The NDI DREAM Project (Dancers Realize Excellence through Arts and Movement) is an inclusive dance program that provides children with and without disabilities the opportunity to perform. We offer two half day camp sessions— morning and afternoon—for this four day Winter Camp.
Dance Informa Magazine | April 1, 2024
By Kathryn Boland
Picture this: a dance studio full of children moving and creating. You may not have expected it, but some of them are using wheelchairs and other assistive devices. Led by a skilled teaching artist, all of these children work together – regardless of ability or disability. Such a scene is only the norm within National Dance Institute (NDI)’s DREAM Project: “Dancers Realize Excellence Through Arts and Movement.”
The program pairs disabled and non-disabled students in order to build friendships, promote artistry, foster the skill of collaboration, spark empathy and much more. Such work expands NDI’s mission of inclusive, far-reaching dance education, shining the light of its Founder Jacques d’Amboise through subsequent generations of artists.
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.
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 […]
HARLEM WORLD | FEBRUARY 6, 2024
National Dance Institute (NDI), is the Harlem nonprofit arts education organization that delivers award-winning dance and music programs to thousands of children worldwide.
Will host a DREAM alumni homecoming on February 23rd in honor of the 10th anniversary of the NDI DREAM Project (Dancers Realize Excellence through Arts and Movement), an inclusive dance program that provides children with and without disabilities the opportunity to perform together in true partnership.
The NDI DREAM Project was co-founded by Kay Gayner, NDI’s Artistic Director, and Pediatric Physical Therapist, Dr. Agnes McConlogue Ferro.
Along with Aileen Barry, NDI’s Senior Director of Education & Outreach, Gayner and Ferro developed a program that is a model for inclusivity in NYC and nationwide, growing into an increasingly popular training program that equips dance and music educators as well as physical therapists with tools to expand accessibility and […]
Since 2014, NDI has offered free specialized programming beyond the school day for children with and without disabilities through The NDI DREAM Project (Dancers Realize Excellence through Arts and Movement). Our 2024 Summer Camp runs from August 12–16 with morning & afternoon sessions.
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