NDI’s Commitment to Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Accessibility
At NDI we support Black Lives Matter. We also believe that the arts are essential. Achieving social justice and ensuring racial equity takes work. The responsibility to do better falls on all of us, not solely on the shoulders of people of color. We are committed to working together to dismantle racism — and creating an ever more just organization, for our community, and most importantly for the children and families we serve. We invite you to read about the efforts underway at NDI to create a transformative environment that honors the humanity of all people. Through all of this, we will continue to elevate the importance of the arts as a catalyst for change. To read NDI’s statement and actions, please click here.
Traci Lester, NDI Executive Director, and Ellen Weinstein, NDI Artistic Director
Two New Arts Education Partners
This summer, National Dance Institute welcomes two new partners that will share our dance and music education programming far and wide: the National Summer School Initiative and the public broadcasting company, The WNET Group.
This summer, look for NDI classes on television. We are thrilled to partner with The WNET Group on “Camp TV,” a new one-hour public television series bringing the day camp experience to homes 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.
Our joyful, rigorous dance classes will also be accessible across the country through the National Summer School Initiative, a national nonprofit focused on maintaining academic and social success for children in grades 3 through 8 (rising 4th to 9th). NDI teaching artists and musicians have been hard at work creating new videos for this nationwide program. With this partnership, NDI will reach new audiences and inspire children everywhere to strive for excellence through the arts. To learn more go to schoolsreimagined.org.
Everybody Moves With …. the DREAM Project@Home
NDI’s DREAM Project@Home has made it possible to expand our reach and serve even more children with disabilities. This free, online resource delivers dance and socialization through live and pre-recorded classes on ndiLIVE!, available via Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube, where videos include closed captioning.
Created by NDI’s Associate Artistic Director Kay Gayner and Physical Therapist Agnes McConlogue Ferro, alongside children with and without disabilities from the NDI DREAM community, these videos provide strategies for adapting movement for different levels of abilities. Steps are broken down and choreography builds throughout the series culminating in a mini-performance.
Activities range from yoga and stretching to making your eyebrows dance! Classes are accompanied by NDI musicians Tony Allen, Yakir Ben-Hur, and Micha Gilad.
All are welcome to join and share this resource with your community. Families and children of all ages and with a wide variety of abilities are encouraged to participate by clicking here.
NDI is making our teaching methodology for children with disabilities available through the NDI Collaborative for Teaching and Learning. Schools, arts organizations, or NGO’s looking for ways to provide similar programming are invited to contact us for training.
Celebrate the NDI Class of 2020!
The NDI seniors have been dancing, rehearsing, and expressing themselves at home, despite the postponement of the 2020 Event of the Year Listen to My Melody: Dancing the Legacy of Soul Music. Their dedication has made NDI Artistic Director Ellen Weinstein especially proud. “In spite of all the challenges and disappointments, they have continued to bring their best selves to every Saturday rehearsal,” she said. “They worked hard as a team, adapted to the situation, and demonstrated resilience, persistence, and empathy. I am confident these young people will change the world.”
To celebrate their hard work and artistic growth, EOY Director Bianca Johnson gave the seniors of our Celebration Team a special assignment: Each dancer was given a short phrase of movement to perform (at home!) from a song that would have been on stage this year: “A Song For You,” performed by Greg Stamper and Ly Bedaña, and inspired by Donny Hathaway’s classic song from 1971. This beautiful work features nearly 30 young dancers, many of whom have been performing together since the fourth grade. Congratulations to all!
NDI Collaborative Trainings Are Booming Online
The NDI Collaborative recently completed its inaugural Teacher Training Tuesdays series, where NDI Teaching Artists demonstrated their application of the NDI Method in creative composition, music, and early childhood classes. Nearly 100 participants enrolled in each workshop, and joined us from all over the world, including Greece and France!
The program will also host its annual Level 1 Teaching Artist Training Intensive online in July. Additionally, participants have the opportunity to enroll in the new Level 2 Teaching Artist Training, which will focus on creating choreography for children and musical arrangements for dance.
NDI in the Community
NDI Executive Director Traci Lester was featured on the panel “How Nonprofit Leadership & Board Members Can Respond to COVID-19” within the 2020 Nonprofit OpCon, a virtual conference on nonprofit operations hosted by New York Nonprofit Media. Watch the video of this conference here.
Teaching artists Calia Marshall and Karen More with musician Ly Bedaña led the workshop “Who’s Got Time for Mindfulness?” for the NYC Arts in Education Roundtable’s ‘Face to Face at 4 pm‘ series. Click here to catch it on YouTube.
Program Assistant Natalie Correa submitted testimony in favor of funding for arts education at an online hearing of the New York City Council’s Committee on Cultural Affairs, Libraries, and International Intergroup Relations. Click here to watch her presentation.
NDI’s Artist-in-Residence
NDI Artist-in-Residence Leonardo Sandoval shared an incredible playlist of his favorite Brazilian music. As Leo says, “Put your furniture away and get ready to dance!” Get his Spotify playlist below:
Read more about NDI’s Artist-In-Residence here.
In Case You Missed It
NDI’s (Virtual) 44th Annual Gala: From the Heart took place on May 12, 2020 with exuberant performances and a stellar lineup of celebrities including Alec Baldwin, Josh Groban, Dharon E. Jones, Jillian Mercado, Brian Stokes Mitchell, and so many more dear friends of NDI! Watch it on YouTube by clicking below!