Kay Armstrong

Kathleen Mae Armstrong was born on September 22, 1921, in Armstrong, BC. Kay began dance classes in Vancouver and continued her training in Vancouver in the 1940s with the renowned teacher June Roper. In 1946 Armstrong found work in the ballet troupe of Radio City Music Hall in New York City. She returned to Vancouver in 1947 as Principal of the B.C. School of Dancing. In 1950, she formed Le Ballet Concert, which performed in the 1950 Canadian Ballet Festival. Her work Étude was brought into the repertoire of the recently formed National Ballet of Canada by Artistic Director Celia Franca and included in the company’s 1951 debut. Armstrong also designed many of the costumes for her works. Armstrong received critical acclaim for her dancing and choreography in London Fantasia at the 1952 Canadian Ballet Festival. Other choreographic works from the 1950s, such as The Legend of the Black Swan and Stanley Park Sketches, were inspired by regional themes. Armstrong also danced and choreographed for the musicals produced by Vancouver’s Theatre Under the Stars in the 1950s. Her troupe performed in many local productions throughout the 1950s and toured British Columbia and Alberta in 1954. Remarkable as a pedagogue and a choreographer, Armstrong was awarded the Ralph Hiltz award for choreography five times, and she received a citation for teaching in 1978 from the Dance in Canada Association. She closed her studios in 1989 but continued to teach weekly classes at a local community centre. Died: September 25, 2008, Vancouver, British Columbia