We mourn the loss of our beloved cofounder, Merle Sepel Wagner, who passed away in July 2022. Miss Merle was a master ballet teacher who dedicated her life to teaching, achieving many professional accomplishments along the way.
Her early dance training was with her aunt, Mignon Furman, in South Africa. She went on to become a graduate and licentiate of the Royal Academy of Dance (RAD) in London and an Associate of the Imperial Society of Teachers of Dance (ISTD). She then taught ballet in South Africa for several years before moving to the U.S. and opening Academy of Dance in Southern California, where she trained hundreds of students for over 25 years. In 1993 Miss Sepel became an international Examiner for the RAD. For 14 years, she traveled the globe, assessing students and prospective teachers. In 1997 she founded American Pacific Ballet Company with the mission of bringing dance to the community and providing performance opportunities and a training ground for aspiring dancers. She worked with her aunt Mignon Furman again for many years as a faculty member at the Summer School of Excellence, where she led the teachers’ training course. In 2005 she was invited to become a lecturer in the Theater and Dance Department at California State University, Fullerton (CSUF), where she went on to teach for over 15 years*.
In 2007 she was appointed a judge for Performance Awards under the direction of Mignon Furman. Miss Merle also created The Enchanted Doorway – Adventures in Dance program with her brother Brian Sepel. A series of dance training programs for young children, it is taught in South Africa, Israel, Mexico, Singapore, Greece, England, Holland, Portugal and Switzerland, as well as throughout the U.S. In 2013 Miss Merle and Rebecca Tsivkin established International Dance Acclaim (IDA), a comprehensive program for dance studios that encourages achievement through performance.
A kind and brilliant woman, Miss Merle leaves behind a rich legacy of bringing the love of dance and artistic excellence to students throughout the world.
*The Merle & Brian Sepel Memorial Dance Scholarship at California State University, Fullerton, was established in memory of Dance Professor Merle and her brother Dance Accompanist Brian Sepel by her husband and their parents to help enable financially disadvantaged CSUF students to pursue a dance education.
