Teaching Children
EXCELLENCE Through Dance
By Emmaly Wiederholt
Photo by InSightFoto.com
Since 1994, NDI New Mexico has grown to operate two permanent facilities: The Dance Barns in Santa Fe and The Hiland Theater in Albuquerque. Additionally, a staff of over 20 instructors regularly go into the public schools around the state and offer dance classes to third, fourth and fifth graders through the organization’s outreach program. NDI New Mexico’s programs will have reached nearly 10,000 children this year, many of them living in under-served communities. And for kids outside Burque or the City Different, NDI New Mexico has served 34 communities around the state through its North Program (serving the Española Valley) and statewide residency programs.
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t’s well documented that exposing a kid to art — whether it’s dance, music, theater or fine art — can have a tremendous impact on that child’s wellbeing and future. However, the arts are often first to get cut from a school’s curriculum when a budget crisis hits, and private lessons are costly, allowing access only to those whose parents have disposable income. This is why an organization like the National Dance Institute of New Mexico is vitally important: it gives kids from all walks of life the opportunity to experience dance. National Dance Institute (NDI) was founded in 1976 by Jacques d’Amboise, a former dancer with the New York City
Ballet and a MacArthur fellowship recipient. He began offering free dance classes to kids in schools around New York City. As his program grew, he recruited other teachers. One such teacher was Catherine Oppenheimer, another former New York City Ballet dancer as well as a former member of the Twyla Tharp Dance Company. In the early 1990s, d’Amboise and Oppenheimer hosted a series of residencies in New Mexico, which eventually resulted in Oppenheimer moving to Santa Fe. In 1994, she began teaching students locally, and was soon after granted non-profit status. NDI New Mexico was born. ABOVE: Photo by InSightFoto.com
THE MISSION STATEMENT OF OUR ORGANIZATION IS WE USE DANCE TO TEACH CHILDREN HARD WORK, EXCELLENCE, DISCIPLINE, NEVER GIVING UP, AND BELIEVING IN THEMSELVES.
“The first time I saw an NDI show was out at the Jemez Pueblo,” says Emily Lowman, the Santa Fe Outreach Artistic Director. “It was in a gym, and probably 100 kids from different backgrounds (including the neighborhood kids from the Jemez Springs Pueblo and the nearby Catholic community) came together. The gym was completely packed with parents, grandparents, little brothers and sisters, and it was a beautiful experience to see the kids dancing while their families cheered them on. I’ll never forget that feeling of community and pride I saw in those kids and family members. That’s what really pulled me into NDI.” In addition to her administrative duties, Lowman continues to work hands-on with students. “I teach fourth grade children in the public schools how to dance and work together as a team,” she shares. “The classes I teach are mandatory, so there are a lot of kids, especially boys, who go into the class with the mindset of ‘I’m not going to do that.’ Winning them over is the most challenging and rewarding part of my job.” For kids who show particular enthusiasm, both the Albuquerque and Santa Fe NDI locations offer afterschool dance classes for middle schoolers and high schoolers. Whereas the outreach classes in the public schools are able to be done in street shoes, the afterschool programs emphasize techniques like ballet, modern, tap and jazz.