NDI 2026 Gala: 50 Years of Bold Moves & Boundless Potential!

We recently celebrated National Dance Institute's 50th Anniversary Gala — an extraordinary evening that reminded us just how much this community makes possible.

Though you weren't in the room with us, you are part of this story.

At the Gala, we honored Pamela Bronk Farr, the legendary Judy Collins, and Maria Di Dia. We watched archival footage of a young Erica Halverson dancing with NDI at age eight in the 1980s — and then saw her walk back onstage decades later as an accomplished scholar and NDI Board Director, surprising Judy Collins in a deeply moving full-circle moment. We heard from alumni like Kelissa and Myah, whose lives — one now a professional dancer, the other a law student — were forever shaped by their time at NDI.

As honoree Pamela Bronk Farr so beautifully put it, NDI is not about training professional dancers. It's about building confidence, discipline, teamwork, and joy — skills that stay with students for life.