Location
Age
Area of FocusAbout Jacques' Work
Jacques d’Amboise is a dancer and teacher of ballet, and the founder of the National Dance Institute (NDI) in New York City.
d’Amboise established the NDI in 1976 as a cross-cultural, arts-in-education program that provides children with the opportunity to discover the arts through dance. The Institute conducts dance classes for thousands of students in public schools across the country and presents free performances annually at the Delacorte Theater in New York City’s Central Park. d’Amboise is the co-author of Teaching the Magic of Dance (1984) and has also written and directed for theater, films, television, and musicals. He has also danced in several movies, including Seven Brides for Seven Brothers (1954) and Carousel (1956).
Biography
Beginning in 1946, d’Amboise danced children’s roles with the Ballet Society, the precursor of the New York City Ballet. He joined the corps de ballet in 1949 and was made a principal dancer at age eighteen. In addition to performing, he choreographed some twenty works for the New York City Ballet and performed with the company until 1984. His own ballets include The Chase (1963), Quatuor (1964) and Irish Fantasy (1964).
d’Amboise was Dean of Dance and a professor at the State University of New York at Purchase (1978-80).
Last updated January 1, 2005
Published on August 1, 1990
