NDI Receives $1.5 Million from Howard Gilman Foundation

National Dance Institute (NDI), the non-profit organization that has transformed the lives of millions of public school children through the arts, has announced a $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.

National Dance Institute was founded by the legendary New York City Ballet principal dancer Jacques d'Amboise in the belief that the arts, and dance and music in particular, have a unique power to engage all children and motivate them toward excellence.

"We are elated, humbled and filled with gratitude to receive this extraordinary gift from the Howard Gilman Foundation. Howard was deeply devoted to the arts during his lifetime, and we are honored to celebrate his legacy and see his passion live on in our work," says Jacques d'Amboise.

"We are, of course, delighted to honor the long and profound friendship between Jacques d'Amboise and Howard Gilman," said Joseph Samulski, Chairman of the Board, the Howard Gilman Foundation. "But this gift is more than just an acknowledgement of a friendship; at its core, this gift is about recognizing and celebrating the extraordinary work NDI has done to transform the lives of three generations of New York City children through dance. I speak for everyone at the Foundation when I say that we are proud to continue to support NDI's mission for future generations."

With this gift, NDI is joining an elite list of prolific cultural institutions in New York City - the Brooklyn Academy of Music, the Baryshnikov Arts Center, Mark Morris Dance Center, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, and the Film Society of Lincoln Center - to which the Foundation lends Howard Gilman's name. The grant to National Dance Institute will help sustain and secure NDI for generations to come.