Dayton Ballet Tickets | Schedule for 2024/2025 Events

Dayton Ballet

In the US, Dayton Ballet is the second-oldest ballet company. It was founded in 1937 by sisters Josephine and Hermene Schwarz. The ballet company performs four familiar works and 40+ works in its seasonal shows.

The company is located in Dayton, Ohio. It is a popular regional ballet company that performs in historic venues like Victoria Theatre (Dayton, Ohio) and Schuster Performing Arts Center. Both theaters have more than a thousand seats and have been home to many famous ballets/ shows.

Founding and History of Dayton Ballet

Josephine (Jo) Schwarz and Hermene opened The Schwarz School of Dance in 1927. Jo then went on to study ballet. She danced in Chicago and New York and was a part of the School of American Ballet dancers. Jo even went on ballet tours in England and performed in Broadway shows.

However, Jo went back home when she suffered from an injury. She started The Experimental Group for Young Dancers troupe with her sister Hermene in 1938. They performed at the Dayton Art Institute. Jo put all her efforts into promoting ballet in Dayton. She was one of the leading contributors to the American regional ballet movement in the mid-20th century.

The troupe became a company and changed its name to Dayton Civic Ballet in 1958. The next year, the company became a charter member of the Northeast Regional Ballet Association in the US. Sometime in 1978, Dayton Civic Ballet was renamed Dayton Ballet.

Jo and Hermene continued to perform and promote ballet at choreography conferences and regional dance festivals. In 1980, Jo invited Stuart Sebastian to become the company’s director. He was one of their students and a professional dancer.

Stuart Sebastian was also a professional dancer at the National Ballet of Washington and choreographed many ballets in Germany, England, and New York. He was Dayton Ballet’s director for a decade and took the company to new heights.

The Turbulence and Rise

The years from 1991 to 93 were tough for the company, with major changes happening in the directorial board and staff. Things settled down when Dermot Burke to up the responsibilities. Dayton Ballet began to focus more on American literature under his leadership.

Karen Russo Burke became the director in 2011. Dayton Ballet, Dayton Opera, and Dayton Philharmonic Orchestra were merged as a single entity in 2012 and have been the same.