Dance Company is a course designed to strengthen and improve the work of the already trained dancer through in-class work and performance opportunities.  The main emphasis of the course is to improve the technical performance of the dancers in several different dance genres.  Other aspects such as choreography, terminology, and dance history will also be incorporated.

Acceptance into the Dance Company is by audition. Placement of students into the divisions of the Mercyhurst Dance Program is determined by the instructors based on the students’ abilities.

The dance company divisions include:

• Dance Company (Master)
• Dance Company (Master) – Honors/IB
• Dance Company (Advanced)
• Dance Company (Advanced) – Honors/IB
• Dance Company (Intermediate/Advanced)
• Dance Company (Intermediate/Advanced) – Honors/IB
• Dance Company (Apprentice/Intermediate)
• Dance Company (Apprentice/Intermediate) – Honors/IB

The companies also travel every other year to perform at Walt Disney World in Florida.

This ensemble is comprised of competent instrumentalists who perform for liturgies, school musicals, and Christmas and spring concerts.  The objective of this course is to instill the abilities of blend, dynamics, balance, expression, and taking of directions in an ensemble setting.  This course is for the student who owns or will rent an instrument and is active in playing that instrument. Some instruments may be borrowed from the music department if we have such on hand. The instruments that can be part of the orchestra are all of the woodwinds, brass, strings, and percussion instruments including such “non-orchestra” instruments like the Electric Bass.  The class is designed as an outlet for any student who plays instruments here at MPS.

The MPS Theatre Department produces two fully staged musicals and one play each school year performed in our newly renovated Mercyhurst Preparatory School Performing Arts Center [PAC].

Our Theatre Department has long been recognized as the top high school theater program in the region. In 1995, Mercyhurst Prep’s production of Nunsense was selected to perform at the International Thespian Society’s National Conference in Lincoln, Nebraska. In the fall of 2002, Mercyhurst Prep was the third school in the country to receive the rights to produce the musical Les Miserables, and in 2006 the theatre department was selected to perform at the Festival Fringe in Edinburgh, Scotland. In fall 2014 MPS was privileged to host the first high school performance of Cats in Northwestern PA followed up with the first high school production of Mary Poppins in the spring of 2017.

A Technical Theatre class is also offered which includes set design & construction; building materials; tools; set painting; lighting concept, design and implementation; learning our state of the art All-LED lighting system; audio design; and use of our audio board.  If you ever wanted to take a shop class in high school then this is for you.

Students may also become members of the International Thespian Society, the Performing Arts Department’s Honors Society.

The Vocal Music Department offers various courses for the beginner as well as the accomplished singer.

Concert Choir is an ensemble designed for any student with the desire to sing.  The student will work on music in preparation for performances at MPS, the all-school liturgies and in the community.

Show Choir brings together the art of dance with singing.  The students will also have the privilege of traveling outside of the school to perform for various children, adult and senior citizen events in the Erie area.

Both groups travel every other year to perform at Walt Disney World in Orlando, Florida.

Musical Production is a one-term course that will produce the fall musical. The students learn blocking, vocals, and choreography.

MICHAEL MIELE ‘03 (Department Chair, Musical Vocal Director and Conductor, Classroom Instrumental Instructor) is the Chair of the Performing Arts Department and Director of Instrumental Music at Mercyhurst Preparatory School, where, among other responsibilities, he oversees the school’s orchestra program and is the musical director for all Mercyhurst theatrical events. In this position, Mr. Miele conducted the Northwestern Pennsylvania high school premieres of Andrew Lloyd Weber’s The Phantom of the Opera in 2011, Cats in 2014, Disney’s Mary Poppins in 2017, Disney’s The Hunchback of Notre Dame in 2020, and Anastasia in 2022.

MARYANNE DOMBROWSKI (Chorography, Dance Company Instructor) is well accomplished in the Erie area as both a teacher of dance and as a choreographer.  She is a graduate of Villa Maria Academy, and during her high school summer vacations, she spent time in New York City with Marge Long from Long’s School of Dance, working on certification from Dance Educators of America. She then attended Stephens College in Columbia, Missouri, where she received her BFA in dance and music (piano/voice).

Mrs. Dombrowski’s graduate work in theatre and dance was done at Western Kentucky University, Bowling Green, Kentucky. While at Western, she had an internship with the Dance Department. She assisted the dance director with teaching, choreographing, rehearsing and costuming. She also performed, assisted directed and choreographed for Western’s Children’s Theatre program. Mrs. Dombrowski choreographed as well as played the role of Mazeppa in Gypsy, and the housekeeper in The Man of La Mancha in WKU’s main stage productions.

After graduation, Mrs. Dombrowski was asked to stay on at Western as a full-time faculty member, teaching dance and theatre appreciation classes. She accepted the position for the next two years. During summer breaks, she choreographed for outdoor theatre productions in Virginia, Oklahoma and Kentucky.

Mrs. Dombrowski moved to New York City for audition purposes, where she also continued her dance and voice training. While in New York, she was given the opportunity to choreograph a piece for the CBS special, That’s Tap Dancin’, with the cast of the Broadway show 42nd Street. She toured as the dance captain and lead dancer in Jubilation.

Family brought her back to Erie, where she continued to be a part of the theatre. She began working with Ben Agresti’s Dinner Theatre, where she performed in many musical productions. The Erie Playhouse also offered performance opportunities such as Cassie in A Chorus Line, Lola in Damn Yankees and Peggy Sawyer in 42nd Street. Mrs. Dombrowski has also worked as choreographer and performer for the Erie Opera Theatre.

In 1985, she established the dance program at Mercyhurst Prep. She is the dance director, teaches Dance Company classes and is the choreographer of all the school musicals as well as the MPS Show Choir.

KARA GRISÉ ’99 (Choreography, Dance Company Instructor, Business/Technology Instructor) attended Penn State Behrend, where she earned a B.S. in Marketing and an MBA.  In the spring of 2017, she completed a master’s degree in Instructional Design and Technology Integration from West Virginia University.  Ms. Grisé received honor cords at graduation for academic excellence, and she was invited to lecture at the West Virginia State Technology Conference as a representative of WVU.  In addition, her graduate work in computational thinking was published.

Ms. Grisé has also been active in the performing arts with over 30 years of experience as a dancer and 15 as a dance teacher. She is a member of the company at Marguerite’s Academy of Dance, a role which has led her to perform on stages around the world.  In the fall of 2000, Kara traveled with the company to Sydney, Australia to perform at the 2000 Summer Olympics.  She has also performed with the company locally and on Broadway.

Ms. Grisé currently teaches courses in dance, business and technology.  Her Dance Company choreography has delighted audiences at Mercyhurst Prep for the past 12 years.  She is also proud to have coached the Mercyhurst Prep dance team for three seasons, coaching the team to several first place finishes in local competitions. Ms. Grisé has also choreographed pieces for the MPS Dance Company Disney performances.

DAVID MITCHELL ’87 (Technical Director for Musicals, Winter Play Director, Acting Class Instructor) is the co-owner and artistic director of All An Act Theatre Productions in Erie.  As a student, Mr. Mitchell was deeply involved with the MPS theatre program with memberships in Chorus, Show Singers, Children’s Theatre Ensemble, and the International Thespian Society (Honor Thespian, 1986 and Best Thespian, 1987). He also served as ITS president his senior year. Mr. Mitchell has been involved as an actor and director in the Erie theatre community throughout his adult life, performing in and/or directing shows at The Erie Playhouse, Roadhouse Theatre, Director’s Circle Theatre, Station Dinner Theatre, and, of course, All An Act Theatre. He has also been the administrative director for the Erie School District and City of Erie’s Footlights Theatre Program for Erie youth for 28 years. He is thrilled to return to Mercyhurst to guide these amazing young men and women.

CAROLINE MICELI (Stage Director for Musicals, Classroom Choral Instructor) is the Director of Choral Music at MPS, where she oversees Concert Choir and Show Choir. An Erie native, Mrs. Miceli is a graduate of Villa Maria Academy where she was active in theater and choral programs, earning PMEA District and Regional solo performance awards. She has performed with several community organizations including Erie Opera Theater, The Riverside Inn, and The Erie Playhouse.

Mrs. Miceli holds a bachelor’s degree in Music Education from Otterbein University, where she earned the Thelma Zellner Endowment Award for excellence in choral conducting. She has taught, directed, and performed in Pennsylvania, Ohio, and North Carolina, including the Community Music School at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill. Most recently, Mrs. Miceli taught in East Lansing, Michigan and received her Master’s degree in Voice Performance from Western Michigan University, where she performed the role of Despina in Mozart’s Così fan tutte.

As an educator for the past twenty years, Mrs. Miceli has been an active member of professional organizations and conferences such as the Michigan and Ohio Music Education Associations, and the National Association for Teachers of Singing, where she placed first as a concert soloist in musical theater for the Mid-Atlantic region. She is delighted to see her former students now performing professionally worldwide, and is very excited to be working with the wonderful and talented students here at Mercyhurst Prep.

ARTHUR MARTONE ’80 is well known in the Erie area as a vocalist, music teacher, conductor and director. Mr. Martone graduated summa cum laude from Mercyhurst University with a B.M. He has been in education since 1984, presently teaching music at Mercyhurst Preparatory School since 1988, and he is the chairman of the Performing Arts Department. During this tenure, he has been the musical director for over 30 musicals that have been staged at the school.  Some of these musical highlights included the 1995 mainstage production of Nunsense at the ITS Thespian Festival in Lincoln, Nebraska, the first production of Les Miserables (2002) in western Pennsylvania and the summer of 2005 production of Little Mary Sunshine at the Festival Fringe in Edinburgh, Scotland.

Beginning in 2007, Mr. Martone took over the direction and production of the school musicals, the output including Godspell; The Sound of Music; You’re a Good Man, Charlie Brown; Peter Pan (flying by ZFX); Babes in Arms; Bye Bye Birdie; Once On This Island; The Wizard of Oz (flying by ZFX); Little Women; Seussical; Children of Eden; The Music Man; Brigadoon; Rodgers & Hammerstein’s Cinderella and The King and I.  The highlights were the northwestern Pennsylvania premier high school productions of The Phantom of the Opera (chandelier by ZFX) in 2011, Cats in 2014 and Mary Poppins 2017.

Mr. Martone has also been honored in multiple ways with the Mercyhurst Prep and Erie communities presenting him with the 2005 MPS Outstanding Faculty Service Award, the 2009 Golden Apple Award, the 2011 MPS Distinguished Alumni Service Award and the 2015 Dedication to Yearly Service Award.

As a former member of the Erie Opera Theatre, Mr. Martone has been involved annually with almost all of its productions from 1984 to 2009 as either a performer or director. He has directed and performed in multiple productions of Amahl and the Night Visitors as well as directed the Erie Opera Theatre’s productions of Die Fledermaus, The Elixir of Love, Tosca and Carmen.  As a vocalist, Mr. Martone has also sung as a soloist with both the Erie Chamber Orchestra and the Erie Philharmonic.

Mr. Martone has also been seen on the stage at the Erie Playhouse in their productions of My One and Only, Anything Goes and the concert versions of Kismet and My Fair Lady in conjunction with the Erie Philharmonic.  He has also taken up the baton for them in Barnum, A Chorus Line, 1776 and Oklahoma! Mr. Martone was also the assistant conductor for the Erie Chamber Orchestra until 2012, conducting works from multiple composers including Mozart, Haydn, Vivaldi, Bizet, Sibelius, Gershwin, Strauss, Ellington, Rodgers & Anderson.  His conducting credits also include The Erie Parks and Recreation Department, the Titusville Summer Theater, the Diocese of Erie All-School Summer Musical and the Bicentennial All-Mozart concert at Saint Peter Cathedral commemorating the 200^th anniversary of the death of Mozart.

In addition to his numerous involvements in the Erie area arts, Mr. Martone also loves to travel.  He has extensively traveled to various locations throughout the world including Italy (x10), France (x4), England (x2), Scotland (x2), Germany (x2), Switzerland, Belgium, Greece, Turkey, Japan, Malaysia, Indonesia, Singapore, Canada & Mexico.

NICK ADAMS was the final actor to star as Fiyero in the First National Touring production of the Broadway hit Wicked. Most notably, He originated and starred as Adam/Felicia in the Tony winning Broadway musical Priscilla Queen of the Desert (winner of two Broadway Audience Choice Awards, American Theater Hall of Fame Honoree, Astaire Award nominee) Also on Broadway: A Chorus Line (Larry), Guys and Dolls, Chicago (Mary Sunshine standby), La Cage Aux Folles (2010 Tony Winning Revival), and The Pirate Queen. TV and Film credits include: Sex and the City 2, An Englishman in New York, “Smash,” “As the World Turns,” “Guiding Light,” “Dancing with the Stars,” “Rosie Live,” “It Could Be Worse,” “The Kennedy Center Honors,” “Regis and Kelly,” “Good Morning America,” “The View,” “The Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade,” “Best Time Ever with Neil Patrick Harris,” multiple telecasts of “The Tony Awards,” and currently Keith on season two of “Go-Go Boy Interrupted.” Concerts: New York Pops 30th Anniversary (Carnegie Hall), Songs For A New World (NYC, Director Jeff Calhoun), Naples Philharmonic, Indianapolis Symphony, Baltimore Symphony, Erie Philharmonic, Boston Pops, Cincinnati Pops, Birdland, NYC Gay Men’s Chorus, Boston Gay Men’s Chorus, Feinstein’s 54 Below. Regional: Bucks County Playhouse, Papermill Playhouse, Pittsburgh CLO, Kansas City Starlight, The MUNY, & the Lyric of Oklahoma. Mr. Adams has instructed several master classes nationwide, has served on the guest faculty of The Boston Conservatory Musical Theatre Dance Intensive as well as The Broadway Dreams Foundation, and is regarded as a Capezio Dance Athlete. Nick has been featured in several national media outlets including Vanity Fair, DNA Magazine, Paper Magazines’ Beautiful People issue and the covers of Dance Spirit and Instinct Magazine. Recordings: Priscilla Queen of the Desert, La Cage Aux Folles, The Pirate Queen, Dee Does Broadway, Crossroads Broadway compilation album. BFA Boston Conservatory. www.nicholasadams.com @thenickadams

After a childhood of over 60 Erie community theatre and school plays, Julie began her professional career in New York City while earning her degree in acting from NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts. She performed in NY City Center Encores productions of Bye Bye Birdie and The Apple Tree with Tony Award winning directors/actors including Kristin Chenoweth and Michael Cerveris. Also in NY, Julie did several musicals with the New York Gilbert & Sullivan Players at City Center, originated a musical on Theatre Row called The Black Monk (and recorded an original cast album) opposite Drama Desk and Obie Award winner Austin Pendelton, and played the lead in the world’s longest running musical The Fantasticks at its new Times Square theatre alongside writer Tom Jones. Other stage highlights include playing Maria in West Side Story on the Broadway world tour, acting with the Shakespeatre Theatre Co under the direction of Jonathan Munby of the Royal Shakespeare Co, and earning a Barrymore Award Nomination as Best Supporting Actress for her work as Cosette in Les Miserables. In Film/TV, Julie has appeared in television shows opposite actors such as Bobby Canavale, Sarah Paulson, Eric McCormack, and Taye Diggs.  She is currently a recurring character on TNT’s Murder in the First.  Her work also includes television commercials, voiceovers, soap operas, and films including the upcoming animated feature Rock Dog, starring Luke Wilson and J.K. Simmons, directed by Oscar nominee Ash Brannon.  Member of Women in Film.  Proud alumni of MPS!  www.juliecraig.biz.  @juliecraig_

Julie Woods-Robinson is thrilled to be back at MPS helping usher in a new era of theatre. After MPS, Julie received her BFA in Drama from NYU Tisch School of the Arts (’07). Favorite professional credits include Walt Disney World: Finding Nemo: the Musical (Nemo & Squirt), Regional: Little Women (Beth), and Tour: The Wizard of Oz (Dorothy). Favorite MPS credits include Les Miserables (Eponine), Into the Woods (Little Red Ridinghood), and The King and I (Anna). Julie is currently a Provost fellow at UCF in the MFA Theatre for Young Audiences track. She works as a teacher and director with Orlando Repertory Theatre and around the greater Orlando area. Last spring, Julie was awarded SETC’s Tom Behm Scholarship for excellence in Theatre for Young Audiences.

Mezzo soprano Ainsley Ryan has recently returned to the U.S. with her family from Zimbabwe where she was teaching and adjudicating with the National Institute of the Allied Arts Foundation’s Eisteddfod Festival and outreach. While in Zimbabwe, Ms. Ryan traveled extensively teaching voice and offering masterclasses throughout the country. Prior to her experience in Africa, Ms. Ryan performed Polina with the New York opera company, One World Symphony, in their production of Tchaikovsky’s Pique Dame.  Other New York performances include the role of Erika in Samuel Barber’s Vanessa, First Maid in Richard Strauss’s Elektra, Auntie in Britten’s Peter Grimes, the Page in Strauss’s Salomé, Sextus in Handel’s Giulio Cesare, the world premiere of Stan Grill’s In Flight and Orfeo in Gluck’s Orfeo ed Euridice; other performances include Prince Orlofsky in Johann Strauss’s Die Fledermaus with the Natchez Opera and the Sandman in Liederkranz Opera Theater’s production of Humperdinck’s Hansel and Gretel.  Solo oratorio engagements include Dvorak’s Stabat Mater, the Duruflé Requiem, the Mozart Requiem, Handel’s Messiah and Vivaldi’s Gloria. Most recently, Ms. Ryan was the mezzo soloist in Rachmaninoff’s All Night Vigil performed in Erie, PA with Mercyhurst University’s Concert Choir.