Press & News

"National Dance Institute (NDI), the non-profit arts education organization founded in 1976 by legendary New York City Ballet principal dancer Jacques d’Amboise, will host its 2018 Event of the Year: At The River’s Edge at the NYU Skirball Center for the Performing Arts. The 2018 Event of the Year, directed by Kelly Buwalda, will bring together over 200 talented dancers from NYC public schools in a vibrant performance inspired by the power of rivers."

"The Event of the Year will bring together more than 200 talented dancers from NYC public schools across Manhattan, Brooklyn and the Bronx for an end-of-school year performance."

"In performances, we don’t have a front in the room. We’re always turning the room around so there’s no back line, splitting the room in half so that we can make sure the kids in the middle are really embracing and understanding the material and can lead on their own."

"The lasting success of Robbins' dances can be attributed to what d'Amboise sees as the great humanity behind his work; Robbins presented identifiable and relatable characters onstage. To that end, D'Amboise shared that Robbins would often pair him with his wife, fellow NYCB dancer Carolyn George, to get authentic feeling out of them. Some of Robbins tactics, while effective, were less kind. "He would have the dancers come in and say 'You're not allowed to talk to each other or make eye contact today' in his rehearsal," says d'Amboise, "And then one day he says 'And now you can.'"