NDI at a Glance
National Dance Institute (NDI) was founded in the belief that the arts have a unique power to engage children and motivate them toward excellence. Under the artistic direction of Ellen Weinstein and a staff of professional dancer/choreographers and musician/composers, NDI strives to reach every child, transcending barriers of language, culture, and physical challenges. Since it was founded in 1976 by New York City Ballet principal dancer Jacques d’Amboise, NDI has impacted the lives of over 2 million children. Not one child has paid a penny for these programs.
- Each year, NDI transforms the lives of over 35,000 New York City public school
students, their parents, teachers and local communities through classes, residencies and
performances.
- Through classes led by professional teaching artists, we work intensively with 3,500 children
for 32 weeks each year in our partner schools throughout Manhattan, Brooklyn and the Bronx. - NDI works with mainstream, bilingual, and special education classes.
- The majority of NDI dancers come from low-income communities.
- NDI works with mainstream, bilingual, and special education classes.
- The majority NDI dancers come from low-income communities.
- Among NDI dancers, 32% are Latino, 24% Asian, 23% Caucasian, 19% African-American,
and 2% other non-white minority groups.
- All NDI programs are offered to children free of charge.
IN-SCHOOL PROGRAM: NDI conducts a year-long program for children to explore the process by which movement put to music becomes dance. Our classes involve an entire grade and happen during the school day, placing the arts on an equal standing with math, science and social studies. Children learn to work together, develop personal standards of excellence, and cultivate a belief in themselves that carries over into all aspects of their lives...for the rest of their lives.
ADVANCED PROGRAMS:
SWAT TEAM (Scholarships for the Willing, Achieving and Talented): Dancers selected from the In-School program receive advanced dance instruction on Saturdays and in after school programs throughout the school year. The program culminates in NDI’s Event of the Year, a large-scale, professionally produced performance featuring the NDI dancers.
CELEBRATION TEAM: Children who demonstrate an extraordinary commitment throughout their NDI training are invited to join this advanced performance troupe, and may continue their NDI experience up to the age of 15. These dancers perform in a variety of venues year-round, which have included: Lincoln Center; Juilliard; City Center; the Kennedy Center; the White House; the Academy Awards; and Symphony Space. They have danced internationally in Geneva, Switzerland; Venice, Italy; Jerusalem, Israel; and Shanghai, China.
IRENE DIAMOND SUMMER INSTITUTE: Summer Institute is a month-long dance academy. The rigorous program combines a full schedule of classes in ballet, jazz, tap, ethnic dance, music (voice and orchestra), and theatre with special guest artists who introduce the children to a range of artistic experiences. Each year, 100 full scholarships are awarded.
TRAINING AND DEVELOPMENT: NDI offers intensive Teaching Artist Training workshops in NDI’s award-winning pedagogy year-round, serving educators and artists within New York City, across the USA and around the world.
FINANCIALS: National Dance Institute has an annual operating budget of roughly $3.5 million. Currently, NDI has broad individual donor support and receives 35% of its funding through Foundations. Contributors of $50,000 and more include The Heckscher Foundation for Children; The Picower Foundation; Blanchette Hooker Rockefeller Fund; The Shubert Foundation, Inc.; The Peter Jay Sharp Foundation; and The Starr Foundation.
Corporate sponsors include: Citigroup, Con Edison, CVS, ING, JPMorganChase and MetLife. In 2005, NDI was selected by Putumayo World Music as the charity recipient of 1% of net sales from their children’s CD, “Swing Around the World.”
AWARDS: Jacques d’Amboise was recently inducted into the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. Mr. d’Amboise and NDI have been recognized with many prestigious awards, including: the MacArthur Genius Award; The National Medal of Arts; The Mayor’s Award for Arts & Culture; The Kennedy Center Honors; The Arison Award of the National Foundation for Advancement of the Arts; the Heinz Award; The President’s Committee on the Arts and Humanities’ Coming Up Taller Award; the James Keller Youth Award – The Christophers; The Town Hall “Friend of the Arts” Award; The Producer’s Circle Award for Public Service; People Magazine’s People First Honoree; the Paul Robeson Award for Excellence in the Field of Humanities; and The Governor’s Award for Outstanding Contributions to the Art and Culture of New York State. The film featuring NDI’s early days, “He Makes Me Feel Like Dancin’,” won the Academy Award for best documentary in 1984, six Emmy Awards, the Peabody Award, the Golden Cine Award and the National Education Association Award for the Advancement of Learning Through Broadcasting.
RECENT PRESS: NDI has been featured on WNET/THIRTEEN’s “New York Voices,” NY1’s “One on 1 with Budd Mishkin,” Fox 5’s “Good Day New York,” “CBS Saturday Morning,” and “CBS Sunday Morning.” Print coverage includes The New York Times, People Magazine, Dance Magazine, Dance Teacher Magazine, New York Daily News, El Diario/La Prensa, The Hartford Courant, as well as placements in over 30 NYC community newspapers and magazines.
BOARD OF DIRECTORS: NDI’s Board of Directors includes representatives from JPMorganChase, Sugar Foods Corporation, The Segal Company, and the Fresh Air Fund, as well as members from major law firms and investment banks. See full Board list.
VOLUNTEER BENEFITS: Employees of corporations and foundations, as well as individuals, have the opportunity to create a personal connection with NDI children through visits to schools or dance classes. Other volunteer opportunities include hospitality and special events.
There are children who live each day struggling with academics, with complicated family lives, and with emotional and physical challenges. I have seen these children leave the dance floor with a renewed spirit of hope, better able to handle the problems they face because of the inner peace they derive from the beauty of dance.
- Shelley Harwayne, Educator and former District Superintendent, New York City Public Schools
