MS-48 Dayton (Ohio) Ballet Company Records

Access and Provenance

Series Listing

Brief Agency History

In 1941 the group's name changed to the Dayton Theater Dance Group, and in 1948 the Children's Ballet Company was founded for dancers between the ages of 10 and 14. In 1957 the two companies merged to become the Dayton Ballet Theater. In the early 1950s two membership support groups were formed, the Dayton Ballet Society and the Dayton Dance Guild, to promote dance in the Dayton area and to help maintain the dance companies.

A major reorganization took place in 1958 to bring the functions of all the groups under one corporation--the Dayton Civic Ballet, Incorporated. That same year saw the establishment of a Board of Directors, the granting of federal tax exempt status, a successful lay membership drive, and charter membership in the Northeastern Regional Ballet Association. An auxiliary organization, the Friends of the Dayton Ballet was founded in 1968. The corporation was renamed the Dayton Ballet Association in 1978.

The Schwarz School of Dance continued to be independent and privately run by the Schwarz sisters until 1984, when the Dayton Ballet Association assumed its administration and renamed it the Dayton Ballet Dance Center. Upon the merger of the Jon Rodriguez School of Ballet with the Dayton Ballet Dance Center in 1988, the school became simply known as the Dayton Ballet School.

The Dayton Ballet has a fine national reputation and presents over 70 performances a year, both at home and on tour. In the interests of promoting dance in the Miami Valley area, the Dayton Ballet also gives numerous lecture-demonstrations and mini-concerts to local schools, organizations and art series. The company performs annually at the National Association for Regional Ballet (NARB) festivals and has been granted Major Company status by the NARB.

The Dayton Ballet performs and maintains offices and rehearsal space in Dayton's historic Victory Theatre.

Scope and Content

Subgroup I, the records of the early dance companies, falls naturally into four series. Series 1 contains organizational papers, a constitution, scattered annual reports, audition records, financial records, performance programs and correspondence for two early dance companies, the Dayton Theater Dance Group and the Children's Ballet Company. Range dates for this series are 1938-1957.

In 1957 the Dayton Theater Dance Group and the Children's Ballet Company merged to form the Dayton Ballet Theater. Series 2 contains administrative and financial records as well as some correspondence and performance programs for this group. Range dates are 1956-1958.

Series 3 contains scattered records for the Dayton Ballet Society, a dance appreciation group organized to support the Dayton Theater Dance Group and the Children's Ballet Company. Included are a constitution for the organization and several bulletins. All records in this series are from the year 1939.

Series 4 consists of lecture-demonstration programs, scattered minutes, and miscellaneous papers of the Dayton Dance Guild, another community support group for the early dance companies. Records in this series date from 1945-1958.

There are two series in subgroup II, the Schwarz School of the Dance. Series 1 contains some records of advertizing brochures, school announcements, scattered correspondence, and information about a recently formed alumni association, while Series 2 contains the performance records--recital bulletins, programs, photographs of ballet performances and students and staff through the years, and some costume designs. Span dates are from 1927-1987.

The records in the third subgroup, the Dayton Ballet Company, comprise the majority of the collection. Most of the records in this subgroup begin in 1958, when the Dayton Ballet Theater and its support group combined and incorporated as the Dayton Civic Ballet, although there are some earlier records included because of their provenance.

Subgroup III is divided into ten series. Series 1 consists of administrative records, including constitutions, bylaws, minutes of the Board of Directors' meetings, Board of Directors' correspondence, annual reports, newsletters, membership lists, and contractual agreements. Records in this series cover the years 1958-1986.

The financial records in Series 2 include budgets and financial reports for the years 1958-1985, company inventories for 1966-1979, information on scholarships, and a file containing several grant proposals written to the Ohio Arts Council, the National Endowment for the Humanities, and various local corporate foundations. Span dates for this series are 1956-1986.

Series 3, Performance Records, has an extensive collection of performance programs and performance photographs for the ballet. There are also some costume designs. In addition, the series has files containing correspondence and planning information for special performances and lecture/demonstration programs, also repertoire and booking data, company audition records, and correspondence and negotiations with various guest artists and choreographers who have worked with the Dayton Ballet over the years. There is much information here on the amount of work and preparation that go into a performance by the ballet. Span dates for the series are 1958-1989.

Series 4 contains minutes, financial reports, announcements, and newsletters for two auxiliary organizations--the Friends of the Dayton Ballet and the Dayton Performing Arts Fund--covering the years 1968-1987.

Series 5 includes material connected with the Dayton Ballet's membership in the National Association for Regional Ballet (NARB), the Northeastern Regional Ballet Association (NERBA), the American Dance Guild, and the Association of Ohio Dance Companies. Included in this series are newsletters, correspondence, membership rosters, festival preparation details and programs, broadsides, regional conference material, member company evaluations, and some publications of the NARB and the NERBA. This series has much useful information about the regional ballet movement, and Dayton Ballet's long, active, and influential involvement with it. The series also includes material relating to Josephine Schwarz's participation in the Ohio Arts Council. Span dates for the series are 1967-1987.

The correspondence in Series 6 covers such topics as choreography, staging, touring, festivals, performances, booking details, educational programs, company personnel, financial matters, and public relations. There are also specific correspondence files for Josephine Schwarz, former Director of the Dayton Ballet, and Jon Rodriguez, a former Associate Director of the company and currently Director of the Ballet School, which mainly contain correspondence with their colleagues throughout the dance world.

Series 7, Miscellaneous, contains an assorted collection of files including an article on medical problems of dancers; some information about a short-lived associated group of dancers, the Dayton Chamber Dance Company; a proposal for a BFA in Dance at Wright State University; an article written by Hermene Schwarz on the art of costuming for the dance, and some reminiscences of Hermene after her death; some information on a training program for a dance class pianist; and a file containing miscellaneous papers relating to Josephine Schwarz.

Press releases, promotional material, broadsides, and press clippings comprise Series 8, Publicity. Span dates for this series are 1933-1988.

The scrapbooks in Series 9 contain a chronological record of programs, broadsides, newspaper and magazine articles and memorabilia covering the early careers of Josephine and Hermene Schwarz, the Schwarz School of the Dance, the early dance groups, and the Dayton Ballet. Span dates for the scrapbooks are 1920-1978.

Series 10, the oversize records, mainly contains large publicity posters, but also includes some costume designs, photographs, and citations and awards. These large records are stored in the special oversize drawers.

The basic arrangement of the various files is chronological within each series, except for the performance photographs which for the most part are stored in alphabetical order by the name of the ballet performed.

The researcher using this collection should be aware of the following distinct groups and their interrelated activities:

The Dayton Ballet School, formerly the Schwarz School of the Dance, then the Dayton Ballet Dance Center, is the official school for the Dayton Ballet Company. The Dayton Ballet first company is a professional performing group of approximately 15 dancers. Dayton Ballet II is the apprentice/training company for the first company. Both companies are supported and promoted by The Dayton Ballet Association. The Dayton Ballet Association is a non-profit corporation which maintains a staff, a rehearsal hall, and an office for company classes, rehearsals, business and meetings. The Friends of the Dayton Ballet is the volunteer service arm of the Dayton Ballet Association and fulfills various company needs as they arise.

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