Our Staff

Christina Maria is considered one of the leaders in dance of Erie, PA. She arrived here, after dancing with Boston Ballet, as one of the first members of the professional company at Lake Erie Ballet. The Erie Times News reviews, “Christina Maria, with her musicality and relaxed stage presence, was the pin that held…succeeds in one of dance’s toughest challenges-projecting warmth and personality from the stage…gives the impression of not simply repeating what she has been taught, but expressing something she really feels.” In addition, she was the Artistic Director of the Lake Erie Ballet for nine successful years, retiring in 2004, as well as being instrumental in bringing dance in the Greater Erie area together in the first Erie Festival of Dance. Training dancers to excel and capture the love of dance is her greatest passion.

Early training began at Charmaine’s School of Dance in Roseville, MI. Christina eventually moved to Dallas, TX to train with Natalia Krassovska, former prima ballerina Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo then later to Dallas Metropolitan Ballet, Honor Company of the Southwest Regional Ballet Festival under the direction of Ann Etgen and Bill Atkinson. She also received training during the summers at School of American Ballet, San Francisco Ballet School and after graduation she joined Boston Ballet II. She has also appeared with Boston Ballet, Et Tois, Tu Danses (Milwaukee, WI) and several other guest performances in the nation. She danced with Lake Erie Ballet for 14 years before retiring to raise and home school her children. During her time at Lake Erie Ballet, she created many original ballets for the Company which were toured throughout the region. She is widely respected in the dance community and has taught and advised in several area schools as an independent instructor including adjunct faculty for the Mercyhurst University Dance Department and Gannon University.

In 2014, she founded Sovereign Ballet with the goal of fostering both strong technique and a positive atmosphere for dancers. 

Christina Maria’s legacy continues as she has reprised her role as Artistic Director of Lake Erie Ballet Company in 2021. This fresh new direction has brought community collaboration and has inspired the World Premiere of "Erie’s Nutcracker Reimagined."  Because of this community mindedness, she was invited by WQLN to coordinate the staging of Nutcracker for film, which premiered in December 2023.

Marquis Wallace is a multidisciplinary artist, educator, and nonprofit leader whose work is rooted in creativity, community engagement, and cultural enrichment. He received his artistic training in New York City through ArtsConnection and the renowned Rod Rodgers Dance Company, where he began his professional journey as a Young Artist apprentice. These formative experiences shaped his commitment to using the arts as a powerful tool for education, self-expression, and community building.

Today, Marquis is recognized as an interdisciplinary creator whose work spans performance, arts education, and nonprofit leadership. Throughout his career, he has developed and supported programs that increase access to the arts, foster meaningful community connections, and celebrate diverse cultural perspectives.

As Executive Director of Lake Erie Ballet Company, Marquis combines artistic vision with strategic leadership to advance the organization's mission of inspiring, educating, and enriching the community through dance. He is passionate about expanding opportunities for artists of all backgrounds, strengthening community partnerships, and ensuring that high-quality arts experiences remain accessible to everyone. Under his leadership, the company continues to grow as a welcoming and inclusive organization that values excellence, creativity, and cultural relevance in all of its programming.

A versatile and adventurous performer, Jonathan R. Moser – conductor, violinist, violist, vocalist, and teacher – has served as concertmaster for Pittsburgh Opera Theater, Music on the Edge, the Erie Philharmonic, and Musica Nova, among others. He has served as Principal Second Violin with the Erie Philharmonic, the Youngstown Symphony, the Bay-Atlantic Symphony, and the Wheeling Symphony.

Mr. Moser has loved music ever since childhood when he would sit under the family piano listening to his parents and grandmother playing Beethoven, Chopin, and Rachmaninoff. During his education, he discovered a passion for conducting. Mr. Moser has been the Artistic Director/ Music Director of the Erie Jr. Philharmonic, the Mercyhurst Civic Orchestra, the Kutztown University Symphony Orchestra, the Wilmington Community Orchestra, and the Westminster Symphony Orchestra.

An advocate of lifelong learning, Mr. Moser has over the past 5 years, developed skills and training as both a piano technician and a string repair technician. He is currently the Luthier for Volkwein's Music in Pittsburgh. 

Summers, Mr. Moser works as the Orchestra Program Director for the Philadelphia International Music Festival where he organizes and oversees up to ten orchestras reaching nearly 500 students. He also oversees all their various competition auditions, prescreening hundreds of auditions each year. Mr. Moser is an alum of the Pierre Monteux School & Music Festival, where he attended in 2018 as a Bernard Osher Conducting Scholar.