Harlem’s National Dance Institute Gala Raises $1.4 Mil

On Monday, April 20th the National Dance Institute (NDI) honored NDI Trustee and Philanthropist, Valerie Diker and Teen Vogue Editor-in-Chief Amy Astley. The evening featured special performances by the children of National Dance Institute, along with presentations by Michael Strahan, American Ballet Theatre star Misty Copeland, and journalist and newscaster Paula Zahn.

Additional guests in attendance included: Jacques d’Amboise (legendary New York City Ballet principal dancer and NDI Founder); Peyton List (Disney’s Jesse); Tony Yazbeck (On The Town); Yaniv “Nev” Schulman (MTV’s Catfish); Terrence Mann (Tony Award-winning musical Pippin); and New York City Ballet Principal Dancers Sterling Hyltin and Adrian Danchig-Waring.

The Annual Gala is National Dance Institute’s largest fundraising event with all proceeds benefitting NDI’s award-winning arts education programs for New York City public school children in under-resourced neighborhoods.  NDI’s exuberant, participatory and intellectually engaging dance and music programs enrich the lives of 6,000 children in 42 New York City schools each week, filling a critical gap in public school education.

The 2015 Annual Gala raised over $1.4 million for arts education.

During the Gala, NDI made a special announcement regarding the prestigious $1.5 million grant from the Howard Gilman Foundation, a foundation dedicated to the support of robust, innovative and promising performing arts organizations in New York City.  NDI will name their state-of-the-art performance space at the National Dance Institute Center for Learning; the Arts in Harlem “The Howard Gilman Performance Space” in appreciation.

At the Best Buy Theater in Harlem, New York.