A MESSAGE FROM NDI’s BOARD CHAIR,
HELEN STAMBLER NEUBERGER
This year, National Dance Institute celebrates its 45th Anniversary. As we reflect on NDI’s extraordinary achievements of inspiring children through the arts, we look ahead to the promise the future holds. We salute NDI and recognize that many exceptional individuals have made our remarkable success possible. Traci Lester, NDI’s Executive Director, has guided NDI for the past four and a half years with great skill, clarity, and dedication, especially as we navigated through the impact of an unprecedented global health crisis. Today, we announce that Traci has shared she will be stepping down from her role to pursue another professional opportunity. We are grateful for Traci’s many contributions. We wish her all the very best and we know we will continue to see her in the audience cheering on NDI. Thank you, Traci Lester.
And, dear friends, please stay tuned for more information about an exciting year of activities we have planned to mark NDI’s 45th Anniversary, including our virtual Annual Gala on Monday, April 26th! Please join us…we appreciate all you do for our beloved National Dance Institute.
Harlem’s Mott Hall Danced Through 2020!
When the pandemic began, Mott Hall Principal Judith De Los Santos-Pena was determined to keep National Dance Institute in the lives of her sixth graders. “NDI is part of our curriculum,” she said. “We would never question ‘Why Math?’ or ‘Why Science?’ The only question is ‘How?’” Her commitment ensured Mott Hall students could dance with NDI, just as they have since 1984. To read more about NDI and Mott Hall, please click here.
NDI at Mott Hall is generously supported by Helen Stambler Neuberger and Jim Neuberger with additional support from the West Harlem Development Corporation
NDI’s Alumni Reunion is this Saturday
March 6 at 2:30pm EST
Alumni of all eras are welcome to
reconnect and dance!
Click here to RSVP
DREAM Project: New Students, New Videos
NDI’s DREAM Project welcomed many new and smiling faces to our week-long February workshop! Of our 40 dancers, 11 were first-time DREAMers. And more than 80 physical therapy students from Stony Brook University observed Zoom classes as part of their academic curriculum. DREAM co-creators Kay Gayner and Agnes McConlogue Ferro led movement celebrating visual artists including Kehinde Wiley, Frida Kahlo, Yayoi Kusama, and more. To dance with us at home, check out our YouTube channel for new art-inspired DREAM classes starting March 16!
NDI thanks the William R. Kenan, Jr. Charitable Trust, the Billy Rose Foundation, the GKV Foundation, and the Julie Rice DREAM Project Scholarship Fund for supporting the DREAM Project.
Join NDI’s Virtual Gala on April 26
We invite you to celebrate 45 years of NDI with our Virtual Gala on Monday, April 26th! This special evening will honor two dear friends: NDI Board Chair Helen Stambler Neuberger and Jim Neuberger. We will also share a tribute to NDI champion and Board Member Shirley Young. The program will feature performances by the exuberant children of NDI
