Faculty

Ballet Instructor, Costume Mistress

Valerie, originally from Pittsburgh, PA, began her studies with Ecole de Ballet, a charter of The Royal Academy of Dance, earning honors in all of her examinations. She went on to study with the Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre School and Point Park Conservatory. While training with PBT, she performed in Keith Martins' Nutcracker, George Balanchine's The Nutcracker, Petroushka, Much Ado About Nothing, Swan Lake, and Hansel and Gretel, among others. At the same time, Valerie studied and performed with the Tamburitzans, Slaviani and Nicholas Jordanoff Summer Ensemble. 

Valerie has been teaching classical ballet in the Greater-Pittesburgh area for over 30 years. She has choreographed for several events in the City of Pittsburgh, including the Mayor Bob O'Connor Memorial in 2007 and the annual Pittsburgh Irish Fsstival. Her choreographic works also include several original children's ballets such as Falling Stars, The Magic Toy Shop, and Celtic Suite. 

In addition to her classical dance credits, Valerie has spent the last 20 years as Seton-La Salle High School's spring musical director. She has directed, choreographed, and produced many titles including, but not limited to, Damn Yankees, Into the Woods, Godspell, Pippin, Copacobana, Jesus Christ Superstar, and Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat.

Guest Faculty

 Haylie, originally from Mt. Pleasant, PA, began her dance training with Laurel Youth Ballet of Greensburg. With the school, she performed leading roles including the title role in Cinderella, Lilac Fairy in The Sleeping Beauty, and Odile in Swan Lake. She was invited to perform with Texture Contemporary Ballet under Alan Obuzor for their 2013 New Years’ Opening Night production. Haylie then went on to earn a Bachelor of Arts in Dance at Mercyhurst University where she performed repertoire such as George Balanchine’s Concerto Barocco (First Violin), A Midsummer Night’s Dream (Helena), The Dying Swan, and The Nutcracker (Sugar Plum Fairy) under the direction of Tauna Hunter. She also performed numerous soloist roles created by Melissa Bobick, Tauna Hunter, Michael Gleason, Jon Lehrer, and Rick McCullough. While at Mercyhurst, she also performed with SoMar Danceworks under the direction of Mark and Solveig Santillano, Lake Erie Ballet Theater under direction of Lesley Bories-Scalise, and Cleveland Ballet Conservatory under direction of Kerry Skuderin. In 2014, Haylie competed at the Youth American Grand Prix Finals in New York City. She choreographed works for the Mercyhurst Dance Outreach Team which were performed throughout the Erie region. Upon graduating, Haylie attended medical school at Lake Erie College of Osteopathic Medicine in Erie, PA and is joining the UPMC Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation residency program Class of 2025. Her goal is to continue training young dancers with a focus on proper musculoskeletal utilization and injury prevention.  

Guest Faculty, Master Teacher

 Tauna is Professor Emeritus and retired Chair of Dance at Mercyhurst University (1994-2019). She began her dance training with Willam F. Christensen and continued at the University of Utah where she earned B.F.A. and M.F.A. degrees in ballet performance and choreography. She performed as a principal dancer with Ballet West and Dallas Ballet and appeared as a guest artist with Ballet Concerto, Colorado Ballet, David Taylor Dance Theatre, Northern Ballet Theatre (England), The Pavlova Celebration International Tour and numerous regional companies throughout the United States. During her affiliation with Ballet West, she worked under the guidance of Bruce Marks and Toni Lander and received critical acclaim as one of the company’s leading ballerinas. In 1982, she placed as a semi-finalist at the II International Competition in Jackson Mississippi. In 1985, she co-founded DANSOURCE, a national networking and information service that connected dancers and companies for over ten years. As its’ Managing Director, she was highlighted in “Megatrends 2000” and featured in “Success” Magazine as a trendsetter in the future of the arts. Ms. Hunter has appeared in all the major roles of the classical repertoire and has taught for companies, universities and private schools throughout the United States and in England, Canada and China. She has staged numerous full-length classical ballets and choreographed over twenty-five contemporary works. For 10 years she was a Guest Artist in Residence for the Interlochen Arts Academy summer dance program. She has been honored with the Chautauqua Artist Teacher Award, Erie Arts and Culture Life Time Achievement Award, the University of Utah Legacy Award and was highlighted in the July 2017 issue of Dance Teacher Magazine. She currently serves as Vice Chair of the Erie Arts and Culture board, where she also acts as chair for the Fund Development Committee. In addition, she also serves on the Advisory Boards of Ballet Concerto (TX) and Dance Now Miami! (FL). In the past she has served on the University of Utah Artistic Advisory Council, the National Association of Schools of Dance board and locally acted as artistic advisor to Lake Erie Ballet for eighteen years as well as serving as President and Chairman of the board for the Erie Dance Consortium (Erie, PA) from 2000-2010. Ms. Hunter has been married to Michael S. Gleason for 34 years and they have a 27-year-old daughter, Caitlin. When she is not teaching, coaching or staging ballets, she enjoys traveling with her family, gardening, golfing and spending the cold months in their peid à terre in Florida. As a breast cancer survivor, she actively supports breast cancer awareness. 

Photography by Rick Klein

Guest Faculty, Master Teacher

Michael’s 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. Upon completing his professional career, he attended Mercyhurst University under the “Returning Professional Program” and graduated Summa Cum Laude with a B.A. in Dance.

Mr. Gleason co-founded and acted as the Executive Director of DANSOURCE, an information and referral service that for ten years linked companies with dancers, teachers and choreographers. From 1994 - 2016 he served as Production Manager and Resident Designer for The Mercyhurst Dancers and the Mercyhurst Opera for which he designed sets, lights and costumes for Giselle, Cinderella, The Nutcracker, Carmen, The Sleeping Beauty (opera), Song of Norway, Don Giovanni, and Marriage of Figaro.

His forty years of teaching and coaching experiences include work with artists from the Norwegian National Ballet, American Ballet Theatre, Joffrey Ballet, Boston Ballet, Cleveland/San Jose Ballet, Nashville Ballet, Pacific Ballet Theatre, Cincinnati Ballet and Charleston Ballet Theatre. From 1994-2019 he taught ballet, pointe, men’s technique, pas de deux and choreographed for the Mercyhurst Dance Department.

He is a long standing member for the CORPS de Ballet International.

Photography by Rick Klein