Amazing Instructors

Carrie Burns-Frase began her training at the Erie Civic Ballet School under Arlene Hay. She spent summers dancing in the Chautauqua Dance Festival Company under the direction of Jean-Pierre Bonnefoux and Violette Verdy. She attended Goucher College in Baltimore, MD where she earned a Bachelor of Arts degree and was honored with the Rosenberg Scholarship and Phi Beta Kappa Award in dance. After graduating, she danced professionally for ten years. The first seven were with the Lake Erie Ballet under the direction of Robert Steele, Jeff Satinoff, and Robert Vicary. Her repertoire included many solo and principal roles ranging from classical to contemporary and modern. The next three years she worked as a freelance artist performing locally and out of state. After an eleven year break from the stage to begin her family, Carrie decided to return to it. In 2010 she brought herself back to condition to take on the challenging role of Sugar Plum Fairy in Lake Erie Ballet’s production of The Nutcracker at the age of 43. She performed the role that year and again in 2011 at the historic Warner Theater with the Erie Philharmonic Orchestra. Her accomplishment was a matter of great local interest and was documented in Erie Times Newspaper as the comeback of the year.
Carrie began teaching ballet in 1992 and has 25 plus years of experience in the classroom with students. She has held teaching positions at the Lake Erie Ballet, Bayfront Ballet, Northcoast Ballet, Mercyhurst University, Westminster Ice Skating Association, Central High School, Erie Dance Theater, and Patterson School of Ballet. Carrie has contributed with choreographing, setting, rehearsing and mounting many dance productions from classical to contemporary. She has enjoyed great fulfillment working with a long list of students in private ballet lessons and personal coaching sessions. Many of these students have gone on to perform major roles and to dance professionally. Carrie also enjoys choreographing and performing liturgical pieces in church. Carrie and her husband are the proud parents of two daughters.

Mona Cole-Coyle grew up in Erie, PA and began dancing
at the age of two. She studied ballet, tap, jazz, musical
theater, and baton. She began cheerleading in high
school, fostering a lifelong love of cheer. She continued
her dance education with swing, Latin, and ballroom
dance and became a Certified Zumba instructor in 2017.
Mona became a staff member of the Warren Extreme
Athletics Cheer Coaching Staff with a focus on tumbling,
strength, and conditioning. Currently, she is working
towards her teaching certification with Acrobatic Arts.
She looks forward to helping her students incorporate
their flexibility and strength into their love of dance.

Tauna Hunter 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 and in 2023 she taught workshops for Joffrey South, University of GA, Ballet Concerto, Margo Dean’s School of Dance, Erie Contemporary Ballet Theatre, Mercyhurst Summer Dance Experience and the Cleveland Ballet Conservatory. She has been honored with the Chautauqua Artist Teacher Award, Erie Arts and Culture Lifetime Achievement Award, the University of Utah Legacy Award and was highlighted in the July 2017 issue of Dance Teacher Magazine. She currently serves on the Advisory Boards of Ballet Concerto (TX) and Dance Now Miami! (FL). She has also served as Chair of the Erie Arts and Culture board, 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. For the 2024-25 season she is teaching for Erie Dance Conservatory, Mercy Hilltop Senior Center, Mercyhurst University, and Sovereign Ballet. Ms. Hunter has been married to Michael S. Gleason for 37 years and they have a 30-year-old daughter, Caitlin. When she is not teaching, coaching, or staging ballets, she enjoys traveling with her family, gardening, and golfing. As a breast cancer survivor, she actively supports breast cancer awareness.