Jacques d'Amboise
Former Principal Dancer, New York City Ballet
Honored Educator
Founder, National Dance Institute
Recognized as one of the finest classical dancers of our time, Jacques d’Amboise now leads the field of arts education with a model program that exposes thousands of school children to the magic and discipline of dance. In 1976, while still a principal dancer with New York City Ballet, Mr. d’Amboise founded National Dance Institute in the belief that the arts have a unique power to engage and motivate individuals towards excellence.
His contributions in arts education have earned him numerous awards and honors including: Honorary Doctorate of Letters at Montclair State University (2012), The Fred and Adele Astair Award (2011), Dance Teacher Magazine’s Lifetime Achievement Award (2011), The Vasterling Award for Artistic Vision and Excellence in Dance (2010), induction into The American Academy of Arts & Sciences (2007); The Children’s Champion Award, Child Magazine (2007); The Mayor’s Award for Arts & Culture (2004); Honorary Doctorate of Humane Letters at St. Joseph College (2003); The James Keller Youth Award, The Christophers (2002); The Arison Award (2002); People First Honoree, People Magazine (2002); Honorary Doctorate of Humane Letters at Franklin Pierce College (2002); The Heinz Award (2001); Honorary Doctorate of Fine Arts at the University of the South (2001); Town Hall Friend of the Arts Award (2000); Honorary Doctorate of Fine Arts at the Juilliard School (2000); The Dance Magazine Award (1999); The National Medal of Arts (1998); NCEA St. Elizabeth Ann Seton Award (1996); The Kennedy Center Honors (1995); The National Caring Award, The Caring Institute (1995); The Museum of the City of New York - $24 Award; The Award for Distinguished Service to the Arts from the American Academy of Arts and Letters (1993); a 1990 MacArthur Fellowship (known as the genius awards): The Capezio Award (1990); The First Annual Producers Circle Award for public service (1989); The Paul Robeson Award for excellence in the field of the humanities (1988); The Governor’s Award for outstanding contributions to the arts and culture of New York State (1986); Honorary Doctorate of Fine Arts - Boston College (1986); Honorary Doctorate of Fine Arts - Monmouth University (1984); Honorary Doctorate of Fine Arts - Bates College (1978); Honorary Doctorate of Fine Arts - Saint Peter’s College (1978); Honorary Doctorate of Fine Arts - College of New Rochelle (1976); and The Nancy Hank Fellowship - Duke University. Mr. d’Amboise is also an Honorary Big Brother.
He Makes Me Feel Like Dancin’, a 1984 PBS documentary film about his work with NDI, won an Academy Award, six Emmy Awards, the Peabody Award, the Golden Cine Award, and the National Education Association Award for the advancement of learning through broadcasting. He has also served as a full professor and Dean of Dance for two years at SUNY Purchase, and for eleven years as visiting professor at the College of Creative Studies, University of California at Santa Barbara.
Mr. d’Amboise began his ballet training with Madam Seda in Washington Heights, New York. Within a year, at the age of 8, he continued his studies at the School of American Ballet with George Balanchine, Anatola Oboukhoff and Pierre Vladimiroff. At age 12 he performed with Ballet Society, the immediate predecessor to New York City Ballet. Three years later, barely 15, he joined New York City Ballet and the following year made his European debut at London’s Covent Garden. As Balanchine’s protégé, Mr. d’Amboise had more works choreographed specifically for him by The Ballet Master than any other dancer, including the ballets: Stars and Stripes, Tchaikovsky Pas de Deux, Episodes, Figures in the Carpet, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Jewels, Raymonda Variations, Meditation, and Brahms-Schoenberg Quartet. Mr. d’Amboise is most remembered for his portrayal of what critics called “the definitive Apollo.” As a choreographer, Mr. d’Amboise’s credits include almost twenty works commissioned for New York City Ballet. Mr. d’Amboise’s work in dance education has taken him all over the world—from the extremes of Yakutsk, Siberia, to the Danakil Desert in Ethiopia, from 13,000 feet below sea level at the Dead Sea to the mountains of Nepal, and from the dryness of the Atacama Desert in Chile to rainforests on the island of Kauai in the Hawaiian Chain. Over the last 30 years, NDI programs in New York City and its associates, both nationally and internationally, have reached and influenced over 2 million children, in particular the programs National Dance Institute have integrated with the city of Shanghai, China.
Mr. d’Amboise, in the course of his career, did several movies; Seven Brides for Seven Brothers (MGM), Carousel, Best Things in Life Are Free (20th Century Fox), He has directed and choreographed on Broadway and produced, conceived, directed and choreographed fifteen productions for the Feld forum at Madison Square Garden. Home Box Office has featured him in two films; Jacques d’Amboise in Shanghai and Master Teacher.
The publishing house Alfred A. Knopf, a subsidiary of Random House has published his auto-biography “I Was A Dancer.” There is, coming out in 2013/2014, a fictional backstage thriller at the ballet presently titled “The Ghost Watcher.”
Honored Educator
Founder, National Dance Institute
Recognized as one of the finest classical dancers of our time, Jacques d’Amboise now leads the field of arts education with a model program that exposes thousands of school children to the magic and discipline of dance. In 1976, while still a principal dancer with New York City Ballet, Mr. d’Amboise founded National Dance Institute in the belief that the arts have a unique power to engage and motivate individuals towards excellence.
His contributions in arts education have earned him numerous awards and honors including: Honorary Doctorate of Letters at Montclair State University (2012), The Fred and Adele Astair Award (2011), Dance Teacher Magazine’s Lifetime Achievement Award (2011), The Vasterling Award for Artistic Vision and Excellence in Dance (2010), induction into The American Academy of Arts & Sciences (2007); The Children’s Champion Award, Child Magazine (2007); The Mayor’s Award for Arts & Culture (2004); Honorary Doctorate of Humane Letters at St. Joseph College (2003); The James Keller Youth Award, The Christophers (2002); The Arison Award (2002); People First Honoree, People Magazine (2002); Honorary Doctorate of Humane Letters at Franklin Pierce College (2002); The Heinz Award (2001); Honorary Doctorate of Fine Arts at the University of the South (2001); Town Hall Friend of the Arts Award (2000); Honorary Doctorate of Fine Arts at the Juilliard School (2000); The Dance Magazine Award (1999); The National Medal of Arts (1998); NCEA St. Elizabeth Ann Seton Award (1996); The Kennedy Center Honors (1995); The National Caring Award, The Caring Institute (1995); The Museum of the City of New York - $24 Award; The Award for Distinguished Service to the Arts from the American Academy of Arts and Letters (1993); a 1990 MacArthur Fellowship (known as the genius awards): The Capezio Award (1990); The First Annual Producers Circle Award for public service (1989); The Paul Robeson Award for excellence in the field of the humanities (1988); The Governor’s Award for outstanding contributions to the arts and culture of New York State (1986); Honorary Doctorate of Fine Arts - Boston College (1986); Honorary Doctorate of Fine Arts - Monmouth University (1984); Honorary Doctorate of Fine Arts - Bates College (1978); Honorary Doctorate of Fine Arts - Saint Peter’s College (1978); Honorary Doctorate of Fine Arts - College of New Rochelle (1976); and The Nancy Hank Fellowship - Duke University. Mr. d’Amboise is also an Honorary Big Brother.
He Makes Me Feel Like Dancin’, a 1984 PBS documentary film about his work with NDI, won an Academy Award, six Emmy Awards, the Peabody Award, the Golden Cine Award, and the National Education Association Award for the advancement of learning through broadcasting. He has also served as a full professor and Dean of Dance for two years at SUNY Purchase, and for eleven years as visiting professor at the College of Creative Studies, University of California at Santa Barbara.
Mr. d’Amboise began his ballet training with Madam Seda in Washington Heights, New York. Within a year, at the age of 8, he continued his studies at the School of American Ballet with George Balanchine, Anatola Oboukhoff and Pierre Vladimiroff. At age 12 he performed with Ballet Society, the immediate predecessor to New York City Ballet. Three years later, barely 15, he joined New York City Ballet and the following year made his European debut at London’s Covent Garden. As Balanchine’s protégé, Mr. d’Amboise had more works choreographed specifically for him by The Ballet Master than any other dancer, including the ballets: Stars and Stripes, Tchaikovsky Pas de Deux, Episodes, Figures in the Carpet, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Jewels, Raymonda Variations, Meditation, and Brahms-Schoenberg Quartet. Mr. d’Amboise is most remembered for his portrayal of what critics called “the definitive Apollo.” As a choreographer, Mr. d’Amboise’s credits include almost twenty works commissioned for New York City Ballet. Mr. d’Amboise’s work in dance education has taken him all over the world—from the extremes of Yakutsk, Siberia, to the Danakil Desert in Ethiopia, from 13,000 feet below sea level at the Dead Sea to the mountains of Nepal, and from the dryness of the Atacama Desert in Chile to rainforests on the island of Kauai in the Hawaiian Chain. Over the last 30 years, NDI programs in New York City and its associates, both nationally and internationally, have reached and influenced over 2 million children, in particular the programs National Dance Institute have integrated with the city of Shanghai, China.
Mr. d’Amboise, in the course of his career, did several movies; Seven Brides for Seven Brothers (MGM), Carousel, Best Things in Life Are Free (20th Century Fox), He has directed and choreographed on Broadway and produced, conceived, directed and choreographed fifteen productions for the Feld forum at Madison Square Garden. Home Box Office has featured him in two films; Jacques d’Amboise in Shanghai and Master Teacher.
The publishing house Alfred A. Knopf, a subsidiary of Random House has published his auto-biography “I Was A Dancer.” There is, coming out in 2013/2014, a fictional backstage thriller at the ballet presently titled “The Ghost Watcher.”
