and mental attributes. Per its name, beauty pageants traditionally focus on judging the contestants' physical attractiveness, sometimes sol ...

s, winning runner up to the NGA Fair Queen at the North Georgia Fairgrounds in 1970. She later became a model and professional dancer, and taught ballroom dancing at Fred Astaire Dance Studios, in addition to performing and competing.

Later years

After retiring from dancing and modeling, Rush produced programming for television broadcast in

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the South Caucasus * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the southeastern United States Georgia may also refer to: People and fictional characters * Georgia (name), a list of pe ...

North Carolina North Carolina ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, South Carolina to the south, Georgia (U.S. stat ...

, and

Tennessee Tennessee (, ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders Kentucky to the north, Virginia to the northeast, North Carolina t ...

from 1994 to 2000.

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Standard Group, Cornelia, GA She is most known for her creation, direction, and production of a weekly adventure series called ''The Highroad South'' which began in 1998, and aired in the Alltel cable system until December, 2000. Reruns of ''The Highroad'' continued, by popular demand, for two years after Rush shut down production for personal reasons. In the 2000s, Rush promoted musicians and bands and was involved in

music video A music video is a video that integrates a song or an album with imagery that is produced for promotion (marketing), promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a music marketing device intended to ...

choreography Choreography is the art of designing sequences of movements of physical bodies (or their depictions) in which Motion (physics), motion or Visual appearance, form or both are specified. ''Choreography'' may also refer to the design itself. A chor ...

Guns N' Roses Guns N' Roses is an American hard rock band formed in Los Angeles, California in 1985 as a merger of local bands L.A. Guns and Hollywood Rose. When they signed to Geffen Records in 1986, the band's "classic" line-up consisted of vocalist Axl R ...

Today

Your Vegas Your Vegas was a British rock music, rock band from Leeds, England, formed by Coyle Girelli, Mat Steel, Jon Langford, Mal Taylor and Mark Heaton. Background The band started playing music together while attending Prince Henry's Grammar School ...

, A Town & Two Cities, Universal 2008

Personal life

Rush currently lives in northeast Texas.Herald Democrat, July 13, 2010

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rush, Ariella M. American ballroom dancers American choreographers American television directors American television producers American women television producers 1956 births Living people American women television directors 21st-century American women