Sarah Purvis

Artistic Director

Ballet/Pilates/Pointe/Variations

Sarah 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 (10 years), Salt & Pepper Mine Company (1 year) Lakettes Gymnastic Academy (3 years), and Erie Dance Conservatory (6 years).  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.  Ms. Purvis is the President-Elect 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. 

Angela D’Aurora

Hip Hop/Tap

Angela D’Aurora, originally from Erie, PA, began her dance training at the age of three at Little’s Dance Studio, where she remained for fifteen years under the direction of Catherine and Sandra Barnett Little.  Trained in jazz, tap, ballet, and hip hop, with experience in modern and contemporary styles, Ms. D’Aurora was also a member of Jazz Kids Dance Company.  From 2000- 2004, Ms. D’Aurora was a member of the Mercyhurst Prep Dance Team and the first MPS Competitive Dance Team.  She also danced with and choreographed for the Erie Freeze Chiller Girls in 2005 and 2006, the official dance team of the Erie Freeze Arena football team (AIFL).  Ms. D’Aurora graduated with her B.A. in Communication and Media Studies from Pennsylvania State University- The Behrend College in 2008 and was also the recipient of the 2007-2008 Penn State Behrend Spirit Award.  While there, she was a member of and choreographer for the Penn State Behrend Dance Team, where she served as co-captain, captain, and assistant coach.  With the PSB Dance Team, she had the opportunity to compete in local and regional competitions in the hip hop and jazz categories, and performed at a Cleveland Cavaliers game in 2004.  Ms. D’Aurora has been an instructor at EDC since June 2006, teaching jazz and hip-hop to all ages for EDC summer sessions.

Carrie O’Donnell

Jazz

Carrie O’Donnell began her dance training in her hometown of Erie, PA.  She performed in Disney World with the Performing Arts Team and studied jazz, ballet, pointe, tap, acrobatics, hip hop, and adagio. In high school, she was a member of the McDowell Dance Team before leaving Erie for Slippery Rock University, where she earned a Bachelor’s Degree in Elementary Education with a minor in Dance.  Ms. O’Donnell took classes in not only modern, hip hop, jazz, and ballet, but also in creative movement, kinesiology, improvisation, choreography, and the teaching of dance.  She performed as a member of SRU’s Dance Theatre, and studied under the tutelage of Nora Ambrosio, Thom Cobb, Teena Custer, Ursula Payne, Nola Nolen-Holland, and Melissa Teodoro.  Upon graduation, Ms. O’Donnell became head coach and choreographer for Gannon University’s Dance Team.  She has choreographed for Millcreek Gymnastics and directed their annual show twice.  Ms. O’Donnell has worked with children of all ages and ability levels, creating a number of successful dance experiences for students in the public school system.  Most recently, Carrie has participated in both NFL and NBA dance workshops, and performed at an Orlando Magic game.  She is a teacher in the Millcreek Township School District and a fitness instructor at Nautilus and Family First Sports Park.  This is Ms. O’Donnell’s first year at EDC.

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Ballet/Jazz/Modern/Pointe

Dara is originally from Reading, PA, and she began dancing at the age of 3. She received a B.A. with Honors in Dance with concentrations in Performance and Teaching/Choreography from Mercyhurst College in 2008 and has trained at such institutions as the Wyomissing Institute of Fine Arts, Berks Ballet Theatre, and most recently, The Rock School for Dance Education in Philadelphia, PA. She has had the opportunity to train under Bojan & Stephanie Spassoff, Christopher Fleming, Maiqui Manosa, Cherie Noble, and Tauna Hunter and has attended various summer intensives including the American Dance Festival, The Paul Taylor School, and the Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre School. Ms. Swisher has been featured in numerous classical and contemporary works, including those by George Balanchine, Bill Evans, Brigett Moore, Jessica Lang, and Teena Custer, and performed and collaborated as a member of SoMar Dance Works from 2006 to 2008. She has been choreographing since 2002 and her work has since been showcased by the Rock School for Dance Education, American College Dance Festival, Chautauqua Regional Youth Ballet, and the Mercyhurst Dancers. This is Ms. Swisher’s first season with Erie Dance Conservatory.

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Diann Smith

Tap

Diann began her training at the young age of three in Pittsburgh, PA.  Currently, Diann teaches general music and marching band for the General McLane School District.  This is Diann’s second year teaching Tap at the Erie Dance Conservatory.   

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Katie Louis

Jazz/Tap

Katie Louis began her dance training in Erie, PA before going on to receive her Education Degree from Edinboro University.  Ms. Louis studied tap, jazz, ballet, pointe, adagio, and acrobatics and had the opportunity to study under and apprentice with Marguerite Timko-Kinney, eventually earning a spot as one of her teachers for children and adults. Ms. Louis had the unique privilege of traveling to Sydney, Australia and performing at the 2000 Summer Olympic Games.  Ms. Louis also studied at the Dance Educators of America Preparation Academy for the Performing Arts Summer Program at Western Kentucky University and has been certified by the Robert Christopher Dance Teacher Seminars.  Her teaching credits also include the Millcreek Recreational Department at Asbury Barn, where she served as a dance instructor for several seasons.  This is Ms. Louis’ first year with EDC.

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Megan Trambley

Ballet and Pointe

Megan trained with the Lake Erie Ballet School, under the direction of Sharon Filone, and at the Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre School.  She danced with Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre for 6 seasons where she performed such roles as the Spring Fairy in Ben Stevenson’s Cinderella, Elegy in George Balanchine’s Serenade, and the Sugar Plum Fairy in The Nutcracker.  She also enjoyed performing contemporary works such as The Rite of Spring and Kevin O’Day’s STING/ing Situations.  Megan also participated in choreographic and fundraising projects such as The Move and The Dancer’s Trust.  Ms. Trambley is on the summer faculty for the Central Pennsylvania Youth Ballet.  This is Ms. Trambley’s fourth season with the Erie Dance Conservatory, and she also serves as the Rehearsal Director for the Company.

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Ballet

Michael  holds a B.A. degree in dance from Mercyhurst College. His professional performing experiences embraced not only ballet, but also modern and jazz.  They carried him from one coast to the other and back again, including seasons with The Metropolitan Opera Ballet, The Cleveland Ballet, The San Francisco Opera Ballet and numerous guest appearances with companies throughout the country.  He began his training in Los Angeles with Eugene Loring and continued his studies in San Francisco, New York and Seattle. He is an adjunct faculty member of the Mercyhurst College Dance Department as well as a member of the Interlochen summer dance faculty since 1998 and presented Preparation for Auditioning for the 2005 Pointe Magazine Audition Workshop in NYC.  His talents also include visual art, theatrical and costume design and coaching.  This is Mr. Gleason’s second season with the Erie Dance Conservatory Company.

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Hip Hop/Jazz

Michael Watson began dancing in Erie, PA at the Little’s Dance Studio when he was in high school where he was soon asked to join Jazz Kids Dance Company.  Upon graduation, Mr. Watson received a scholarship to study at Luigi’s Dance Center in New York City before moving to Omaha, Nebraska. While in Omaha, Mr. Watson taught at the Omaha Ballet School and performed with the Omaha Theater Ballet Company.  His performance credits also include the Mercer Dance Company and the Mercyhurst Dance Company, both in Erie, PA.  Mr. Watson has performed and choreographed locally for numerous events and personal projects.  He has also been a guest choreographer for the Lake Erie Ballet, Chautauqua Regional Youth Ballet, Gannon University, and Penn State Erie – The Behrend College.  His energetic style and unique choreography is loved by dancers and audience alike.  This is Mr. Watson’s firs year with EDC.

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