Press & News

Listen to Harlem resident, mom, and former elementary school teacher Traci Lester, executive director of Harlem-based National Dance Institute (NDI), as they discuss a new Harlem history focused dance curriculum for the new school year and more with host Danny Tisdale, on The Danny Tisdale Show.

iFashion Magazine’s “Outstanding Kids” Fall issue highlights the impact of NDI through the eyes of past and present NDI Celebration Team dancers. To read this article, please click "Read More" and download the PDF and scroll to pages 104-113.

There is a rose in East Harlem where hundreds of youngsters learn ballet, tap, modern dance, music, choreography and more while experiencing “a love of the arts, a passion for learning and a desire to strive for their personal best.” The name of the rose is the National Dance Institute.

Summer 2019  |  Downtown Magazine  |  By Deborah L. Martin A WISE PERSON ONCE SAID, “Charity begins at home,” and we agree. The problems of the world often seem insurmountable, but there are organizations that are doing life-changing work right here in New York City—helping one person, one child, one human being at a time. For this special feature, we focused on just six out of the countless worthy organizations working to better this city, and as a result, the world. The Museum of Jewish Heritage, Henry Street Settlement, Girl Be Heard, National Dance Institute, Oliver Scholars, and Project Renewal all focus on different issues affecting our New York communities. With the help of dedicated staff and volunteers, they use their creative energy to reach our most at-risk, vulnerable residents, and to help them achieve their fullest potential. They teach lessons in acceptance and tolerance, appreciation for the arts, and cooperation, [...]

"Swope viewed Balanchine and his muses—among them Allegra Kent, Suzanne Farrell, Patricia McBride, and Jacques d’Amboise—with intimacy and tenderness. The genius technique and style of Farrell and Balanchine, especially when she danced under his tutelage, often softens into vulnerability through her lens."

"Mr. d’Amboise is clear that Apollo is “a wild, untamed youth who learns nobility through art.” Balanchine, he said, loved to recall the Paris critic who, reacting negatively to the original 1928 production, said, “Whoever saw Apollo on his knees?” (Balanchine’s response: “Whoever saw Apollo?”)"