Jacques d’Amboise

A Life in Motion – From Ballet to Big Ideas

Jacques began his ballet training with Madame Seda in Washington Heights, New York. Within a year, at the age of 8, Madame Seda encouraged him to enroll at the School of American Ballet with extraordinary teachers such as George Balanchine, Anatole Oboukhoff, and Pierre Vladimiroff. At age 12, he performed with Ballet Society, the immediate predecessor to NYCB. 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, his credits include more than 15 works commissioned for NYCB. 

In addition to his work at NYCB, Mr. d’Amboise performed on Broadway in the musical Shin Bone Alley, the precursor production to the musical Cats. He also 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 the Disney film, Off Beat. Additionally, he wrote and directed for theater, film, television, and musicals like Roberta, Lady in the Dark, Peter Pan, Thurber Carnival, The Shooting of Dan McGrew with Galt MacDermot, and the films Event of the Year and Fifth Position. In 1983, Mr. d’Amboise co-authored Teaching the Magic of Dance with Hope Cooke, featuring photographs by his wife Carolyn George. A PBS documentary film about his work with NDI, He Makes Me Feel Like Dancing (1983), won an Academy Award, six Emmy Awards, the Peabody Award, the Golden Cine Award, the National Education Association Award for the advancement of learning through broadcasting, MacArthur Genius Award, Kennedy Center Honor, and other prominent awards for his work with NDI

A Vision for Young People

Jacques recognized that talent is everywhere, but opportunity is not. He launched NDI to reach children in their schools, not just on stages at grand theaters. From New York City classrooms to villages in Nepal and deserts of Chile, NDI’s inclusive dance programs have touched over two million children worldwide – helping them to channel their energy, build self-confidence, and set their creativity free.

Through teacher-training programs, NDI’s joyful, disciplined methodology has expanded far beyond New York, empowering educators globally who transform the lives of children everywhere.

A Commitment to Dance Education

Jacques’s devotion to dance education led him across the globe – from the icy expanse of Siberia to the deserts of Ethiopia, the Dead Sea’s depths to Nepal’s peaks, and from Chile’s arid Atacama to Hawaii’s rainforests. Over 45 years, his work with the National Dance Institute (NDI) has brought the joy of dance to more than two million children worldwide. His memoir, I Was a Dancer (2011), chronicles his journey from ballet icon to tireless educator and was named one of Dance Spirit Magazine’s top books for dancers in 2021.

Jacques served as Dean of Dance and full professor at SUNY Purchase for two years, and as a visiting professor for eleven years at the College of Creative Studies, UC Santa Barbara.

Mr. d’Amboise was married to Carolyn George, a dancer, teacher, choreographer, and photographer for 53 years until her death in 2009. Together they had four children, George, Christopher, and twin daughters Charlotte and Catherine; six grandchildren, Shane and Sam d’Amboise Brill, Shelby and Josephine d’Amboise Mann, and Georgina and Thompson d’Amboise. 

Jacques legacy continues at NDI – where every class, every rehearsal, and every performance honors the promise he made: that every young person – regardless of background – can dance, shine, and lead.

Jacques' contributions in arts education earned him numerous awards and honors including:

1983 Academy Award, Emmy Award, Peabody Award for He Makes Me Feel Like Dancing
1986 The Governor’s Award for outstanding contributions to the arts and culture of New York State
1988 The Paul Robeson Award for excellence in the field of the humanities
1989 The first annual Producer’s Circle Award for public service
1990 MacArthur Fellowship
1990 Capezio Dance Award
1993 The Award for Distinguished Service to the Arts from the American Academy of Arts and Letters
1995 The Museum of the City of New York’s “$24 Award”
1995 The National Caring Award, The Caring Institute
1995 The Kennedy Center Honors
1996 The NCEA St. Elizabeth Ann Seton Award
1998 The National Medal of Arts
1999 The Dance Magazine Award
2000 The Town Hall Friend of the Arts Award
2001 The Heinz Award
2002 People First Honoree, People magazine
2002 The Arison Award
2002 The James Keller Youth Award, The Christophers
2004 The Mayor’s Award for Arts & Culture
2007 Induction into The American Academy of Arts & Sciences
2007 The Children’s Champion Award, Child magazine
2008 Honorary Degree of Doctor of Fine Arts at Syracuse University
2010 The Vasterling Award for Artistic Vision and Excellence in Dance
2011 The Fred and Adele Astaire Award
2011 Lifetime Achievement Award, Dance Teacher magazine
2011 The Nancy Hank Fellowship, Duke University
2015 The Nelson A. Rockefeller Award for Creativity
2018 Dance in Focus Award from the Dance Films Association
2019 The LaDuca Lifetime Achievement in Dance

Jacques was recognized with Honorary Doctorates from The Juilliard School, Duke University, Boston College, University of the South, Franklin Pierce College, St. Joseph College, Montclair State University, Monmouth University (1984), Bates College, Saint Peter’s College (1978), the College of New Rochelle (1976), and Bank Street College of Education. He was also an honorary Big Brother.

I Was a Dancer by Jacques d'Amboise (2011)
Teaching the Magic of Dance by Jacques d'Amboise, Hope Cooke and Carolyn George (1983)
He Makes Me Feel Like Dancin'  directed by Emile Ardolino (1983)