National Dance Institute (NDI), founded by Jacques d’Amboise, brings its award-winning dance program to the Catskill Mountain Region, with a two-week residency for children in Grades 3 – 8. Under the Artistic Direction of NDI choreographer Dufftin Garcia, the children will participate in high energy dance classes and choreography workshops accompanied by live music. The program culminates in a performance onstage at the Orpheum Performing Arts Center featuring the dancers and live music set against a backdrop of colorful banners created over the many years of the collaboration between NDI and the Catskill Mountain Foundation. This is a high-energy event that draws large crowds every year!
Sparked by the urgency of climate change and inspired by youth-led movements for climate justice, NDI’s 2023-24 curricular theme is The Living Environment. NDI’s teaching artists and students will use movement and music to explore the beauty of the natural world and its inextricable connections to human life. By forging a connection to the natural world through NDI classes, we aim to empower our students to become informed stewards of the environment and impassioned creators of a future based on creative solutions, compassion, and community.
