National Dance Institute

NDI Alumni Profile: Anthony Rue, II ('97)

Dancing with Madonna

As a 12-year-old NDI dancer, Anthony Rue's favorite role was leaping across the stage in "Free Rides of the Planet," part of NDI's 20th Anniversary Event of the Year: Dancing Up A Story. Today he is dancing backup for superstar Madonna as part of her sold-out "STICKY & SWEET TOUR."

"I began dancing when I started with NDI at PS 185 in Brooklyn in 1991 at age 9. I come from Crown Heights, and school wasn’t really my thing, but NDI was different," says Anthony. "Ellen and Jacques and all the NDI teachers kept me on my toes and out of trouble. They changed me."

After graduating NDI, Anthony was accepted to the dance program at LaGuardia High School for Music and Art and the Performing Arts. "While (at LaGuardia) Jacques told me, 'If you’re going to do something, commit to it 100% and give it your all.' Now I perform every show like it is the most important moment and always do my best."

"There are still a lot of kids out there who need NDI to reach their full potential. I was once one of those kids. My family couldn’t have afforded dance classes, so without NDI, dance would never have been a part of my life. They let me know that I could do it."

In 1994, while Anthony was volunteering in NDI's offices, he overheard that NDI was in serious financial trouble. He was scared. NDI was so important to him, and he felt he couldn’t let it disappear. He got together his life savings, $14 at the time, and wrote a letter to NDI donors explaining how important NDI was to him, and to all the kids like him, and why they had to help NDI. And they did. To see a copy of Anthony's original letter, click here. (PDF)