Mary Jo Mullins was born in Calgary, Alberta and began her early dance training shortly after moving to St. Catharines ON. Ms. Mullins holds an Honours Bachelor of Arts in Dance from the University of Waterloo and a Bachelor of Education from Brock University. Since attending The School of the Toronto Dance Theatre in 1995, Mary Jo has worked with over 20 Canadian dance artists including such internationally renowned and accomplished artists as David Earle, Danny Grossman, Bill Coleman, Judith Miller, Terill McGuire, Graham McKelvie, and Naoko Murakoshi. In 1999, she co-founded Aurora Dance Community in Toronto. While with the collective, Ms. Mullins was honoured to develop a rich mentorship with fellow co-founder Patricia Beatty (Co-founder of the Toronto Dance Theatre, Member of the Order of Canada). Since producing, choreographing, and performing extensively for Aurora Dance Community, Mary Jo has created over 10 original works and is pleased to include Hara (2000) and The Blessing Tree (2004) in the repertoire of the Niagara Dance Company. Ms. Mullins has worked in many schools throughout southern Ontario teaching creative movement and modern dance technique over the last fifteen years. She has also been the recipient of an Artist in Education grant from the Ontario Arts Council and continues to work extensively with the Royal Conservatory of Music's Learning Through The Arts program in the Niagara Region and abroad. Ms. Mullins is currently the Director of The School of Niagara Dance Company.