Inna Yureneva - Guest Instructor, Summer Intensive Week 1: July 27-31:
Ms. Yureneva graduated from the Bolshoi Ballet Academy in Moscow, Russia. During her time as student in Moscow, Inna performed in numerous productions of the Bolshoi Theater. In the summer of 2002, she immigrated to New York with her family.
Since then, she has performed with many national ballet companies including the Metropolitan Opera. In 2015 Inna received a degree in classical ballet pedagogy from the Bolshoi Ballet Academy in Moscow. In 2018 she completed a certification program in Vaganova Ballet Academy in St. Petersburg as well as teacher certification from the American Ballet Theater (ABT) National Training Curriculum. In 2019 Inna participated in IDA competition in Florence, Italy as a ballet juror.
Inna has extensive teaching experience, working with students of all ages and skill levels, both in the United States and abroad. From 2012 - 2021 Ms. Yureneva has acted as an Artistic Director of the Bolshoi Ballet Academy annual summer intensive program in Connecticut and Teacher Certification program in New York.
Peter LeBreton Merz - Guest Instructor, Summer Intensive Week 1: July 27-31:
Mr. Mertz joined Ballet West as the Director of the Academy in 2015. He is known as a master teacher for his enthusiastic and encouraging approach to ballet training.
Mr. Mertz has choreographed over 40 original ballets across the USA and internationally. His award-winning choreography relies heavily on his background in classical ballet, but is informed by his passion for contemporary dance forms. As a performer he worked with the Dayton Ballet, the Louisville Ballet and the Cincinnati Ballet. In 2002, he served as the Artistic Administrator for the USA International Ballet Competition in Jackson, MS.
In 2004, Mr. Merz joined the faculty of Point Park, where he was an associate professor of dance and Head of Ballet. He has served as a judge and Master Teacher for Youth America Grand Prix, the American Dance Competition, the American Ballet Competition, and many other organizations. He has twice been named Outstanding Choreographer by the Youth America Grand Prix, and was also honored to be named Outstanding Teacher by that organization in 2014.
Mr. Merz holds a BFA in Theater Design and Production from the University of Cincinnati’s College Conservatory of Music, and an MBA in Sports, Arts, and Entertainment Management from Point Park University.
Francis Lawrence - Guest Instructor, Summer Intensive Week 2: August 3-August 7:
Francis Lawrence was born in Melbourne, Australia and studied with Lorraine Blackbourn before furthering his studies at the Australian Ballet School. He has danced with Australian Ballet Company, New York Theatre Ballet, Grand Rapids Ballet, New Jersey Ballet and the Dance Theatre of Harlem. Francis has performed in all the major classical ballets such as Swan Lake, Don Quixote, Sleeping Beauty, The Nutcracker to modern/contemporary works by choreographer’s such as George Balanchine, Nacho Duato, Twyla Tharp, Jiri Kylian, Jose Limon, Alvin Ailey, Paul Taylor, Ulysses Dove, Glen Tetley, Lew Christensen, John Neumeier, Olivier Weavers, Mario Radacovsky, Petre Martins, Donald Byrd, Darrel Grand Moultrie, Robert Garland & Andy Blakenbuehler. Francis has appeared in musicals, such as “An American in Paris,” “West Side Story,” and “The Wiz,” films, and TV shows like “Law & Order.” He is now a freelance artist and teacher in New York City.
Michael Burke - Guest Instructor, Summer Intensive Week 2: August 3-August 7:
Michael Burke, originally from Mexico, Missouri, trained at the Mareck Center for Dance and Beijing Dance Academy. He graduated from the University of Cincinnati’s College Conservatory of Music with a BFA in Ballet. Michael joined Saint Louis Ballet in 2016 under the direction of Gen Horiuchi where he is currently a company member. He has danced with Deos Contemporary Ballet since 2019 for their summer COLLIDE series, festival appearances, and dance for film projects. Michael has also performed with Indianapolis Ballet, Terpsicorps Theatre of Dance, Kentucky Ballet Theatre, and Birmingham Ballet. Highlights from his performance career include Albrecht in Giselle, Prince Siegfried in Swan Lake, the principal pas de deux in Christopher Wheeldon’s After the Rain, Carousel (A Dance), Within the Golden Hour, and The American, the leading roles in George Balanchine’s Who Cares?, Allegro Brillante, Western Symphony, Square Dance, and Valse Fantasie, Twyla Tharp’s Nine Sinatra Songs, Jerome Robbins’ Interplay, Justin Peck’s In Creases, John Keats in Tess Sinke’s My Dearest Girl, and The Mad Hatter in Brian Enos’s Alice in Wonderland. He has also originated roles in works by Amy Seiwert, Steve Rooks, Kevin Jenkins, Emery LeCrone, and Princess Grace Award winner Kameron N. Saunders, among others.
Tatiana Kalistratova - Guest Instructor, Summer Intensive Week 3: August 10-August 14:
Tatiana Kalistratova grew up in Michigan and received her early ballet training here before being accepted to the famed Vaganova Academy of Russian Ballet in St. Petersburg, Russia.
There, she studied for 2 years with legendary teachers such as; Marina Vasilieva, Anastasia Vasilieva, Zhanna Ayupova, Yulia Makhalina, Vadim Desnitsky, and Alexander Stepin. She graduated with honors and was among the few foreigners to be given the honor to dance soloist roles at the Mariinsky Theater. Ms. Olson has a vast knowledge of classical repertoire and has rehearsed and performed soloist roles from ballets such as Swan Lake, The Nutcracker, Sleeping Beauty, Corsaire, Giselle, Carmen, La Bayadere, Don Quixote, Paquita. Mrs. Kalistratova also extensively studied character dance under the famed Russian character dancer Irina Gensler. Together they rehearsed a large character repertoire from many famous ballets and operas. Ms. Olson is a prize winner of the international ballet competition Youth American Grand Prix and has participated in numerous international ballet festivals and masterclasses to further her education. She has also received additional education with world renowned ballet stars from The Royal Ballet, Het National Ballet, Bolshoi Theater, American Ballet Theater and Mariinsky Theater. After her dancing career, Ms. Tatiana started teaching and has since brought students to some of the most famous schools and programs in the world. Under her instruction, students have gone on to be accepted to schools such as;
Joffrey Ballet School, Ellison Ballet School, Bolshoi Ballet Academy, Russian Masters Ballet Program, Colorado Ballet Academy, and Atlanta Ballet. Her students have also won prizes at numerous international ballet competitions such as World Ballet Art Competition, ADC|IBC, and World Ballet Competition. Ms. Tatiana has a firm approach to the classroom and gives the closest curriculum to Vaganova Academy as she is the only teacher in Michigan to have graduated from the prestigious school.
Tauna Hunter - Guest Instructor, Summer Intensive Week 3: August 10-August 14:
Ms. 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 during the 2023 season 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 Cleveland Ballet Conservatory. 2024 highlights include acting as a judge for the Etoile Dance Competition, staging Willam F. Christensen’s Coppelia Divertissements for the University of Utah and teaching in the U of U Summer Intensive. 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.
Ericka Goss - MBA Artistic Director:
Ms. Goss began dancing at Bohaty’s School of Dance in Michigan and was also a member of the Children’s Ballet Theatre of Michigan. She later became a member of the senior trainee division of the Grand Rapids Ballet through high school, working under Laura Schwenk-Berman and Gordon Pierce-Schmidt. Accepted into Pacific Northwest, Boston Ballet, and Joffrey Midwest summer intensives, she attended Joffrey on full scholarship. After four years in Grand Rapids, Ericka was accepted into Atlanta Ballet’s Pre-Professional Division on full scholarship. Promoted to the company as a Fellowship dancer, she danced as a Fellowship for two years under Sharon Story and John McFall. In the summer of 2011 she attended the LINES Ballet Summer Intensive in San Francisco under full scholarship. After 3 seasons with The Atlanta Ballet, Ericka was hired into the Saint Louis Ballet in St. Louis, MO. She danced with SLB for 7 seasons performing soloist roles and had the opportunity to work with choreographers such as Christopher D'Amboise, Emery LeCrone, Twyla Tharp repeteur Matthew Dibble, Francis Patrelle, Kevin Jenkins, Pam Tanowitz, Gregory Dolbashian, and Michael Uthoff. She danced roles in Balanchine's Western Symphony, Serenade, and was a tall girl in Who Cares? as well as performing soloist roles in Gen Horiuchi's The Nutcracker, Cinderella, Swan Lake, Don Quixote, and Giselle. She is also a founding member of Deos Contemporary Ballet in Grand Rapids, MI.
Ericka is PBT and Pointe Safe certified and has been teaching for 16 years, both with Atlanta Ballet and Saint Louis Ballet School, as well as at the Belleville School of Ballet, Academy of Performing Arts, and Turning Pointe School of Dance.
Grace Sinke - MBA Pre-Professional Division Ballet Instructor:
Ms. Sinke started her training here in Michigan. She has trained and performed with The Grand Rapids Ballet School under Patricia Barker, Turning Pointe School of Dance under Debra Burr, and Complexions Contemporary Ballet under Desmond Richardson and Dwight Roden. She continued her training with The Mercyhurst Dancers under C. Noelle Partusch. She has appeared with The Mercyhurst Dancers, Deos Contemporary Ballet and SoMar Dance works. She has performed classical works including The Nutcracker, Sleeping Beauty, Swan Lake, and Giselle, and has appeared in over 20 contemporary dance works. Grace attended Mercyhurst University on both academic and dance scholarships and graduated with a B.F.A. in dance and a minor in Psychology. She has experience teaching ballet, jazz, contemporary, and creative movement from Mercyhurst University and Turning Pointe School of Dance.
McKenna Hoek - MBA Pre-Professional Division Ballet Instructor:
Ms. Hoek began her training here in Michigan. Her first ten years of dance training were spent dancing competitively in tap, jazz and ballet. She finished her training at Turning Pointe School of Dance under the direction of Debra Burr. She then attended Mercyhurst University where she earned B.A’s in both elementary education and dance performance under the direction of C. Noelle Partusch. Post graduation she had the opportunity to accept a two-year contract at the Louisville Ballet under the direction of Robert Curran, Mikelle Bruzina, and Harold Uwe Kern. During her time there she had the opportunity to be a part of many classic and contemporary productions such as Giselle, The Nutcracker, A Midsummer Night’s Dream and works by renowned choreographers such as Ching Ching Wong. She is excited to be back in the area and teaching at Michigan Ballet Academy.
Rowan Allegra - MBA Pre-Professional Division Ballet Instructor:
Ms. Allegra is a third-generation ballet dancer and was raised in the Bay Area. She began her ballet training with her parents, Andre Reyes and Cynthia Drayer, former principals with San Francisco Ballet. She went on to train at renowned institutions including Boston Ballet School, Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre School, and the San Francisco Conservatory of Dance. Rowan has been dancing professionally since the age of 18 and has worked at Texas Ballet Theater, Indianapolis Ballet, and currently at Grand Rapids Ballet. Rowan has been passionate about the art of teaching ballet since a young age and has experience teaching all levels of dance, from pre-ballet to pre-professional to adult beginner. She has taught various levels at Tulsa Ballet, Sacramento Ballet, Indianapolis Ballet to name a few. Rowan is so happy to be at Michigan Ballet Academy spreading her love of the discipline and beauty of ballet!