NDI New Mexico 2020
NDI New Mexico is founded with the knowledge that the arts have a unique power to engage and motivate children. The purpose of our distinctive programs is to help children develop discipline, a standard of excellence, and a belief in themselves that will carry over into all aspects of their lives.
Who We Serve
NDI New Mexico believes that every child has the capacity to learn how to be excellent by working hard, doing their best, never giving up, and being healthy. Our commitment is to offer all children an opportunity to experience success through our programs, thereby learning essential life skills.
We serve a diverse population of children in schools that have the greatest need in rural, urban, and Native American communities throughout the state. Our afterschool programs provide excellent and affordable opportunities for families who might not otherwise be able to participate in extracurricular performing arts programs.
NDI New Mexico Students Qualifying for the Federal Free or Reduced Cost Meal Program
1,005 children
DANCE BARNS & HILAND AFTER-SCHOOL CLASSES & COMPANIES
1,003 children ADVANCED TEAMS SWAT & CELEBRATION
3,281 children IN-SCHOOL RESIDENCIES
3,300 children
IN-SCHOOL
OUR programs
NDI New Mexico’s fundamental belief is that every child has the capacity to learn to work hard, never give up, do their best, and ultimately experience success. Whether a child dances with us for one year, or comes back year after year, we know their experience has a positive and lasting impact on the way they see themselves and move through the world.
In the 2019-2020 school year, over 8,400 students in 31 communities across the state are participating in our award-winning programs.
In-School Program
NDI New Mexico Outreach classes are taught at public elementary schools during the school day as part of the schools’ curriculum. These joyful and energetic classes are taught by highly trained NDI New Mexico instructors and professional pianists. In-School classes serve an entire grade level (3rd, 4th, or 5th) and are fully inclusive of all children in a class, including those with special needs. Children in Albuquerque, Rio Rancho, Santa Fe, Pecos, Pojoaque, and the Española Valley receive 15-30 weekly classes throughout the school year and finish their program with exciting culminating performances. All NDI New Mexico Outreach classes are free of charge for children and their families.
Advanced Teams
Many students who are exposed to NDI New Mexico in their public schools demonstrate extraordinary motivation and enthusiasm for the effort and energy this pedagogy requires. These students are invited to audition to join our Advanced Teams, offered in 10 communities throughout the state. Advanced Training happens after school or on Saturdays and starts in the 4th-grade with SWAT (Super Wonderful Advanced Team) and continues into middle school with the Celebration Team.
Residency Program
Our traveling Residency team brings music and dance to underserved children in 23 rural and urban communities in all corners of New Mexico. The Residency team lives in each community for one to three weeks, conducting daily Outreach classes that culminate in exciting, interactive performances in gyms and theaters for their friends and families. Schools, dancers, and communities look forward to NDI New Mexico’s visit each year.
Afterschool
THE DANCE BARNS & THE HILAND
Children ages 3-18 come to The Dance Barns in Santa Fe and The Hiland in Albuquerque each week to participate in high-quality dance and performance training in creative movement, ballet, modern dance, jazz, tap, voice, hip-hop, and theater. Classes range from beginner to pre-professional levels and are taught by inspiring instructors using their technical dance expertise along with the NDI New Mexico pedagogy. These classes are open to all children in the community. Tuition for these programs is offered on a sliding scale, ensuring that every child has the opportunity for an enriching after school experience. Whether children are exploring their first experience in dance, taking classes for creative expression and exercise, or have their sights set on a career in the performing arts, our afterschool programs build a sense of achievement in a nurturing and noncompetitive atmosphere.
Teaching Excellence®
NDI New Mexico is committed to developing highly trained instructors to deliver our award-winning pedagogy to children across the state. Instructors are the backbone of our programs, and their expertise is vital to a child’s engagement and success. Our Teaching Excellence workshop is a critical building block for training our instructors to develop the skills needed to conduct fast-paced, dynamic, and engaging classes. During the two-week intensive, participants work with children alongside our own master teachers and are immersed in hands-on training in NDI New Mexico’s highly engaging, fun and athletic teaching methodology.
Hip to Be Fit
BE HEALTHY is one of our Core Four messages for how to be excellent in everything you do. We are committed to helping our students get fit.
NDI New Mexico’s HIP to Be Fit curriculum is embedded in all our programs and teaches the importance of exercising, making healthy lifestyle choices, and eating well to improve stamina, performance and endurance. Our goal is to make a positive impact on New Mexico’s children and their families by helping them take care of their bodies, minds, and spirits.
Statewide Map
Measurable Results
NDI New Mexico students show higher standardized test scores in all four areas of core curriculum and receive up to one grade higher than other students in their district.
Proven teaching techniques + supportive schools + dedicated instructors + powerful performances = healthier students who are successful in school and feel prepared for life.
NDI New Mexico students show higher standardized test scores in all four areas of core curriculum and receive up to one grade higher than other students in their district.
Measuring the benefits of NDI New Mexico’s programs on the children we serve is important for ensuring quality in the classroom and quantifying our impact to partners and supporters. Testimonials from parents, dancers, and educators tell a rich story of how NDI New Mexico’s programs change children’s lives.
More than twelve years of independent, scientific evaluations show how participation in NDI New Mexico programs works to improve students’ academic performance. NDI New Mexico curriculum also supports executive function skills that children need to perform independently, including improved focus, perseverance, self-control, goal setting, problem
solving, organization, and decision-making. Our dancers exhibit higher standardized test scores and GPA scores than those of their peers.
The most recent program analysis, conducted by UNM’s Prevention Research Center, of NDI New Mexico’s Advanced Training students and their peers showed that overall, students who participated in NDI New Mexico Advanced Training programs had fewer absences during the school year, statistically higher GPA’s, and higher odds of scoring in the proficient or advanced range when testing for the New Mexico Standards-Based Assessment (NMSBA) in both math and reading compared with peer students that did not participate.
Your generous investment in NDI New Mexico provides access to excellence for thousands of underserved children and creates opportunities for youth in our state to build better futures.
YOU! Dare to Dream! We Believe in
NDI NEW MEXICO GIVES CHILDREN THE CONFIDENCE THEY NEED TO PURSUE THEIR DREAMS. USING THE CORE FOUR – WORK HARD, DO YOUR BEST, NEVER GIVE UP, BE HEALTHY – TO INSTILL A POWERFUL STANDARD OF EXCELLENCE, NDI NEW MEXICO TEACHES THAT DETERMINATION AND TENACITY ARE PATHWAYS TO SUCCESS, BOTH NOW AND IN THE FUTURE. By weaving joyful learning into every program, NDI New Mexico gives dancers the self-assurance to try new things, persevere through challenges, and experience the rewards that come from achieving their goals. These small and large successes build a child’s courage to pursue, their strength to act on, and their optimism to believe in BIG DREAMS.
joyfullearning
In 96 public elementary schools all over the state, NDI New Mexico instructors and musicians inspire and motivate dancers to reach for the excellence they need to fulfill their dreams. Each class builds upon the last to guide dancers through a rigorous curriculum that ends with a lively performance celebrating their successes.
EMILY LOWMAN, SANTA FE OUTREACH ARTISTIC DIRECTOR, loves walking into El Camino Real Academy where eager children greet her each week with a cheery “good morning, Ms. Emily” as she makes her way down the hall. She sees older students she taught in previous years, her current 4thgraders, and younger students she will teach in coming years. Everyone, including the custodians and office staff, gives her a friendly wave when they see her.
Emily’s eyes sparkle when she talks about her class. “I am excited to see the children getting ready for their end-ofyear performance. They can do much more than they ever dreamed they could at the beginning of the year. I love to watch their confidence grow as they imagine how it will feel to dance in the spotlight for their friends and families.”
BERT DALTON, NDI NEW MEXICO’S MUSIC DIRECTOR, is already in the gymnasium rolling the piano out of the storage closet for class. Music is an indispensable element of every class, and Bert has been providing lively musical accompaniment for over 20 years. Using music to motivate the dancers, he is an essential part of the teaching team.
inspire children
Bert enthusiastically adds, “Each year, the music supports the themes for the shows. These shows inspire children to envision horizons beyond NDI New Mexico and to broaden the scope of their dreams. I love taking an idea from the classroom to the stage and watching the dancers successfully accomplish the vision we all worked so hard to realize.”
EACH AFTERNOON THE HALLS OF THE DANCE BARNS AND THE HILAND ARE FILLED WITH CHILDREN AGES 3-18. Community classes in ballet, jazz, tap, modern dance, hip-hop, theater, and voice are simultaneously conducted in multiple studios at each campus. Tiny tap shoes ring on hardwood floors as parents look on with delight. Aspiring ballerinas and dancers from the Boys Ballet Bootcamp work hard to strengthen their bodies and increase their endurance. Afterschool programs inspire some dancers to dream of careers in the performing arts as they rehearse diligently for their upcoming performances. But no matter what their futures hold, they tell us that dancing with NDI New Mexico gives them the tools they need to be successful, whatever dream they decide to pursue.
“Afterschool classes at The Hiland have shown me that I am physically and mentally stronger than I knew –when I work hard and believe in myself, I have confidence that I can achieve my dreams.”
– Katy Burt, XCel Company Dancer,The Hiland
bright futures
NDI NEW MEXICO COLLABORATES WITH HIGH-SPIRITED AND ENTHUSIASTIC ALLIES. These community partners believe in New Mexico’s children and understand the importance of youth development programs that prepare today’s young people to be tomorrow’s citizens. They have big dreams for New Mexico, and NDI is helping fulfill those
“NDI New Mexico’s programs enrich our state by teaching our children the most important core values through dance, helping to develop the next generation of New Mexico’s leaders.”
- Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham
Over the last 25 years NDI New Mexico has used the creative power of the arts to inspire children and bring communities together in powerful ways. By developing the skills, attitudes and self-confidence children need to build productive lives, we know that their futures will be bright. We are excited to dream of serving the next generation of children and hope
Ways to Give
A gift to NDI New Mexico can be made in a number of different ways — as a bequest, as a memorial or tribute to another person, as an online donation, or as a contribution to the NDI New Mexico endowment. All charitable donations help children achieve success and are tax-deductible.
DONATE ONLINE
www.ndi-nm.org/donate
JOIN A GIVING CIRCLE
Circle of Friends: $1-$999
Founders' Circle: $1,000-$9,999
Circle of Excellence: $10,000-$99,9999
Pillars of Excellence: $100,000+
GIFTS OF SECURITIES
Common stocks and mutual funds
PLANNED GIVING
Bequests, Charitable Gift Annuities and Trusts, or IRA Rollovers
NDI NEW MEXICO ENDOWMENT
Support NDI New Mexico’s financial security and initiatives for today and tomorrow
HONOR AND MEMORIAL GIFTS
Make a tribute gift in honor of a joyous occasion or in memory of a loved one
FOUNDATION AND CORPORATE PARTNERS
Grants and sponsorship opportunities support programs and events
DONOR ADVISED FUNDS AND UNITED WAY
Recommend or designate a gift to support NDI New Mexico programs
MATCHING GIFTS
Many employers will match gifts or volunteer hours donated
MONTHLY GIVING
Sustain NDI New Mexico programs with year-round impact
For more information or to make a donation, please contact Mary Gulledge, Director of Advancement, at 505.557.6044.