Joni Messler pirouetted through life.
From New York to Paris to London, she trained as a professional ballerina before settling down in Gainesville as a ballet instructor in 1959. Her memory lives on with the students she taught for over 50 years.
“She was a big part of the lives of many dance students that come through her doors,” Messler’s friend Mimi Gray said.
On April 15, Messler died of natural causes — she was 85 years old. She was known for creating the ballet “The Little Match Girl,” which was performed around Christmastime for 33 years at the Phillips Center for the Performing Arts.
The story centered around a poor girl on the street who had to sell matches to survive. After having sweet visions, she eventually freezes to death, but Gray said Messler decided to alter the ending for her ballet so the match girl would see her grandma in a dream.
The ballet featured both novice community members and refined dancers from Messler’s studio.
Joni Messler photographed while rehearsing a ballet sequence.
Thea Miller, a 21-year-old UF English major, said she went to the Joni Messler Studio of Dance for 11 years.
“She had a very strong personality,” Miller said. “She was very funny a lot of times and very charismatic.”
While Messler took dancing seriously, she still wanted to have fun with what she taught, Miller said.
“She would like to goof around and that would show in some of her choreography,” Miller said.
Messler would occasionally have dancers stumble on purpose for comedy ballets or make funny faces or giggle — especially if the recital featured a handsome prince.
During Miller’s junior year of high school, when Messler stopped running her dance studio at age 83, she would have former students over to hang out and talk.
”We were kind of like sorority sisters, which is really nice,” Miller said.
Miller said Messler played a crucial role in her life, and without her, she wouldn’t be as interested in performing and being creative as she is now. Seeing Messler create her ballet and its success helped inspire Miller to want to follow her dreams in film writing.
Messler’s nickname, “Miss Joni,” came from a classical ballet tradition, Jodie Gray said. She said any female ballet teacher, regardless of marital status, was referred to as “Miss.”
Jodie Gray said the nickname carried over when non-dancers began to call her “Miss Joni” as well.
“There really was a spectrum for anybody who could be involved,” Jodie Gray said. “I know that meant a lot to Miss Joni — she enjoyed teaching.”
A young Joni Messler photographed in ballet costume.
Jodie Gray’s mother, Mimi Gray, was a former ballet teacher at Joni Messler Studio of Dance for 20 years.
“She loved working with young people,” Mimi Gray said. “She loved teaching dance, and she knew so much about it.”
Mimi Gray said one of her fondest memories of Messler was when Jodie Gray got to be one of the ballerinas in the opening number of Messler’s recital, “Go to Dreamland.”
She thought her daughter was going to get kicked from the number because she had a tap dance right after it.
“I thought — this is terrible; she can't go back-to-back,” Mimi Gray said. “That's just impossible.”
But Messler added a brief pause to let Jodie Gray change into her tap costume and shoes, Mimi Gray said.
“[Miss Joni] came walking up to me, and I just thought, ‘Oh no,’” Mimi Gray said. “She looked at me, and she said, ‘We will wait for you,’ and that just meant so much to me. I’ll just never forget it.”
Messler’s niece, Dawn Bishop, said she will remember Messler as a mentor and best friend. Messler’s marriage gave her the best idea of what a relationship should look like: Messler stepped down from teaching dance to help take care of her sick husband before he died in 2021.
Messler’s compassion transferred to the studio. Bishop said she was a coach who could be constructive while always giving praise to build confidence.
“That was important because everybody’s got something great about them, and she would find that and let them know,” Bishop said.
Contact Jackson Reyes at jacksonreyes@alligator.org. Follow him on Twitter @JacksnReyes.
Jackson Reyes is a UF journalism senior and The Alligator's Fall 2023 Sports Editor. He previously served as Digital Managing Editor and was a reporter and assistant editor on the sports desk. In his free time, he enjoys collecting records, long walks on the beach and watching Bo Nix.
