Sarah Purvis
Artistic DirectorSarah received her early training from the Erie Civic Ballet School under the direction of Arlene Ashton Hay, Robert Steele, and Sharon Filone. As a dancer, she performed with the Lake Erie Ballet Company in Classical Symphony, Concerto Barocco, Coppélia, Giselle, Swan Lake, and The Nutcracker. Her choreographic projects include Untitled Baroque, How the Grinch Stole Christmas, It’s Still Rockin’ Roll To Me, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Peter Pan, The Sleeping Beauty, The Wizard of Oz, Sorcerer’s Apprentice, Cinderella, and excerpts from The Nutcracker. Sarah’s teaching/rehearsal experiences include the Lake Erie Ballet School (9 years), Villa Maria Academy’s Dance Department (13 years), Salt & Pepper Mine Company (1 year) Lakettes Gymnastic Academy (6 years), and Erie Dance Conservatory, now in its ninth season. In 1994, Ms. Purvis was the only student chosen by Sharon Filone to teach at the Lake Erie Ballet School where she remained until opening the Erie Dance Conservatory and Company in 2003. Sarah is currently the Artistic Director of the Erie Dance Conservatory Company, now in its sixth season, and is also on the faculty of New Castle Regional Ballet for the 2010-2011 season. Ms. Purvis is a former president of the Erie Dance Consortium, a celebration of dance in the Erie community, and also holds the position of treasurer for the prestigious Regional Dance America/Northeast, a national organization of dancers, teachers, and choreographers.