Jacques d'Amboise
Recognized as one of the finest classical dancers of our time, Jacques d’Amboise now leads the field of arts education with a model program that exposes thousands of school children to the magic and discipline of dance. In 1976, while still a principal dancer at the New York City Ballet, Mr. d’Amboise founded the National Dance Institute in the belief that the arts have a unique power to engage and motivate individuals towards excellence.
His contributions in arts education have earned him numerous awards and honors including: The American Academy of Arts & Sciences (2007); Honorary Degree of Doctor of Fine Arts - Syracuse University (2007);Child Magazine - The Children’s Champion Award (2007); The Mayor’s Award for Arts & Culture (2004); Honorary Doctorate of Humane Letters - St. Joseph College (2003); The James Keller Youth Award - The Christopher’s (2002); The Arison Award(2002); People First Honoree – People Magazine (2002); Honorary Doctorate of Humane Letters at Franklin Pierce College (2002); The Heinz Award (2001); Honorary Doctorate of Fine Arts at the University of the South (2001); Town Hall Friend of the Arts Award (2000); Honorary Doctorate of Fine Arts at the Juilliard School (2000); The Dance Magazine Award (1999); The National Medal of Arts (1998); NCEA St. Elizabeth Ann Seton Award (1996); The Kennedy Center Honors (1995); The National Caring Award– The Caring Institute (1995); The Museum Of The City Of New York - $24 Award; The Award for Distinguished Service to the Arts from the American Academy of Arts and Letters (1993); a 1990 MacArthur Fellowship: The Capezio Award (1990); The First Annual Producers Circle Award for public service (1989); The Paul Robeson Award for excellence in the field of the humanities (1988); The Governor’s Award for outstanding contributions to the Art’s and Culture of New York State (1986); Honorary Doctorate of Fine Arts - Boston College (1986); Honorary Doctorate of Fine Arts - Monmouth University (1984); Honorary Doctorate of Fine Arts - Bates College (1978); Honorary Doctorate of Fine Arts - Saint Peter’s College (1978);Honorary Doctorate of Fine Arts - College of New Rochelle (1976); The Nancy Hank Fellowship – Duke University; and is also an Honorary Big Brother.
“He Makes Me Feel Like Dancin',” a 1984 PBS documentary film about his work with NDI, won an Academy Award, six Emmy Awards, the Peabody Award, the Golden Cine Award, and the National Education Association Award for the advancement of learning through broadcasting. He has also served as a full professor and Dean of Dance for two years at SUNY Purchase and eleven years as visiting professor at the College of Creative Studies, University of California at Santa Barbara.
Mr. d’Amboise began his ballet training with Madam Seda in Washington Heights, New York. Within a year, at the age of 8, he continued his studies at the School of American Ballet with George Balanchine, Anatola Oboukhoff and Pierre Vladimiroff. At age 12 he performed with Ballet Society, the immediate predecessor to the New York City Ballet. Three years later, barely 15, he joined NYCB and the following year made his European debut at London’s Covent Garden. As Balanchine’s protégé, Mr. d’Amboise had more works choreographed specifically for him by The Ballet Master than any other dancer. These include the ballets: Stars and Stripes; Tchaikovsky Pas de Deux; Episodes; Figures in the Carpet; A Midsummer Night’s Dream; Jewels; Raymonda Variations; Meditation; and Brahms-Schoenberg Quartet. Mr. d’Amboise is most remembered for his portrayal of what critics called “the definitive Apollo.” As a choreographer, Mr. d’Amboise’s credits include almost twenty works commissioned for the New York City Ballet.
Mr. d’Amboise has written and directed for theater, film and television, including the musicals Roberta, Lady in the Dark, Peter Pan, Thurber Carnival, The Shooting of Dan McGrew with Galt McDermott, and the films “Event of the Year” and “Fifth Position.”
As a performer, Mr. d’Amboise has appeared on Broadway in the musical Shin Bone Alley, the precursor production to the musical Cats. He has appeared in films including “Seven Brides for Seven Brothers,” “Carousel,” “The Best Things In Life Are Free,” “Watching Ballet,” the movie version of Balanchine’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream, and “Offbeat.”
In 1983, Mr. d’Amboise co-authored Teaching the Magic of Dance with Hope Cooke, featuring photographs by Carolyn George. Mr. d’Amboise is currently at work on a memoir to be published by Alfred A. Knopf. He is married to dancer, teacher, choreographer and photographer, Carolyn George. They have four children, George, Christopher, and twin daughters, Charlotte and Catherine.
Mr. d’Amboise’s work in dance education has taken him all over the world. From the extremes of Yakutsk, Siberia, to the Danakil Desert in Ethiopia; from 13,000 feet below sea level at the Dead Sea to the mountains of Nepal and from the dryness of the Atacama Desert in Chile to rainforests on the island of Kauai in the Hawaiian Chain. Over the last 30 years NDI programs, in New York City and their affiliates, nationally and internationally, have reached and influenced well over 2 million children.
“The arts open your heart and mind to possibilities that are limitless. They are pathways that touch upon our brains and emotions and bring sustenance to imagination. Human beings’ greatest form of communication, they walk in tandem with science and play and best describe what it is to be human.”
Jacques d’Amboise
- "They say you can see the universe in a flower. In one hour, teaching a jig to a motley crew of students of all ages, Jacques d’Amboise lays bare the essence of all good education: discipline, effort, beauty, struggle, joy. In the process, he opens up a universe of possibilities for all who participate and reveals why an education in the arts must be the birthright of every human being.”
– Howard Gardner, Director
Harvard University Graduate School of Education, Project Zero
In 1999, Jacques d'Amboise hiked the Appalacian Trail to raise awareness of and funds for NDI.
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