Press & News

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.

Fear turns to joy as the students smash the balloons, raise their fists and find strength in numbers while the ominous end notes read: “an estimated 3 million American children experience gun violence every year… Gun violence is now the second leading cause of death for American children… Over 2,600 children and teens are shot and killed every year… An average of 47 children and teens are shot every day… Enough!”

BROADWAY WORLD | Feb. 07, 2024 | By Stephi Wild National Dance Institute 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 inclusivity in their own communities. "Access to high quality arts education is every child's birthright," said Gayner.  "We welcome children with a wide range of [...]

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.