About This Business
Dayton Ballet, one of the oldest and finest professional dance companies in the United States, takes pride in celebrating its 74th anniversary this season. Dayton Ballet had its beginning when Josephine Schwarz and her sister Hermene opened The Schwarz School of Dance in 1927. "Miss Jo" later studied at the School of American Ballet, but was forced to return home to Dayton after receiving an injury while performing in New York. In May 1938, Miss Jo and Miss Hermene gathered together the school's finest dancers, named the troupe "The Experimental Group for Young Dancers," and staged a performance at the Dayton Art Institute. This was the first performance of what is now Dayton Ballet.