Ms. Peggy Sutton is the director of Mayfair Academy of Fine Arts and the executive director of the Mayfair Performing company. Mayfair was founded in 1957 by renowned Tap Master, Mr. Tommy Sutton with the goal of developing dance as a cultural and physical asset for the children of his community. He passed on his legacy to his daughter, Peggy Sutton who has successfully operated Mayfair since 1978.
Ms. Sutton manages the day-to-day operations of Mayfair and oversees the creative direction for all of Mayfair’s productions. In addition to her duties and at Mayfair, Ms. Sutton has directed and produced events at venues such as UIC Pavilion, Medinah Temple, the Chicago Theater, the Skyline Stage at Navy Pier, the Chicago Hilton & Towers, the Museum of Science & Industry, the DuSable Museum, the Harold Washington Cultural Center, the Harris Theater and the Arie Crown Theater. Entertaining audiences up to 5000 while exposing her students to the finest venues that Chicago has to offer. Peggy's choreography reaches beyond Mayfair Productions and includes the Chicago Links Cotillion, The Dance Ministries of TUCC, The Chicago Public Schools, The Chicago Park District, Valparaiso University and numerous Dance Competitions. Ms. Sutton has also written, produced and directed countless theatrical productions such as "These Daze", "Young Gifted & Black", "Mayfair's Fame", "Ease on Down the Road", "The Seven Days of Kwanzaa" and most recently“ Lift Every Voice – The Mayfair Story”. In addition to her administrative and artistic duties at Mayfair she has also been commissioned as a choreographer for many local civic and charitable organizations throughout Chicago.
Ms. Sutton is the recipient of the Chocolate Chip Theater Co. “Smart Cookie" award, the AKA "Pearls of Excellence" award, the ETA Gala "Demonstrating the Faith" award, the Chic ago Defenders "Women of Excellence" award, Zeta Phi Beta's 2008 Women of the Year award, the 2008 Ruth Page Award, the Sigma Gamma Rho–Torch Award and most recently the CHRP’s JUBA! Award for Lifetime Contribution to the Field of Tap Dance.
Ms. Sutton understands that her purpose is to continue the legacy her father left before her, which is to educate, expose, empower and employ our children in the Fine Arts. Ms. Sutton nurture s her students and her faculty who are all like one big family. Most of the teachers at Mayfair were once students. It is Ms. Sutton's hope that her legacy will be to show by example the business of the arts as a thriving African American and female owned and operated business that has been a positive fixture and cultural institution in the same community for the past 60 years.