Josephine Schwarz, 95; With Sister, Founded the Dayton Ballet Company

Josephine Schwarz, 95, who co-founded one of the oldest regional ballet companies, died Friday in Boulder, Colo., after a long period of declining health.

With her older sister Hermene, Schwarz started the Dayton Ballet in Dayton, Ohio, in 1937. She directed the company for 43 years before retiring in 1980. The New York City Ballet, the San Francisco Ballet and the Atlanta Ballet are the only professional ballet companies in the United States older than the Dayton ballet.

Although she choreographed more than 75 works, she was best known as an exacting teacher and director.

A native of Dayton, Schwarz was 8 when her mother enrolled her in dance classes to rebuild her strength after an illness that left her deaf in one ear. She performed in Chicago and on Broadway before a knee injury forced her to return home to Dayton. That led to the Dayton Ballet, which was originally known as the Experimental Group for Young Dancers.