Kids Excel El Paso uses the National Dance Institute (NDI) teaching techniques created by Jacques d ’Amboise in NYC nearly 30 years ago. These time-tested techniques are used by arts education programs around the country to instill discipline, focus, tenacity, and a high standard of excellence in elementary school children.
A 1997 doctoral dissertation* by Jenny C. Seham systematically tested a group of children before and after their first exposure to the NDI program. The results showed NDI instruction to be “clearly superior” in improving scholastic and social skills in children.
Dr. Seham tested 4th and 5th graders’ student behavior, school grades and scores on standardized achievement tests. Dancers and non-dancers (control group) were tested before and after a 30-week dance program.
Dancers’ grades increased “significantly” in reading, language arts, spelling, math, and social studies, as well as conduct. Grades for the control group went down slightly in most areas. In fact, “dancers maintained and improved grade point averages, and significantly increased their academic standing over non-dancers.”
Classroom teachers’ evaluations showed that dancers had made “significant gains” in scholastic, social, and athletic competence, physical appearance, and behavioral conduct.
Standardized achievement tests showed “significant improvement” in quantitative, reading comprehension, language mechanics, language expression, math concepts, problem solving, math total, basic battery total, and reference skills.
The study showed the same positive effects on both boys and girls.
POLK SCHWARTZ