At National Dance Institute (NDI), we are committed to creating an environment that honors the humanity of all people. We believe that diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility (DEIA) are fundamental principles that guide our work in the arts, and that the arts enable us to do our jobs best only when these values are their foundation. Placing DEIA at the center of our engagement with children, families, schools, artists, and all communities is essential to the vitality and integrity of our work and to the achievement of our core mission.

We acknowledge the patterns of racism, sexism, heterosexism, cis-sexism, classism, ableism, sizeism, nativism, ageism, antisemitism, religious bigotry, and other forms of discrimination and oppression that harm our students and communities. We are committed to dismantling these patterns and to critical examination of the ways in which equity is fostered or hindered in our teaching practices, artistic production, administrative processes, and organizational culture.

NDI is actively working toward creating an ever more just organization so that we may both uphold a healthy work environment and provide engaging, immersive, joyful arts experiences for the children and communities we serve.

Some of the ongoing ways we are doing so include, but are not limited to:

  • Paid positions which support our DEIA work and diversity among teaching staff (established in 2019, ongoing):

    • DEIA Manager – a staff member dedicated to moving forward NDI’s DEIA goals

    • Helen Stambler Neuberger Artist-in-Residence – Year-long fellowship to support an Artist of Color, who then works with our Teaching Artists and Advanced Team dancers

    • Marc Solomon Teaching Artist Fellowship – Full-year employment including benefits provided for a Teaching Artist of Color, which can lead to an ongoing full-time staff position

  • Full staff workshops concerning race, disability, gender, and more (multiple times/year)

  • Ongoing optional affinity/accountability group meetings for our staff to examine racism and white supremacy within our lives and within NDI (since February 2020)

  • Board DEIA Committee – a committee with Board and Staff members, serving as a think tank for increasing equity across the organization (meets quarterly, since September 2019)

  • DEIA Task Force –  a group of paid Staff members who continually examine our teaching methodologies through a DEIA lens and help guide the rest of our Teaching Artist team
  • Continually examining our organizational policies through a DEIA lens

*This equity statement was drafted by Calia Marshall, then revised by incorporating input from staff and board members by Calia and Aileen Barry.