CALIFORNIA DANCE INSTITUTE
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  • Home
  • CDI
    • Mission & History
    • Meet the Staff
    • Meet the Board
    • In the News
    • Testimonials
  • PROGRAMS
    • School Programs
    • Event of the Year
    • Think Outside The Box
    • For Students
    • For Parents
    • For Educators
    • CDI and Its Schools
  • DONATE
  • Events
    • Upcoming Events
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    • From Sea to Shining Sea
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Our Mission / Our History

See Videos of CDI In Action
Mission
California Dance Institute (CDI) is an in-school and after-school non-profit arts education program that teaches life and learning skills through dance and music. CDI’s mission is to motivate children to develop a personal standard of excellence by instilling confidence, discipline and focus through the rigor and joy of dance.

CDI’s athletic, high energy dance style, appeals to boys and girls alike. Our child-friendly choreography has been carefully tailored to allow all children, including those with special needs, to experience success. CDI programs are unique because they focus not on mastering a particular dance form, but on striving for excellence.

History
Founder and Director Carole Valleskey, formerly a principal dancer with the Joffrey Ballet, started CDI in 2001. During the current school year CDI is serving over 1600 children in ten public schools in underserved neighborhoods throughout Los Angeles. In its nineteen-year history, CDI has served over 19,000 Los Angeles area children.

CDI is the California associate of the National Dance Institute (NDI), founded in 1976 by New York City Ballet’s Jacques d’Amboise. The program is unique in the arts education world because its focus is not on achieving mastery of a particular dance form, but rather on recognizing and striving for excellence.  The athletic, high-energy dance style appeals to boys and girls alike, and studies have shown that participation in the program improves students’ academic performance and self-confidence.
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​The Children We Serve

In the schools CDI serves, 80% of children are on the free lunch program (indicating an income of $33,000 or less for a family of four), 75% are Hispanic, 8% are African American, 7% are Caucasian, 3% are Filipino, and 4% are Asian; 53% are of Limited English Proficiency and 2% are Special Education students.
Highly Trained Teaching Artists
CDI employs only professional dancers and musicians.  Each class is taught by a Lead Teacher, an Assistant Teacher and a Musical Accompanist, all of whom have been trained in the rigorous NDI teaching methodology.  CDI is one of the only dance programs in Los Angeles to employ live musical accompaniment in dance classes taught in public schools.

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Collaborations
A.N.D.I. (Associates of the National Dance Institute)
CDI is an official Associate of the National Dance Institute. ANDI has successfully seeded programs both nationally and abroad, ranging from workshops to year-round in-depth curriculum programs, all based upon NDI’s unique teaching techniques. Many of these programs have become members of ANDI.  ANDI, inspired by the work of Jacques d’Amboise, strengthens associate organizations by providing a forum to share best practices, maintain standards of excellence and promote the growth of community arts and education programs for children.
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DANCING INTO ACADEMICS

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                  CDI'S FIRST VIRTUAL GALA!

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CALIFORNIA DANCE INSTITUTE
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California Dance Institute is grateful to our supporters for all they do
to make dreams come true for the children of California Dance Institute.
​Here are some of the foundations that support us.
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This ORGANIZATION Is supported, in part, by GRANTS FROM THE DEPARTMENT OF CULTURAL AFFAIRS, CITY OF LOS ANGELES;
the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors through the Los Angeles County Arts Commission;
and the CALIFORNIA ARTS COUNCIL.

CALIFORNIA DANCE INSTITUTE       676 WESTMINSTER AVE.       VENICE, CA 90291        323.301.8900
CDI’s Nonprofit Tax ID: 26-3464981
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  • Home
  • CDI
    • Mission & History
    • Meet the Staff
    • Meet the Board
    • In the News
    • Testimonials
  • PROGRAMS
    • School Programs
    • Event of the Year
    • Think Outside The Box
    • For Students
    • For Parents
    • For Educators
    • CDI and Its Schools
  • DONATE
  • Events
    • Upcoming Events
    • We The People
    • We Love You, California!
    • From Sea to Shining Sea
    • Past Events
    • Dr. Adele Diamond Information
  • Get Involved!
    • Donate
    • Monthly Pledge
    • Volunteer Opportunities
    • Wish List
    • Supporters
  • Contact
    • Volunteer
    • Subscribe
  • In Memoriam