Trixie Hardy - The Matriarch of Dance in Sault Ste. Marie

Those unfamiliar with the world of dance would never guess that an incredibly influential figure in the Canadian ballet world once called Sault Ste. Marie "home". But those who have danced, participated in a theatre show or spent any time back stage at the Sault Community Theatre Centre... they know the name Trixie Hardy.

Ella Hardy (Left) and Trixie Hardy (Right). Photo from the collection of the Connolly Family.

Beatrice Mulhinch Connolly was born on December 3rd, 1922 in Middlesbrough, England to Thomas Thomson Mulhinch and Jane Hunter Metcalfe. Her parents were both performers on the Vaudeville circuit. Her father, Thomas Thomson Mulhinch, passed away when she was an infant. Her mother, who went by Jean Hardy on the stage, later became a dance instructor in England and had a troupe called the Jean Hardy Wonder Starlets. Her two children, Beatrice and Ella, danced at other studios as their mother was dancing professionally at the time. Trixie began dancing at the age of 2, and by 12, was part of a touring troupe in England performing the popular British pantomime Dick Whittington and His Cat. Throughout her professional career, she danced and choreographed in England, Scotland and Ireland. During her touring days as a professional dancer she adopted her stage name, the name she was known best in Sault Ste. Marie, Trixie Hardy.

1940s

Trixie married Pat Connolly at the age of 20 in Middlesbrough. She stopped touring professionally and instead took a job as a dancing instructor at her mother’s studio. In 1948, she and her husband emigrated to Canada and moved to 430 Wellington Street E. Shortly after her move, she opened up what was essentially a second branch of her mother’s dance studio in Sault Ste. Marie, at what she called “literally the end of the line”.

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The first advertisement published for the Jean Hardy School of Dancing, 1948

Sault Daily Star headline about the Jean Hardy School of dancing Recital, 1951

The Jean Hardy School of Dancing posted their first call out for students on August 17th, 1948, advertising tap, acrobatic, ballet, highland and national dancing. She and her students performed as part of variety shows for the Sault Ste. Marie Legion and the Women’s Army Unit in 1948-1949, as well as year-end recitals. During her first year of teaching, the Jean Hardy School of Dancing only had 6 students.

1950s

Although she was not the only dance instructor in Sault Ste. Marie (Her friend, Miss Catherine Simpson also had a successful dance studio until the 1960’s), Trixie was making a name for herself. At the end of 1950, Trixie Hardy had 35 students attending her classes at the Moose Hall on King Street. In the 1950s, she and her dancers continued to perform for many charitable causes and arts and culture related events. A 1951 concert for the Oddfellow and Rebekah Lodge’s Polio Fund included group performances and a well-received solo dance by Trixie, a staple of her early shows. Her end-of-year recital in 1951, sponsored by the Nokomis Chapter 70,  was popular to the point that an article published in the Sault Daily Star states that “Miss Hardy and the Nokomis chapter wish to apologize to those who were turned away when all standing room was taken.”. Her recital proceeds were listed as going to Kiwanis, Camp Pauwating.



​In 1951 she added baton to her teaching repertoire and had students competing in the first annual Sault Scottish Association Annual Highland Dance and Piping Competition in 1952. Also in 1951, Trixie became a member of the CNADM, the Chicago National Association of Dance Masters, and travelled to yearly conventions with her student-turned-assistant, Gwen Dinsdale. By 1953, she was a registered member of the Canadian Dance Teachers Association and had joined the British Association of Teachers of Dancing as an associate. The early 1950’s also launched the Algoma Steel Glee Club’s annual minstrel show, for which she provided choreography and artistic direction.

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Members of the Algoma Steel Glee Club, 1950s. Photos from the collection of the Sault Ste. Marie Museum.

Trixie Hardy in 1954

By 1956, modern jazz and modern stage were added to her list of classes offered, and she had moved her studio space to the Orange Hall, and eventually, as her classes grew, to a renovated studio in her home on Wellington St. 

BATD and International Recognition 

On August 17th, 1954, international recognition came with her appointment as National Representative of the British Association of Teachers of Dance (BATD) for the United States and Canada, the first North American appointee in the history of the organization. The BATD is the oldest dance organization in the UK, and has a prestigious reputation worldwide. In order to become an associate, a dancer must complete a series of practical and theory exams, as well as prepare and preform a teaching demonstration. The BATD bestowed this honour on Trixie during a visit to England, naming her as the first person in Canada qualified to adjudicate exams and confer BATD degrees.
 
During her 5 week stay in England, Trixie prepared students at her mother’s dance studio in Middlesbrough for the International Festival of Dance in Edinburgh and took additional BATD courses. In August of 1955, 78 students of Trixie Hardy’s passed the first set of BATD exams held in Sault Ste. Marie, examined by the BATD’s vice president and Trixie’s sister, Ella Lowe (Hardy), who travelled to Sault Ste. Marie to examine Trixie Hardy’s pupils.

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Later 1950s

In 1957, Trixie Hardy had three students, Lorraine Spino, Gerry Gorny and Regina Karnenas, audition for and attend the National Ballet School summer program, a first for Sault Ste. Marie. A second first came in 1957 when Lorainne Spino became the first of her pupils to complete the BATD Associate exam, and joined the teaching team at the Jean Hardy School the following year.

In 1958, Miss Sadie Simpson, a master of highland dancing from Scotland attended the Jean Hardy School of Dancing to adjudicate the Trixie Hardy dancers through the BATD, her first time adjudicating in North America. Although initially skeptical, she left impressed with the quality of dancers that Trixie Hardy was training. She was quoted in a Sault Daily Star article from June of 1958 as saying “Before I came to Canada I presumed, as did many Scotsmen, that the calibre of highland dancing in (north) America would not be good at all. I have been very pleased so far.”. That same year, Trixie was deemed a “fellow” of the BATD, a step above associate membership. In late 1959, Trixie Hardy delivered a speech and demonstration on folk dances, mazurkas, and Spanish dances to the Ontario Music Teachers Association at the Armouries, an organization she would continue to work with for decades.

Trixie's students destined for the NBS summer intensive, 1957.

Trixie (Left) poses with Ella Hardy (Right) who is holding BATD exam results

Trixie with four of her dancers, 1960s.

1960s

The 1960s continued with the same momentum. Trixie's studio participated in the 1960 Allied Arts Council Festival at the Armouries alongside Sault Ste. Marie arts organizations, including the Sault Theatre Workshop and the Algoma Arts Society. For this festival, Trixie choreographed 3 original ballets, one being a Brigadoon combination of highland dancing and ballet, a Spanish number and the other a ballet inspired by a rose.


In 1962 came a very important milestone for Trixie: the birth of the Musical Comedy Guild. The MCG was an idea formed by four local theatre enthusiasts including Trixie Hardy. As she stated in a 1971 article published in the Sault Star, “Ruth Orchard called Pat Hayes and myself to come to Mary Jamison’s apartment to discuss forming the organization over an afternoon pot of tea. They asked me if I would be interested in doing choreography for a Gilbert and Sullivan production. Not only was I delighted to accept the offer for Pinafore but I was enthusiastic about forming an organization here that would be an outlet for local talents.”.  The HMS Pinafore, and the Musical Comedy Guild as a whole, was a massive success.

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HMS Pinafore, 1963

HMS Pinafore, 1963

​In 1965, Trixie was again called in to choreograph the complex national dances and polonaise in the MCG’s production of The Merry Widow. 1966 allowed Trixie to use her highland dancing expertise for Brigadoon, 1967 switched to jazz for Guys and Dolls, and ballet for 1968’s Die Fledermaus.

1965 was the first year that the Jean Hardy School of Dancing entered a competition out of town, bringing home 3 wins from Hamilton. In 1966, Trixie took a team of dancers to Owen Sound and won 17 medals in demi-character dance, tap, jazz, and acrobatics and was welcomed back a second year. In 1968, dancers travelled to Brampton using funds raised through a January performance of Nutcracker excerpts called Cabaret ’68.

In 1967, Trixie, along with her assistant teacher Mary Lou Allinotte and former student and local dance teacher Helen Syjut, travelled to the UK for a BATD conference as North American representation, and for the latter to attend classes from Ella Hardy, Trixie’s sister. Trixie also travelled to the Yukon, PEI and various locations in Southern Ontario to adjudicate both competitions and BATD exams.

Heritage 300 rehearsals, 1968

In 1968, Trixie choreographed 65 dancers in the Heritage 300 Le Tableau performances, presented at the Memorial Gardens. This performance highlighted local history and included military salutes, historical reenactments, pantomimes, ice skating, musical presentations and, of course, dancing. Trixie was passionate about artistic collaboration, evident through the projects she took on in the community.

1970s

In 1969, Trixie Hardy was instrumental in having dancing included in the annual Kiwanis Music Festival Competition, a yearly music competition allowing locals to showcase their talent and win awards. The new syllabus for dancing was added in 1970 and included national dances such as the highland fling, hornpipe, irish jig, and sword dance, along with demi character, ballet, tap, jazz and acrobatics. Trixie Hardy had 37 senior students (including four male senior dancers, a first for the Jean Hardy School of Dancing) compete in the first year, adjudicated by Dorothy Carter of London. Trixie was elected the dance representative, which she would remain for over two decades.

1970 also saw her “expertly” choreograph Finnian’s Rainbow and The Marriage of Figaro for the MCG. She also directed the 1970 minstrel show (A revival of sorts from the 1950’s Algoma Steel Glee Club which she directed and choreographed) starring Mayor John Rhodes in aid of United Appeal, and prepared dances for the Christmas Cheer concert.

Trixie dancers, 1970

Trixie instructing her students, 1972

In 1971, she choreographed the Musical Comedy Guild production of South Pacific starring Sault Ste. Marie’s “Mr. Opera” Arno Ambel, and in turn choreographed The Gypsy Baron and The Student Prince for the newly formed Sault Opera Society of which Mr. Ambel founded. By the end of ’71, Trixie had choreographed 14 theatre shows in Sault Ste. Marie. Also in 1971, Trixie had students participate in the Sudbury Music Festival where her students, including future dance teachers Sherry Walsh and Heather Davey, won top marks. 30 firsts were won for the Trixie Dancers overall in their respective categories. In the summer of ’71, she choreographed the MCG’s Pyjama Game, and had 6 dancers attend the Atlantic Regional Folklore Festival in St. Johns.
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1972 brought the Music Man, quoted in the Sault Star as being “The most professional production the Sault’s Musical Comedy Guild has presented.”, as well as the MCG’s Camelot. Trixie’s end-of-year recital that year boasted Danish, Indian, Scottish, French, Bavarian and Sicilian folk dances in addition to the usual Ballet, Tap and Jazz. Trixie Hardy also sat on the judges panel for the Miss Sault Ste. Marie Pagent and several of her students performed dances at the ceremony.

1973 brought Trixie’s sister Ella back to Sault Ste. Marie to instruct a two-day course for dancers and thespians, focused on dancing for the theatre. Trixie choreographed two more MCG shows that year, Carousel and My Fair Lady. Later 1970s productions that Trixie choreographed for included the Guild’s productions of Anne of Green Gables, Anything Goes, Ruddigore, Fiddler on the Roof, Hello Dolly, Sweet Charity, and The Wizard of Oz, as well as the Opera Society’s Calamity Jane, Gigi and The Merry Widow. Li’l Abner in 1977 marked her first time both directing and choreographing for the Musical Comedy Guild.

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Trixie Hardy and Frank Elliot at rehearsals for the Musical Comedy Guild

Shelagh Connolly poses with her Kiwanis Music Festival trophies in 1976

Trixie also had dancers perform in the Algoma Fall Festival, the Italian Festival, The Twin Saults International Festival, Winterfest ’79, and Bon Soo.
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A more personal achievement for Trixie was the newfound success in the dance world for her daughters Christine and Shelagh in the 1970s. Christine signed with MGM for the New Ziegfeld Folies in 1975 after working with theatre companies in London England. Shelagh, a student teacher with her mother, was a top contender and eventual winner of several top prizes for her dancing at the Kiwanis Music Festival. In 1978, Shelagh offered disco lessons through her mother’s studio. Shelegh followed in her mother’s footsteps and became a BATD fellow, adjudicator, and eventually President of the BATD. Shelegh is also credited as the creator of the BATD Jazz syllabus. Dancing arguably was in the blood of Trixie’s family. In fact, all of Trixie’s children, four girls and three boys, all danced at one time.

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1980s

Trixie started of 1980’s both directing and choreographing the Guild’s Guys and Dolls, a show that she did the choreography for 13 years prior. In a 1980 article, Trixie spoke of how working with a large cast brought her back to the days of working professionally as a dancer, and how working with adults after long days of working with young children was a refreshing change. She followed that production with West Side Story in 1982. In January of 1983, Trixie Hardy became the new president of the Musical Comedy Guild, a role she took on with great pride. Later that year she choreographed The Dandy Lion, followed by Gypsy, Grease, Dames at Sea (starring her daughter Shelagh Connelly opposite Dave Walsh), Mame and Bye Bye Birdie.

By the 1980’s, Trixie had streamlined classes for her students to be just ballet, jazz, tap and acro. She was no longer teaching highland dancing, perhaps due to the Helen McLeod Highland Dance studio offering these courses. Her dance studio still participated in almost all the local performing arts opportunities, from the Kiwanis Festival, the Daffodil Show for the Canadian Cancer Society, Rotaryfest, the Miss Sault Ste. Marie Pagent, to the Art Gallery of Algoma’s Performance Art Series.

1984 was a full circle moment as Trixie choreographed and directed Dick Whittington and His Cat for the Arts Council of Sault Ste. Marie, the first show that she ever toured as a professional dancer. The later 1980s saw Trixie speak at the Public Library on the importance of dance and movement for children’s development, and in 1985, directing the third annual Christmas pantomime for the Arts Council. In the winter of 1986, 11 of Trixie’s dancers performed with the Alberta Ballet when they toured the Sault with their production of Cinderella. In 1986, the MCG began planning a special 25th anniversary show, choreographed by Trixie. In the spring of 1987, Trixie choreographed Chance of Rain for St. Luke’s, with proceeds going to the CAT Scanner Fund for the Sault Area Hospital. In 1987 and 1988 Trixie offered Taranella dancing lessons. The 1987 Christmas pantomime was Puss and Boots, directed by Trixie and produced by another English immigrant and Sault theatre great, Janet Short. Later 1980’s shows that were choreographed by Trixie included revisiting Brigadoon in 1987, Annie in 1988 and Cinderella in 1989.

In 1988, a tribute dinner was held for Trixie in honour of 40 years of dedicated service to the arts at the Ramada Inn, organized by Joyce Kenagy. To top that year off, Trixie Hardy was named recipient of the City’s Medal of Merit in 1988.

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Advert for Northern Lights DanceFest, 1998

1990s

By the 1990s, Trixie was showing no signs of slowing down, and was quoted in a Sault Star article as laughing while saying “I’m supposed to be retired by now”. Although she had other teachers working with her, she was still teaching ballet and tap five days a week. Dancers from her studio qualified for American Championships in Florida in 1990. She continued to travel her dancers to Southern Ontario and the United States for yearly competitions each spring.

In 1992, the Kiwanis Music Festival announced that after 24 years, they would not continue the dance competition as part of their program. The various dance studios in town quickly stepped up to replace the competition with something new (and studio run): The Northern Lights DanceFest. The brainchild of Trixie, she and the other dance studios wanted to find a way to adjudicate dance in a way that wasn’t “first, second, third” etc. They settled on a gold, silver, and bronze method allowing the adjudicators to award excellent performance at the same standards, while still awarding a trophy for best overall for each category. The local competition ran for the first time in 1993 and attracted dancers from around Ontario and eventually international dancers from Michigan.

In 1998, the Trixie Hardy School of Dance celebrated their 50th year of providing dance instruction to the people of Sault Ste. Marie, and in 1999, the City of Sault Ste. Marie awarded her with the Cultural Advisory Board Community Recognition Award, an honour she shared with Janet Short. In 1999, the Musical Comedy Guild dedicated their performance of A Chorus Line to Trixie, and the rehearsal hall at the Kiwanis Community Theatre (Later Sault Community Theatre Centre) was named after her.

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Trixie Hardy, 1999

 2000s

In the year 2000, Trixie was elected to the executive board of the BATD. With more than 50 years of teaching under her belt, she was  “matriarch” of dance in Sault Ste. Marie. Her dancers opened for the 2000 Winter Games in the Sault, and Trixie and Shelagh brought their group of competitive dancers to Dance Excellence in California and to London, ON, and they continued to run the Northern Lights DanceFest.

After the 2003 dancing/competition season, she decided that it was time to hang up her dancing shoes. With her daughter and business partner Shelagh moving to Virginia, Trixie would retire. A retirement party was held at the Croatian Hall for her in June, and a come-and-go was put on at the CTC in the Trixie Hardy Rehearsal Hall by Peggy Cooper. Still at the helm of the Northern Lights DanceFest, Trixie described closing her studio as “changing her focus”. She assisted with choreography on the MCG production of Bye Bye Birdie, and kept the DanceFest going until its final year in 2007. She was nominated for a Sault Ste. Marie Walk of Fame star in 2011 at the age of 90. In 2012, Trixie attended the 50th anniversary show of the Musical Comedy Guild. After a few years of health issues and declining mobility, Trixie Hardy passed in 2016 at the age of 94.

The impact that Trixie Hardy made on the community is immeasurable. She taught thousands of students over her 55 years of teaching; during her busiest years, she taught upwards of 600 students at a time. Many of those students went on to become professional dancers or teachers themselves, and almost every dance studio that has operated in Sault Ste. Marie in the past 50 years can be traced back to Trixie Hardy or a former student of hers. Shelley Woodcock (nee Peters), Helen Syjut, Gaye Davey, Heather Davey, Kim Greco, Judy Ross, and Sherry Walsh, just to name a few. On an international scale, the Trixie Hardy Ballet and Theatre Scholarship runs yearly through the BATD in the UK, where selected dancers from North America who have received high honours on their ballet or theatre dance exams compete for the coveted title in Toronto. May 28th is designated as Trixie Hardy Day in Sault Ste. Marie.

After a lifetime of recognition and winning many awards locally and abroad, one could easily suggest that those accolades would be her legacy. However, Trixie felt that simply giving children the opportunity to dance was legacy enough. For thousands of children in Sault Ste. Marie, she did just that.
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