Mary McNulty Hayes early training began at age 7 with Lorraine Cranford in Dallas, Texas. She turned to Dallas Civic Ballet at age 10, training with former dancers of the Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo Natasha Krassovska and  GeorgeSkibine, and with Marjorie Tallchief, Milenko Banovitch and Gustavo Mollajoli. In jazz dance she has studied with the greats: Jerry Bywaters Cochran, Buster Cooper and Luigi. At age 12 she received from Violette Verdy one of the first Ford Foundation Scholarships to study at the School of American Ballet, the school of the New York City Ballet. Every summer she had full scholarships to study at American Ballet Theatre (John Watts), Joffrey Ballet School (Robert Joffrey), and Harkness Ballet (David Howard, Elizabeth Carroll, and Maria Vegh).

Mary’s professional career began in Chicago with Maria Tallchief, then director of the Chicago Opera Ballet.  She was invited to Paris at age 18 to dance by Gustavo Mollajoli to join the Ballet Populare du Reims. Mary remained in Europe for over 8 years dancing professionally in Kassel, Kiel and Frankfurt, Germany. She has toured Austria, Germany, Switzerland, England, Italy, France and Greece performing major roles in Sheherazade, Le Duel, Annabel Lee, Giselle, Concerto Barocco, Company in C, Romeo and Juliet, Sleeping Beauty and Swan Lake. Mary was invited aboard Queen Elizabeth’s Yacht the HMY Britannia, serving as an Officers escort and meeting the Queen of England, and has dined with and danced for Prince Rainier and Princess Grace of Monte Carlo, Monaco. In summer she continued to train with in Paris with Raymond Franchetti and Gilbert Mayer, and in New York with David Howard and Finis Jhung alongside Baryshnikov, Gelsey Kirkland and Rudolph Nureyev. She has had the fortune to work with some of the greatest 20thcentury  choreographers such as Peter Wright, Jiri Kylian, William Forsythe. 

After retiring as a dancer she served as Assistant Artistic Director of Kingwood Dance Theatre, a pre professional performing honor company with Regional Dance America, Executive Director of Tyler Ballet School, Assistant Director ofTyler Ballet Company, and taught and choreographed for Litchfield Dance Arts near Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. Her students have received scholarships for summer workshops at the Pittsburgh Youth Ballet, Joffrey, North Carolina School of the Arts, Lines Ballet, and Dance Theatre of Harlem. Mary’s choreography has won high awards at both the Regional and National levels. She has a close relationship to the Juilliard dance department and her students have participated in both the summer and degree program. Other dancers have been accepted to Purchase Performing Arts College, University of Oklahoma, New York University and University of Arizona. Former students are dancing professionally in companies all over the World.

Mary is currently ballet director at Accent on Dance in Waukesha Wisconsin. She resides in Cedarburg/Grafton with her longtime companion Damon. Mary has 3 grown children and 2 beautiful grandchildren.