Marvin Danto leaves lasting local legacy

Marvin and Betty Danto, a prominent Longboat Key couple, left behind a legacy that will dance on through The Sarasota Ballet and the other organizations they touched.

The couple were snowbirds and spent time living in Bloomfield Hills, Mich., and Longboat Key. After Betty’s death in May 2009, Marvin left Longboat Key to spend time with family. On Tuesday, Jan. 24, at the age of 95, he died.

“He’s been missed (since he left Sarasota), and he will (continue to) be greatly missed,” says Sydney Goldstein, former president of the Sarasota Ballet.

“They loved it there, they loved the people there, and they loved being apart of the cultural institutions,” Joanne Danto says of her parent’s love for the area. “They were able to meet a lot of people through those associations.”

Their love of ballet developed because of their daughter, Joanne, who danced with the Pennsylvania Ballet, National Ballet of Washington, the Joffrey Ballet and the Frankfurt Opera Ballet. Mr. Danto was involved with ballet in Michigan, where he served as charter chairman of the Detroit City Ballet for two years. The ballet only lasted for six. He then became more involved in the Sarasota Ballet.

“I don’t think they would have had the interest (if I weren’t a dancer),” says Joanne Danto. “As the years went on, they did gain a lot more interest with it, and I know they were very supportive of the Sarasota company.”

Mr. Danto was key in the hiring of former Sarasota Ballet Artistic Director Robert de Warren in 1994. Both Mr. and Mrs. Danto were involved with “Dance — The Next Generation.” It is a program that gives underprivileged children an opportunity to learn dance. They also financed a youth program of the Sarasota Ballet, and a portion of the Sarasota Ballet building is named for them: Danto Center for the Sarasota Ballet of Florida. Mr. Danto served on the executive committee of the board for the Sarasota Ballet and gave them a $1 million matching grant, which the ballet met.

According to close friend and founder of the Sarasota Ballet, Jean Weidner, Mr. Danto saved the Sarasota Ballet single-handedly on two occasions.

“I think he was a prince among men. We would not have this company were it not for him,” Weidner says.
She encouraged him to get involved with the ballet from the beginning, and he became a driving force behind its success.

All who knew of him and his involvement say he was a visionary.

“He met (Artistic Director) Iain Webb shortly before taking ill, and I believe he was very proud to have a leader who could live up to the talents of the company,” Weidner says.

Webb didn’t know Danto well, but remembers that every Christmas he would give each student and dancer money. Webb appreciated the support Danto gave him when Webb first signed on.

“He’ll be greatly missed, but he’ll never be forgotten because he touched everything in this community,” Webb says. “He will always be an incredible part of this organization.”

The Dantos’ support extended into other areas of Sarasota. In 2006, the Dantos donated $1 million to the John and Mable Ringling Museum of Art in support of the museum’s educational mission. The couple also supported the Florida West Coast Symphony and New College. The Dantos have also given support to G.WIZ — The Science Museum, and supported a program at the Ringling Museum, which teaches children art appreciation and gives them knowledge of the arts.

The couple’s generosity extended beyond the Florida borders. Mr. Danto was on the board of the Jewish Home for the Aged, and he and his wife founded the Danto Family Home for the Elderly in Bloomfield, Mich. They also funded a dance program for the Michigan Opera Theatre. About seven years ago, Mr. Danto donated $3 million for a new Engineering Development Center at Wayne State University, where he received an engineering degree. The center is an 82,000-square-foot facility with a mission to advance an interactive, academic-business model and promotion of nanotechnology, smart sensors and alternative energy.

But, Mr. Danto didn’t build his prominence in engineering. He served in the Army during World War II as a private, and left the Army with the rank of captain. Following the war he ended up in the furniture business due to a lack of engineering jobs. His in-laws, the Englanders, were in the retail furniture business, and he joined them, eventually becoming president and owner of Englander Furniture Shops. This company merged with Triangle Furniture and briefly became Englander Triangle. Mr. Danto also served as a director of the National Home Furnishings Association, for which he was later elected president and also chairman.

Mr. Danto was founder and owner of the Michigan Design Center, which he opened in 1977. Michigan Design Center started as the first one-floor design center in the country and now holds more than 30 showrooms in more than 215,000 square feet. He created Design Center of the Americas in 1982 in Dania — the largest and one of the most successful design centers in America — and sold it in 2005.

His legacy lives on through the ballet and organizations that he and his wife greatly impacted.

“People who can afford to give, should. You recognize how fortunate you are. I was born and raised in a well-to-do family, and my father went absolutely broke in the Depression. It made a big impact on me. It made me realize that others are less fortunate and that is what drives what we do today,” said Marvin Danto in the December 1998 edition of Black Tie magazine.

Mr. Danto is survived by a sister; son, James; daughters, Joanne Danto and Gail Danto; five grandchildren, and two great-grandchildren. All of the Danto children still live in Bloomfield Hills, Mich.
A funeral service was held in Southfield, Mich. Burial took place at Beth El Cemetery in Michigan.

Memorial donations may be made to Jewish Hospice and Chaplaincy Network, Marvin and Betty Danto Memorial Fund: www.jewishhospice.org, or the University of Michigan Cardiovascular Center, Marvin and Betty Danto Education Fund, 1000 Oakbrook Suite 1000, Ann Arbor, MI 48109.