Dance Centre of Northwestern Ontario

912 Donald Street East, as it appeared on Google Street View in August 2009

Northwestern Dance Centre, or Dance Centre Of Northwestern Ontario, or Northwestern Ontario Dance Centre, was a dance school on Donald Street in Thunder Bay, Ontario, active from the 1930s through 2000.

Origins

Amelia and Maurice Jackson, circa 1935

As far back as the 1930s, Amelia Jackson with her husband Maurice Jackson taught music and dance in Fort William. Together they organized a music shop, dance studio, "Kiltie Band", "Fort William Girls Military Band", and the "Great Lakes Girls' Orchestra". [7]

Amelia organized her first "dance revue by pupils of Amelia Jackson" on 7 June 1935 at Fort William Collegiate High School. [1]

Amelia Jackson, with husband Maurice Jackson, were apparently important figures in Fort William, and the subject of a book: "The Jacksons of Fort William" [2] "History of the four unique entertainment experiences created by the Jacksons and presented Canada wide and into the United States. The Kiltie Band, the Dancing School, the Military Band, and the Orchestra were produced by these two tireless workers in the "30's" for the benefit of all interested youngsters in the district". The book was written by Harvey Lambert Smyth (1919 - 2008), a local man who was in one of their groups. [3]

At the height of the Great Depression, the Jacksons toured in a bus with a twenty-piece band across Canada and the Northern USA, recalled Gladys Sands (born 1923), who sang with the troupe. [7] According to Sands, via her daughter Patricia Dawkins, Amelia was on the road with them, but Maurice was "fooling around" with one of the girls in the band. Sands believed the marriage was falling apart and eventually broke up. Amelia subsequently travelled to Europe to further her dance and teaching abilities, returning to spend the rest of her career teaching and running her school. [18]

According to a biography of Gladys Sands from 2016 on Facebook, Maurice Jackson ran the Great Lakes Girls Orchestra ("Gladys moved to Fort William where she sang with Maurice Jackson's Great Lakes Girls' Orchestra, a twenty-piece band that toured across Canada and the Northern U.S. in a bus. She also worked in Maurice Jackson's Music Shop and sang live with the Sunrise Serenaders on CKPR radio. At fifteen she sang "Somewhere Over The Rainbow" in her audition for Joe Turner beating forty-nine others.") [4]

Sands loved dancing and tap danced well into her 80s until a bad knee became too problematic. She would not get it replaced because she "didn't have time for that." She continued singing until she broke a hip at 96 and had to go into a care facility. As of 2020, she was 101 and living with dementia, though her long-term memory remained good. [18]

Maurice and Amelia had one child: a son, Maurice Henry Jackson (1937 or 1938 - 19 May 2013). [5] [6]

A postcard from 1936 or 1937: [7] [8]

As of 1956 had a school called "Amelia Jackson Dance Studio".

The following year her husband died in Vancouver. It is not clear if they were still together. Maurice Jackson apparently had no obituary in local Thunder Bay papers when he died in 1957 in Vancouver.

• Amelia Jackson`s School of Dancing ; Presentation at Vocational School Auditorium Fort William Daily Times Journal, 14 Jun 1956 [9]
• Amelia Jackson Dance Studio ; Amelia Jackson Dance School ; Amelia Jackson Recital Presented In Hill City; Dance recital at Hillcrest High School" "Fort William Daily Times Journal, 11 Jun 1960 [10]
• Fort William Daily Times Journal, 4 Oct 1960 Amelia Jackson and Fay Gleeson (dance teachers) [11]

As of 1960, Amelia Jackson was already billed as a contemporary of Fay Gleeson, whose dance studio founded in 1958 still operates in Thunder Bay as of 2020 [12].

I started playing piano for Mrs Jackson in 1963 when Mrs Beach's husband became ill. I continued playing for her until the change to taped music in the 1980s. I still played for Ceccetti exams. She taught in that studio on Donald. Leslie Almgren and Don McKinnon taught there too and also in the Vickers Heights community centre. Workshops were held in the summer at Selkirk High School currently St. Patrick's.

Students drove up from Duluth on weekends to study ballet with Amelia. Cecchetti Ballet is very exact and each movement had set music. Examiners came from Toronto, New York or even England. There was no deviation. Amelia's students always had beautiful arms.

Amelia was married to Maurice Jackson who conducted an all girl band during WWII. Mildred "Millie" Wallace, one of my friends, played in that band. She still plays the trombone. She met her husband at a train station during one of their tours. Millie lives at Pinewood Court. [she was married to John Wallace (1927-2015) ]

— Patricia Ellen Towell, Private Conversation, September 2023

In 1964 Amelia established the "Northwest Ontario Ballet Guild" which persisted until at least 1975 or even 1978 when it was listed in the annual Revue program.

Thunder Bay Central Files has files on this organisation for the following years: Arts Northwestern Ontario Ballet Guild 5233-25 1966-75 [13]

Founding of DCNO / McKinnon Era

Although Amelia had been teaching dance since the 1930s, and teaching as the "Amelia Jackson School of Dance" since at least the 1950s, the studio known as the "Dance Centre of Northwestern Ontario" may have been founded by Amelia Jackson and her young student Don McKinnon in the 1960s. [14]

After her husband's death in 1957, Mrs. Jackson began to rely heavily on Don, a promising young dancer from Atikokan (born circa 1940). Don became a Royal Academy of Dance (RAD)-certified ballet teacher and her second-in-command at the studio. Together they taught Ballet, Jazz, Tap, and other styles. [5]

Another devoted student was Leslie Almgren (nee Niro), who joined Don on Saturdays to practice at Vickers Heights Community Centre in the 1950s. Barbara Towell's mother accompanied them on the piano. The most successful student from this era was Rosalie Brake (Dicks), who danced with the National Ballet of Canada. Amelia cited this as the most exciting event in her career: "The first time we had an audition with the National Ballet of Canada and one of my students got accepted." [6,17]

By 1978 the school had a faculty of 8: [8]

Faculty in 1978:

• Amelia Jackson CDTA Director
• Don McKinnon CDTA Assistant Director
• Leslie Almgren (who would, with her daughter Gina, later take over the school in the 1990s)
• Marg Hadland
• Mary Evans CDTA
• Barbara Ann Buie
• Ilga Suseklis
• Debra Lee Bechta

The 1970s were a prosperous and memorable time at the close-knit studio for many current residents of Thunder Bay. The studio was "very strict yet rewarding," according to former student Karen Peltonen. [17]

During this time, Amelia must have had an intense rivalry with fellow Ensworth pupil, Sylvia Horn (1914-2005), a tap specialist 10 years her junior and organizer of the 1956-1972 Chapples Department Store Christmas dance shows. Her other competition in this era included Anna Pozihun (1929-2006), baton specialist Ethel Markall, and Fay Gleeson. Mrs. Jackson differentiated her studio by offering the highest level of difficulty and intensity of Ballet, Tap, and Jazz instruction possible. [17]

A congratulations posting from Amelia Jackson and Don McKinnon to Allan Cozzubbo, 27 September 1987, in the Calgary Herald

On 27 September 1987, Amelia and Don advertised best wishes to their dance teacher friend Allan Cozzubbo for the 25th anniversary of his studio (Sep 1963 - June 1997) (Which is one year early, counting the opening of Sep 1963 as the "first" anniversary). [4] Cozzubbo's studio had on staff one Lynn Abra [15]

Al Gilbert, circa 1952

Don was apparently a disciple of tap dancer Al Gilbert of California, who administered the exams for the DCNO at the end of many semesters from at least the 1970s through the studio's final exams in April 2000. [17]

"Al Gilbert, the legendary "Pied Piper of Dance," was born, Allesandro Zicari, on July 12, 1921." died of cancer 3 February 2003.

[16]

Thunder Bay's Legendary Ballerina, Amelia Jackson, owned and operated a very strict yet rewarding dance studio here in Thunder Bay, the Northwestern Dance Center. Along with Amelia, were dance Pros Don McKinnon, Lesley Almgren and Leslie Hunt who taught many dancers over the years. Year end exams were conducted by Al Gilbert of Hollywood. Here are some programs with the list of the Guild Members. Lots of names to tag or share with their families.

— Karen Peltonen, Thunder Bay Memories Facebook group, 19 January 2019 [17]

"Tough as nails": The 1980s

Mrs. Jackson continued to teach into her old age at her studio, which by the 1980s was located at 912 Donald Street East. "She always walked with a cane, but she would still stand up and demonstrate if she was really frustrated with us," recalled Barbara Towell, who was a teacher in the late 1980s at the studio. "She would sit in her green leather armchair and lead the class while an instructor demonstrated the syllabus and technique. She was strict and expected excellence," recalled Manuela Michelizzi. [17]

"Mrs. Jackson passed away when I was 9 years old, but I still have very fond and vivid memories of her," recalled Michelizzi. "My fondest memory of her was one Saturday afternoon while I was waiting for my class to begin, she asked me to come over to the little window that separated the waiting area and the studio office, and she asked me to promise her that I would never quit dancing. She said I was naturally talented and a hard worker and that she was proud of my progress. I have continued to dance and am going on my 33rd year." [17]

Deaths of Don McKinnon and Amelia Jackson

On 19 November 1989, Don, Amelia's star pupil, died in a car crash. "Mrs. J was still teaching when Don passed away. It was so so tough on her. She just soldiered on and had been teaching all along," recalled Towell. "Don was like a son to Mrs. Jackson; in my eyes he was." [5,17]

Mrs. Jackson finished that 1989-1990 year and began the next one. She died at age 86 on 20 December 1990. "Her passing was quite a blow to the studio," recalled Michelizzi. "We were all in shock, even though we knew she was not well." [17]

Almgren Era

Gina Almgren, circa 2016

After Don and Amelia's deaths in 1989 and 1990, respectively, the school was taken over by Leslie Almgren and her daughter Gina Almgren (born 20 January 1967). Gina Almgren or [18].

"The studio was taken over by Leslie Almgren in the interim and her daughter Gina Almgren took over shortly thereafter," recalled Michelizzi. [17]

Leslie Almgren had been a faculty member since at least 1978 when she was listed as faculty alongside Don McKinnon in their annual Dance Revue event.

Gina Marie Almgren was born in Fort William on 20 January 1967 to Wayne Almgren and Leslie Almgren (nee Niro). [1]

Gina had a sister, Heather Lee Almgren born 28 September 1969. [2]

Leslie and Gina rallied the studio to finish the 1989-1990 season and continued to run it for nine additional seasons. Gina, mentored by Al Gilbert, "revolutionized the studio and provided us with countless opportunities to grow," recalled Michelizzi. [17]

In the 1990s, the studio's dancers, trained in the Cecchetti method by elite teachers Carol Giddings of the UK and ballet mistress Chiara Richmond, dominated in ballet categories in competitions across the United States. [17]

Gina choreographed the opening and closing ceremonies of the March 1995 Nordic World Ski Championships in Thunder Bay, which involved one hundred dancers from across the region. Following this, with Chiara she produced and directed high-profile Nutcracker performances at Thunder Bay Community Auditorium each Christmas from 1996 to 1999. [10,17]

On 13 April 1997 the school announced auditions for the Nutcracker once again [19].

As of 23 December 1999, a "gala" was to be performed that "pays tribute to our forests", according to Chronicle-Journal, 23 Dec 1999, B1 [20]

The staff from the 1990s era included Michelizzi, Natalie Doyle, Kerri Gammond, Karen Kruger, Heather Syvitski, Cathy Wazinski, Shannon Creedon, Amanda Cervi, and Tina Viera. [17]

In 1998 the school was at 912 Donald Street East, at the corner of Donald Street East and Vickers Street South, in Fort William, Thunder Bay, Ontario. Their phone number was 807-622-3444.

Closure of the studio

After Gilbert's final exams on 26 April 2000, and the May 2000 end-of-season recital, Gina, then aged 32, sent a letter to her students explaining that she had decided to close the studio and pursue her career in California, where she spent many summers over the years. [16,17]

"The closure of the studio came as a complete shock," recalled Michelizzi. "I personally had a very hard time accepting it and grieved the loss of the studio." [17]

Gina Almgren later moved away from the Thunder Bay area, according to the owners of a dance clothing business as of 2019 in the basement of 912 Donald Street East - Flair Athletics [21].

Gina is listed on the website for an events company in California as the manager and director, and this company lists many Thunder Bay and dance related companies as clients, including "Northwestern Ontario Dance Center" [sic] and "Northwestern Ontario Ballet Guild" [22]

After abruptly closing her Thunder Bay dance studio in 2000 at age 32—a move former staff described as shocking—Gina Almgren vanished from the Canadian arts scene and later re-emerged with a radically different public identity. By her own account, her "true life's journey" did not begin with dance, choreography, or teaching, but with her initiation in 2009 into the Modern Mystery School, an international spiritual organization that has been the subject of extensive investigative reporting. A 2021 VICE feature documented former members' allegations of financial exploitation, psychological manipulation, sexual coercion, and cult-like control mechanisms within the group, including extreme initiation rituals, pressure to recruit others, and the use of fear-based spiritual narratives. Since at least 2026, Almgren publicly identifies as a "Senior Guide," "Healer," and "Instructor" in this system, adopting its internal language, cosmology, and hierarchical titles.

As of 2026, now 59, Almgren's public-facing persona is almost entirely defined by this affiliation. Her professional bios erase nearly all reference to the dance studio she once ran, the students she trained, or the legacy she inherited—reframing her pre-2009 life as merely a prelude to spiritual "awakening." Instead, she promotes metaphysical services, esoteric travel experiences, and the idea of "ancient lineage teachings" derived from the Mystery School's belief system. Where there was once a local dance educator rooted in a real community, there is now a figure whose authority comes not from demonstrable work but from rank within a controversial spiritual hierarchy. Whether this transformation is sincere, ideological, or commercial, Gina Almgren disappeared from the community that she contributed so much to in the 1990s.

Legacy

Linda Kearns, who began dance at age 7 with Mrs. Jackson and is now at Brandon School of Dance, states that "it was Amelia who instilled in her not only the love of dance, but the discipline and work ethic needed not only in the world of dance but in life in general. Amelia encouraged [a] love of teaching, performing, and choreographing." [13]

The legacy of Amelia Jackson and her fellow teachers lives on in the thousands of students who learned the pleasure of dance, and how to be disciplined in the pursuit of excellence.

Notable students and faculty

Manuela Michelizzi-Bott, circa 2007

• Manuela Michelizzi-Bott started dancing at Northwestern Ontario Dance Centre, at the age of 3 (likely in 1984). She graduated from Patrick's High School in June 2000, and Lakehead in June 2004. She was born to Fortunato and Palmira Michelizzi, who married 10 June 1977. Manuela married Owen Bott on 8 December 2007, after having founded a dance studio called "STEPS Dance Studio" in Chapleau, a suburb of Sudbury, Ontario, opening in September 2007. [3] From 1996 to 2000 Manuela was a "company dancer" at the Northwestern Ontario Dance Centre.

• Linda Kearns, faculty at the Brandon School of Dance. [23] "Linda began dance at the age of 7 under the direction of Amelia Jackson. It was Amelia who instilled in her not only the love of dance but the discipline and work ethic needed not only in the world of dance but in life in general. Amelia encouraged her love of teaching, performing and choreographing and it was through Amelia and Don McKinnon that she began a lifetime friendship with Al Gilbert "the Pied Piper of Dance"."

• Rosalie Brake (nee Rosalie Dicks), the most successful student from the postwar era, who danced with the National Ballet of Canada. [17] [19]

• Maeghan Tofinetti, owner of Fresh Air, coach at Giant Gymnastics, teacher at Fay Gleeson Dance Centre, "which has been her dance family since she was 9", and partner of Dr. Mario Nucci in the "Dancing with the Docs" competition in 2020. [24]

• Michael Currie took his first dance lessons at this studio. He began in September 1998, taking one fall semester and one winter 1999 semester. In Spring 1999 he performed with his team at the Thunder Bay Community Auditorium.

• Heather Syvitski was an instructor from 1991 to 2001. She worked for Equipment World for another ten years, and now has a wedding dance instruction business. She married her husband Gene in 2008. It is possible that she is Gina's sister but this is not confirmed; it is unclear what her maiden name is.[25] [26]

• Emily Schulte, who was from Grand Marais [27]

• Leslie Almgren (nee Niro) and her daughter, Gina Almgren

• Gladys Sands (born 1923), who sang with the Great Lakes Girls' Orchestra in the 1930s, tap danced well into her 80s, and continued singing until age 96. [7,18]

• Stacey Cham-Klein [28]. "I loved my ballet classes with Amelia. She was strict and exacting, expecting her students to do their best but was always had a warm smile to greet us. Loved dancing here in general!! ❤️"

• Barbara Towell [29], "[Barbara Towell] was teaching there for a while around the time that Amelia and Don passed away."

• Don McKinnon (circa 1940 - 19 November 1989), RAD-certified ballet teacher, Amelia's second-in-command, who died in a car crash. [5]

• Chiara Richmond (now Chiara Akerman) - as of 2024 at Tempo Dance Academy in Nanimo, BC. [30]

• Carol Giddings of the UK, elite Cecchetti method teacher in the 1990s. [17]

Sources

[1] Fort William Daily Times-Journal, birth notices. 24 January 1967, page 16. [31]

[2] Fort William Daily Times-Journal, birth notices. 10 October 1969, page 20. [32]

[3] Chapleau Express (a newspaper for a suburb of Sudbury, Ontario), 18 August 2007. [33]

[4] Calgary Herald, 27 September 1987, page 20.

[5] MCKINNON, DONALD (MR.) 19/11/1989 chronicle journal: 21/11/89 P. 22 times news: 22/11/89 P. 30

[6] "Senior Salute": Amelia Jackson. Chronicle Journal, 23 June 1988. [34]

[7] The Jacksons of Fort William, by Harvey L. Smyth. In the Brodie Special Collections.

[8] 11 June 1976; Selkirk Auditorium, Galaxy of Dance for '76, dance program

[9] Google Street View Google Street View

[10] "Local dance centre to produce 'Nutcracker' this Christmas" Thunder Bay Post, 18 Jun 1996, p. 12 Dancing ; Thunder Bay Community Auditorium ; Nutcracker Ballet ; Northwestern Ontario Dance Centre ; Gina Almgren ; Clint Kuschak ; photo. [35]

[11] Facebook [36]

[12] 1997 Nutcracker http://news.ourontario.ca/2231665/data?n=112

[13] https://brandonschoolofdance.ca/faculty/

[14] Thunder Bay Museum Articles: "Maurice Jackson's All Girls' Band", XXX (2002), 39-46 [37]

[15] Ethel Duffield (1931 - 2011) Obituary. "As a member of Maurice Jackson's All Girl Band, she travelled from coast to coast and met every troop train, entertaining the troops during the war years." [38]

[16] Fort Frances News, 16 April 2000.

[17] Currie, Michael B. "A life devoted to dance" (a biography of Thunder Bay's Amelia Jackson). Bayview Magazine, 23 September 2023.

[18] Patricia Dawkins (daughter of Gladys Sands), personal communication, March 2020.

[19] Brake, Rosalie (nee Dicks) Passion for ballet lives on with students [Where are they now?]. CJ. (photo). 5 October 1999. p.A [39]

She received an arts grant for dance in 1973: "Rosalie Dicks, Toronto" [40]

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Local dance students shine Wednesday, Apr 26, 2000 Category: News Dancers at the Fort Dance Studio took their Al Gilbert Tap and Jazz exams April 16 at the Northwestern Ontario Dance Centre in Thunder Bay.

They also participated in workshops the previous day.

The following are the exam results:

< *c>Grade 1 Tap

•Katie Blais (100)

•Jazmine Gauthier (100)

< *c>Grade 2 Tap

•Borka Gauthier (100)

•Michele Gilbert (100)

•Kathryn Pierroz (97)

•Susan Ploegman (100)

•Jennifer Coats (97)

•Armando Gauthier (100)

< *c>Primary Jazz

•Joelle Barron (98)

•Jazmine Gauthier (99)

•Riley Keast (98)

•Jenna Nowak (96)

•Lauren Krueger (100)

•Brooke Fontana (97)

< *c>Grade 1 Jazz

•Pam Cherry (100)

•Borka Gauthier (100)

•Armando Gauthier (94)

•Michele Gilbert (100)

Congratulations to all exam students!

[41]