Amsterdam News | March 14, 2024

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.

“I’m one of the more fortunate people to say that I get up every day and look forward to coming into work because I’m passionate about the mission of the National Dance Institute,” he said. “People really think that earning big dollars [and] working for corporate America [means] you’ve made it. But if you don’t have that passion, if you don’t have that connection with your organization’s mission, you’re missing something, right?”

The connection started at age 11 for Jones, around the time he moved in with his grandparents at the Manhattanville Houses. His middle school partnered with NDI and introduced Jones to the program. He could always get his groove on. NDI “came along and made it more of a formal thing.” The experience also linked him with other kids throughout the city, exposing him to numerous cultures and neighborhoods he previously never knew of as a young Harlemite.

For the uninitiated, NDI is a nonprofit that facilitates dance classes in New York City schools for primarily K-5 students. More than 6,500 youngsters are enrolled across the Big Apple today. Kids with two left feet are welcome—there’s no auditioning and the goal is to apply an arts education to develop well-rounded young adults. Still, some end up as professional dancers.

After Jones aged out of NDI, the program helped him get a scholarship to the Alvin Ailey School, where he studied dance ranging from classical jazz to tap and ballet for two years. But Jones also blossomed in the classroom as a star math student at Bronx Science. Coupled with his grandparents’ beckoning, he sought a career as a certified public accountant (CPA) when college came around.

Still, there was no ceiling above Jones’s dance floor. He did end up in public accounting, yet later found himself climbing the corporate ladder in leadership roles like controller. Those 50 hour work weeks took a toll. He needed more time and space to spend with his family.

Meanwhile, Jones volunteered at NDI. After a decade and a half, he asked to join the program’s advisory board. He soon led the board’s finance committee before becoming NDI’s treasurer.

“Once I became the treasurer, I thought I was at the pinnacle of my relationship with them,” said Jones. But then the executive director a year ago decided to move on to a different organization. “And once again, a board member said, ‘hey you’ve been in corporate America all this time [and] you know NDI in and out. Would you be interested to put your name in the hat for the executive director?’

“And of course I did. From being a young teenager to now, I have nothing but love and passion for the organization.”

Tandy Lau is a Report for America corps member who writes about public safety for the Amsterdam News. Your donation to match our RFA grant helps keep him writing stories like this one; please consider making a tax-deductible gift of any amount today by visiting https://bit.ly/amnews1.