Lake Erie Ballet Company BOARD OF DIRECTORS

Leslie has been a part of the ballet world for most of her life. She began taking ballet lessons and performing in dance concerts at the age of 4. At the age of 12, she began her professional training at the Pennsylvania Academy of Ballet until graduating from high school. She continued her training at Indiana University in Bloomington, IN, where she was a ballet major until the age of 21. She performed in many ballet and opera productions at IU, including the Nutcracker, Les Sylphides, The Barber of Seville, and Die Fledermaus to name a few. But she enjoyed touring with IU Ballet Theater most of all, doing lecture demonstrations at local schools and community venues, foreshadowing her future career in education. 

Leslie is currently employed at the Lake Erie College of Osteopathic Medicine as an Instructional Designer and Instructor in the Master of Science and Doctoral Programs in Medical Education. Apart from being a medical educator, Leslie has been a ballet instructor for many years. At Allegheny College, she taught the Upper-Level Ballet course and choreographed several ballet pieces for their Winter and Spring Dance Concerts. Leslie follows an authentic learning approach by creating communities of learning in the classroom and learning environments in the community. This approach pertain to both medical and dance education and is the reason why she is so committed to LEBC’s Community Nutcracker.

Finally, as a former “dance mom”, Leslie enrolled her only daughter, Emma, in several summer ballet intensives over the years from Pittsburgh Youth Ballet to Mercyhurst North East and the former Lake Erie Ballet School. Leslie even did a brief stint in 2018 as the Interim Director at LEB. Needless to say, Leslie’s life-time experiences as a ballet student, performer, teacher, choreographer, mother, and director have prepared her well for her role as the LEBC Board President. 

 Amy Shaut is an Erie native and has enjoyed dancing since the age of three.  She fell in love with ballet in her early teens and danced through high school before attending Chatham University in Pittsburgh, where she earned a Master of Science in Counseling Psychology.  Amy works as a school counselor at Northwest Pennsylvania Collegiate Academy, guiding students through their college and career choices after graduation and preparing them for their next steps.  In her spare time, she enjoys kayaking, biking, baking, and spending time with her family.   

Christina graduated from the University of Findlay with a Doctorate of Physical Therapy. Prior to earning her DPT, she graduated from Mercyhurst University with an Associate degree in Physical Therapy Assistant and a Bachelor of Fine Arts in dance performance from Butler
University in Indianapolis, IN. Christina is trained in Stott Pilates (mat and reformer) and holds certification from New York City's Westside Dance Physical Therapy specializing in dance rehabilitation.
Her experience and passion for dance, paired with her expertise in physical therapy, has provided her with the opportunity to be a lead ballet instructor and conditioning coach for USA Rhythmic Gymnastics. Here she has the opportunity to work with athletes from the national team as well as young hopefuls at the Olympic and Paralympic Training Center in Lake Placid, NY.
Christina's extensive dance training led her to attend the prestigious Pennsylvania Governors
School of the Arts in 2007. She has traveled throughout the USA to train with Paul Taylor,
Boston Ballet, Point Park University, and the Central Pennsylvania Youth Ballet. Christina has traveled throughout Europe performing and furthering her dance training. She performed with Holland America Cruise Line and Stiletto Entertainment. These experiences give her a unique perspective when evaluating and developing treatments for her clients. Treating dancers does not stop in the clinic however. Christina works closely with many of the local dance studios, Mercyhurst University dance department, and Seiche Dance Collective for movement screens and injury prevention. You can often find Christina at many local dance performances whether it is backstage, in the audience, and occasionally on stage herself.
 

Maureen is an attorney with over two decades of legal professional experience.  She is also a lover of the arts and has served the local community on numerous nonprofit boards since returning to her hometown in 2006.  Maureen joined the Lake Erie Ballet Company Board of Directors in 2025.  She was drawn to the mission of the organization because of its focus on dance and the Erie community.  Maureen loves that LEBC brings together local dancers from various schools and studios to learn from each other, while presenting a top-notch community arts event.  Outside of the boardroom, Maureen is a wife and mom to two teenagers.  She enjoys reading and is deeply connected to her hometown Erie community. 

Gregory Morrow, Ph.D. joined the LEBC board in October 2024 and currently serves as the Evaluation Committee Chair. Prior to retiring in June 2022, he spent 31 years in the department of psychology at Edinboro University teaching social psychology, interpersonal relationships, and research methods, while also mentoring students as a research advisor Greg is also a dancer, having spent 6 years learning partnering at Margurite’s Academy of Dance. He currently dances and performs with Sovereign Ballet and takes classes at the Patterson school of Ballet. In addition to dance, Greg also enjoys volunteering with Habitat for Humanity, cycling, sailing, kayaking, pickleball, and travel.

Barbara Priestap has been involved in the dance and theatre worlds for decades which include performing across the USA and Mexico in the “Up With People” cast and performing locally and regionally in multiple shows. She began studying ballet at a young age under the direction of Larry Jones (Dance Theatre of Erie) and Robert Steele (North Coast Ballet Company). Barb has taught ballet and creative movement at Lake Erie Ballet and North Coast Ballet and developed a curriculum for early ballet training that blends interactive/engaging creative movement exploration and traditional ballet pedagogy. Barb is thrilled to be a part of the Lake Erie Ballet Company’s board of directors.