National Dance Institute (NDI) was founded in 1976 by New York City Ballet principal dancer
Jacques d'Amboise.
NDI works with mainstream, bilingual, and
special education
Special education (known as special-needs education, aided education, exceptional education, alternative provision, exceptional student education, special ed., SDC, or SPED) is the practice of educating students in a way that accommodates th ...
classes.
NDI classes are taught by professional artists, who work with 6,500 New York City school children each week throughout Manhattan, Brooklyn, and the Bronx. Most NDI dancers come from low-income communities, and all NDI programs are offered to children free of charge. Among NDI dancers, 32% are Latino, 24% Asian, 23% Caucasian, 19% African-American, and 2% other non-white minority groups.
In 2001, Carole Valleskey, formerly a principal dancer with the
Joffrey Ballet
The Joffrey Ballet is one of the premier dance companies and training institutions in the world today. Located in Chicago, Illinois, the Joffrey regularly performs classical and contemporary ballets during its annual performance season at Lyric O ...
, founded
California Dance Institute California Dance Institute (CDI) was founded in 2001 by Joffrey Ballet principal dancer Carole Valleskey. CDI was founded as a West Coast affiliate of Jacques d'Amboise's National Dance Institute. CDI teachers have all been trained in the rigorous ...
as a West Coast affiliate of NDI. California Dance Institute teachers have all been trained in the rigorous NDI teaching methodology.
Notable students
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Azealia Banks
Azealia Amanda Banks ( ; born May 31, 1991) is an American rapper, singer and songwriter. Raised in the Harlem neighborhood of New York City, she began releasing music through Myspace in 2008 before being signed to XL Recordings at age 18. In 2 ...
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Timothée Chalamet
Timothée Hal Chalamet (; ; born December 27, 1995) is an American actor. He has received List of awards and nominations received by Timothée Chalamet, various accolades, including nominations for an Academy Award, two Golden Globe Awards, a ...
*
Colby Minifie
Colby Minifie (born January 31, 1992) is an American actress. She began acting at the age of eleven and was a YoungArts scholar; she graduated from the City University of New York in 2014. She performed for four years with the National Dance In ...
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Nev Schulman
Yaniv "Nev" Schulman ( ; born September 26, 1984) is an American TV host and producer. He is best known for the 2010 documentary film ''Catfish'' and the follow up TV series '' Catfish: The TV Show'' on MTV of which he is the host and executive ...
See also
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National Dance Institute New Mexico
National Dance Institute New Mexico (NDI New Mexico) is a non-profit arts education organization, founded in 1994 by Jacques d'Amboise and Catherine Oppenheimer and based in Santa Fe, New Mexico. The organization, through both in-school and afte ...
*
Jacques d'Amboise (dancer)
Jacques d'Amboise (born Joseph Jacques Ahearn, July 28, 1934 – May 2, 2021) was an American ballet dancer, choreographer, actor, and educator. He joined the New York City Ballet in 1949 and was named principal dancer in 1953, and throughout ...
References
External links
* National Dance Institute Information Pamphlet
National Dance Institute, "About NDI"
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Dance schools in the United States
Dance in New York City