Press & News

Broadway World NYC School Children Perform At National Dance Institute's Event Of The Year EARTH'S SONG This year's presentation celebrates our planet’s natural wonders and addresses urgent environmental issues.

"OPEN" Host Kibin Alleyne sits down with Mary Kennedy, the Director of National Dance Institute's 2024 Event of the Year: "Earth's Song."  She discusses this dance event theme which is centered around the exploration of the globe's fragile, resilient, and threatened ecosystems.  Watch the interview here:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rNxDj9tMx44

NATIONAL DANCE INSTITUTE PRESENTS “EARTH’S SONG” EVENT OF THE YEAR TRANSFORMATIVE PERFORMANCES UNITING CHILDREN THROUGH DANCE AND MUSIC May 20, 2024 NEW YORK, NY – National Dance Institute (NDI) proudly announces its highly anticipated 2024 Event of the Year, “Earth’s Song,” taking place from June 15th to June 18th at the prestigious NYU Skirball. This extraordinary event will showcase the talents of over 150 children from New York City schools in a series of captivating performances celebrating our planet’s natural wonders and addressing urgent environmental issues. In response to the pressing challenges of climate change, “Earth’s Song” will immerse audiences in a dynamic exploration of the globe's fragile, resilient and threatened ecosystems.  “From the majestic depths of oceans to the sprawling canopies of forests, these performances will illuminate the interconnectedness of all living beings while confronting the threats posed by pollution, deforestation, and wildfires,” said Kay Gayner, Artistic Director of NDI. [...]

Dance Teacher Magazine Since New York City Ballet principal dancer Jacques d’Amboise founded National Dance Institute in 1976, the nonprofit arts education organization has championed a simple yet profound truth: Early exposure to the arts can transform a child’s life. Grounded in its renowned teaching pedagogy, NDI has impacted millions of school children—in New York City and across the world—through its rigorous, joyful, and inclusive arts programming. With NDI, students develop self-confidence, a lifelong passion for learning, and an understanding that with dedication and hard work, they can achieve their goals. NDI’s not-so-secret secret to success is not only the content of its arts programs but the delivery itself. Since 2019, the NDI Collaborative for Teaching & Learning has equipped arts educators around the world with its codified NDI Method, designed to engage students of all ages, backgrounds, and ability levels. Always in partnership with live musical accompaniment, the NDI Method [...]

Dance Informa Magazine 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. Dr. Agnes McConlogue Ferro and Kay Gayner. Photo by Jackie Mihaley. Co-founded by NDI Artistic Director Kay Gayner and Pediatric Physical Therapist Dr. Agnes McConlogue Ferro, the program is now in its [...]

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.