Toledo Ballet celebrates the life of founder: Marie Vogt on what would have been her 100th birthday

TOLEDO, Ohio (WTVG) - Marie Vogt passed away on June 19th of 2020 at the age of 99, but her legacy lives on.

“Today we’re here to celebrate the life of Marie Vogt, our beloved director and founder of the Toledo Ballet, in celebration of what would have been her 100 birthday,” said Toledo Ballet Artistic Director Lisa Mayer-Lang. “We feel her with us every day in spirit, and we miss seeing her here in the studio watching rehearsals and classes, summer intensives, and everything else.”

The first-ever performance of The Nutcracker in the United State took place right here in Toledo thanks to Vogt. This past December the Toledo Ballet dedicated its 80th Anniversary Nutcracker show in honor of Madame Vogt to celebrate her incredible life and work.

In a statement on the Toledo Ballet’s website, the group plans to forever remember their founder, stating:

“It is our mission to continue Madame Vogt’s vision to inspire the passions and spirit of our Toledo community through dance. Whether you studied under Madame Vogt, take classes at the Toledo Ballet studio, or attend our annual performances of The Nutcracker, you have been a part of Marie’s life-long commitment to providing quality dance instruction and exceptional performance opportunities to students throughout our region.”

To celebrate what would have been Vogt’s 100th birthday, dancers with the Toledo Ballet performed a medley of classic variations. The performances were filmed and posted to Youtube on the Toledo Ballet’s page.

Staff with The Toledo Ballet also have an endowment named in Vogt’s honor that is used to ”perpetuate superb dance in our community.”

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