Monthly Archives: March 2024

National Dance Institute Executive Director Jermaine Jones Comes Full Circle

It takes two to tango so naturally Jermaine Jones met his wife while they were both teenagers enrolled at the National Dance Institute (NDI). Along the way, he developed another lifelong love: the program itself. But his grandparents feared dance was not a financially viable career. So Jones pursued safer avenues but remained involved with the organization. Decades later, he now serves as NDI’s Executive Director, appointed almost exactly a year ago.

2024-04-18T17:14:36-04:00March 14th, 2024|
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Absolute magic: National Dance Institute marks 10 years of Dream Project performances

News 12 | Mar 11, 2024 | By News 12 Staff

Dancers with the National Dance Institutes’ Dream Project were ready to get to work ahead of their 10th annual performance.

The program is part of the curriculum of 50 schools throughout New York City – giving dancers of all abilities a stage to strut their stuff.

News 12’s Jordan Kissane went behind-the-scenes during a rehearsal and spoke with Dream Project co-creator Dr. Agnes McConlogue Ferro.

“We know that magic is in inclusion. The magic is in dance. And we saw this firsthand with the children who were our very first participants. Some of whom are still with us and some who are not,” she said.

Learn more about the Dream Project at the National Dance Institute website.

See News 12’s story with video here.

2024-03-11T14:02:13-04:00March 11th, 2024|
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NDI’s DREAM adaptive dance workshop celebrates 10th anniversary

CBS News | March 6, 2024

By Jessi Mitchell

NEW YORK – An adaptive workshop in Harlem is uniting different types of dancers for a totally unique experience.

The nonprofit National Dance Institute trains the community’s children through scholarships and in-school programs, touching two million lives since its inception in 1976. Perhaps the most impactful part of its mission is the DREAM Project.

“If you have a body and you want to dance, you are welcome here,” said Kay Gayner, NDI artistic director and co-founder of the DREAM Project.

The weeklong adaptive dance workshop celebrated its tenth anniversary with a special alumni reunion recital. Pediatric physical therapist and DREAM Project co-director Dr. Agnes McConlogue Ferro, along with workshop instructors, introduce differently-abled dancers to the Institute’s scholars in a style described as “individualized inclusion.”

“They’re performing the same dance, but there may be what we call translations for each partnership, depending on whatever their specific needs are, their abilities. But […]

2024-03-11T14:00:26-04:00March 11th, 2024|
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Joyous N.J. dance program gives kids with disabilities a chance to shine

NJ.com  | March 03, 2024 – Many programs unite disabled and non-disabled dancers. The National Dance Institute, founded in 1976 by famed ballet dancer/choreographer Jacques d’Amboise, marked the tenth anniversary of its DREAM program — Dancers Realize Excellence through Arts and Music — on Feb. 23. DREAM is an inclusive dance program that pairs children with and without disabilities, according to the institute.“ Access to high-quality arts education is every child’s birthright. We welcome children with a wide range of disabilities. If you have a body, you can dance,” said Kay Gayner, NDI's Artistic Director and DREAM co-founder.“The DREAM dance curriculum’s magic is in the mix: partnering children with disabilities with age-matched peers empowers all of our dancers to maximize participation, teamwork and creativity,” Gayner said. The program “inspires mutual respect and empathy among the dancers and helps audiences understand and redefine what dance can and should look like. Inclusion elevates everyone,” she said.

2024-03-11T14:03:53-04:00March 3rd, 2024|
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