Recognized as one of the finest classical dancers of our time, Jacques d’Amboise now leads the field of arts education with a model program that exposes thousands of school children to the magic and discipline of dance. In 1976, while still a principal dancer at the New York City Ballet, Mr. d’Amboise founded the National Dance Institute in the belief that the arts have a unique power to engage and motivate individuals towards excellence.His contributions in arts education have earned him numerous awards and honors including: Honorary Degree of Doctor of Fine Arts - Syracuse University (2008); The American Academy of Arts & Sciences (2007); Child Magazine - The Children’s Champion Award (2007); The Mayor’s Award for Arts & Culture (2004); People First Honoree – People Magazine (2002); People First Honoree – People Magazine (2002); The Heinz Award (2001); The Dance Magazine Award (1999); NCEA St. Elizabeth Ann Seton Award (1996); The Kennedy Center Honors (1995); The National Caring Award– The Caring Institute (1995); The Award for Distinguished Service to the Arts from the American Academy of Arts and Letters (1993); a 1990 MacArthur Fellowship: The Capezio Award (1990); The First Annual Producers Circle Award for public service (1989); The Paul Robeson Award for excellence in the field of the humanities (1988); The Nancy Hank Fellowship – Duke University; the Sterling Merrill Fellowship, Salt Lake City, Utah; The New York Public Library Literary Lion Award and is also an Honorary Big Brother.“He Makes Me Feel Like Dancing”, a 1984 PBS documentary film about his work with NDI, won an Academy Award, six Emmy Awards, the Peabody Award, the Golden Cine Award, and the National Education Association Award for the advancement of learning through broadcasting. He has also served as a full professor and Dean of Dance for two years at SUNY Purchase and eleven years as visiting professor at the College of Creative Studies, University of California at Santa Barbara.Mr. d’Amboise’s work in dance education has taken him all over the world. From the extremes of Yakutsk, Siberia, to the Danakil Desert in Ethiopia; from 13,000 feet below sea level at the Dead Sea to the mountains of Nepal and from the dryness of the Atacama Desert in Chile to rainforests on the island of Kauai in the Hawaiian Chain. Over the last 30 years NDI programs, in New York City and their affiliates, nationally and internationally, have reached and influenced well over 2 million children.
