A Message From NDI Artistic Director Ellen Weinstein
There are few words to describe the magnitude of loss we have felt since Jacques d’Amboise passed away on May 2. We are deeply moved by the outpouring of love and support from people around the world who were inspired by his brilliance. Thank you to everyone who has shared a memory, written a note, posted a photo, or simply taken a moment to reflect on the joy that Jacques gave to life.
This year, National Dance Institute celebrates its 45th Anniversary. As we reflect on NDI’s extraordinary achievements of inspiring children through the arts, we look ahead to the promise the future holds. We salute NDI and recognize that many exceptional individuals have made our remarkable success possible. Traci Lester, NDI’s Executive Director, has guided NDI for the past four and a half years with great skill, clarity, and dedication, especially as we navigated through the impact of an unprecedented global health crisis. Today, we announce that Traci has shared she will be stepping down from her role to pursue another professional opportunity. We are grateful for Traci’s many contributions. We wish her all the very best and we know we will continue to see her in the audience cheering on NDI. Thank you, Traci Lester.
The new year is bursting with new opportunities for National Dance Institute to share dance, music, and joy with our communities. On social media, ndiLIVE! is reaching a national audience with classes led by our teaching artists, such as Yakir Ben-Hur, pictured above giving a music program accompanied by his two young children. Our In-School Program is in full gear, bringing NDI into the lives of thousands of children at our partner schools. In collaboration with WNET, our exuberant dance classes are part of the “Let’s Learn” series on public television. (Fun fact: In 2020, NDI reached the equivalent of more than 25,000 full classrooms via WNET!) And the NDI Collaborative for Teaching & Learning is hosting three workshops in February to share the acclaimed NDI Method with teaching artists around the world. To […]
Catch the latest news & updates in NDI’s October newsletter which features:
In this edition of the NDI Connection, our newly redesigned newsletter, NDI Executive Director Traci Lester and NDI Artistic Director Ellen Weinstein affirm NDI’s Commitment to Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Accessibility. Additionally, NDI announces new partnerships that bring dance to children nationwide all summer long through public television and online streaming via CampTV.org and online summer school platform through NSSI, schoolsreimagined.org. Other highlights include DREAM Project’s online classes through ndiLIVE!, a celebration of the Celebration Team’s graduating seniors, a feature on NDI Collaborative’s online workshops whose participants span the globe, a few briefings on NDI staff’s activism within the community, a Spotify playlist of curated Brazilian music by NDI’s Artist-In-Residence Leonardo Sandoval, and more! Learn more >>
July 1, 2020 – New York, NY – National Dance Institute (NDI) today announced new national online programming for children with disabilities. The program, part of NDI’s renowned DREAM Project, is the first of its kind to offer a fully inclusive format that connects dancers of all abilities with one another from their homes. The DREAM (Dancers Realize Excellence through Arts and Movement) Project@Home will include Zoom classes, classes on NDI’s platform ndiLIVE! and summer workshops.
DREAM Project@Home is an extension of DREAM classes and workshops traditionally offered in person at the NDI Center. In this unique program, children with disabilities and a group of age-matched, non-disabled peers dance in partnership, with the goals of maximizing participation and challenging every dancer to achieve their best through teamwork, creativity, empathy, and discovery. The program culminates in a performance celebrating every student’s talents and […]
New York, NY – July 10, 2020 – National Dance Institute today announced a content partnership with The WNET Group’s Camp TV, a new one-hour public television series that brings the day camp experience to children nationwide weekdays beginning Monday, July 13 on public television (check local listings). In the New York metro area, Camp TV premieres Monday, July 13 at 10 a.m. on WLIW21, 11 a.m. on THIRTEEN, and 12 p.m. on NJTV. Episodes will also be available to stream at camptv.org.
Providing ideas for fun activities to kids who can’t go to camp this summer, Camp TV is hosted by a head counselor played by Zachary Noah Piser, a Broadway performer (“Dear Evan Hansen,” “Wicked”) who guides campers as they learn through play.
“During this challenging time, we hope we’re able to bring kids some of the magic, learning and fun of summer camp through Camp TV,” said Neal Shapiro, […]
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I am writing from the epicenter of the pandemic. In New York City, to date, there have been nearly 200,000 cases of COVID-19. As I began writing this post back in March, the streets were hauntingly quiet, with the sounds of sirens profoundly noticeable. Each day, the situation seemed to intensify.
Today, around the globe, people are experiencing fear, grief, devastation, hopelessness, boredom, confusion, and more. Across the world, our students are experiencing the full range of emotions and responses as well. Children have found themselves learning in new ways, separated from friends and normalcy and trying their best to adjust to the current situation. Students are adjusting – some school years have concluded and none of it was what we’d imagined.
I say the current […]
NEW YORK CITY (WABC) — (May 15, 2020) It was no small feat, but this virtual number with dozens of students from the National Dance Institute was part of a star-studded virtual benefit for the non-profit that’s been keeping New York City kids moving and grooving since 1976.
“The joy on their faces,” said Ellen Weinstein, Artistic Director, National Dance Institute, “I wept when I saw the final result.”
The dancers say while it may not be a live show, they still get butterflies.
“It was funny because while I was watching myself dance, I had like second-hand anxiety,” said Malachy Fong, NDI dancer. “I thought I was going to mess up. It’s still really great! That feeling of being there.”
Due to the pandemic, NDI is offering free virtual dance instruction to everyone through their website, Facebook and Instagram live. While it’s not their traditional model of free instruction within the city’s schools, it […]
By Jerome Korman, NDI Music Director
A few weeks ago, which feels like an eternity, I was scheduled to post this blog post about the musical life playing for dance has gifted me. When my colleagues at National Dance Institute (NDI) asked me to finish the post, my first thought was that it seemed frivolous and perhaps not pertinent to the situation the world finds itself in. But it has become clear through all the social media postings that people need to connect and artists need to create. Now is a good time to learn new things, but it is also time to reflect on past challenges and give thanks for all that we have. In that spirit, I give you this post that articulates some of the important ways playing and writing music for dance has shaped my musical journey…in a good way.
To a musician […]
