The students provide a rousing finale for the Motown number in 2023.

Students in the Socorro Consolidated School District will have the opportunity to “Dream Big” when they perform onstage as part of this fall’s National Dance Institute of New Mexico (NDI-NM) educational dance program. The students’ performance will be held at New Mexico Tech’s Macey Center on Thursday, Nov. 21, 2024, at 7 p.m.

Tickets for the 7 p.m. performance are, for the first time, reserved seating. This year there will be tiered seating with prices starting at $10 for adults and $5 for youth ages 17 and younger and can be purchased online at nmt.edu/pas or at the door. Special performances for elementary and middle school students are at 10 a.m. and 1 p.m. The public may attend the school-time performances but seating is designated and limited.

Since 1995, NDI-NM has taken up residency in Socorro, providing daily dance practice for elementary school students. A residency is held in Magdalena in the spring. According to NMT Performing Arts Series (PAS) Director Dana Chavez-Baca, the residency began when Ronna Kalish, former NMT PAS Director, contacted Catherine Oppenheimer, the first NDI New Mexico executive director. Catherine came to New Mexico after working with the late Jacques D’Amboise, founder of the National Dance Institute and originally the principal dancer of the New York City Ballet. With some twists and turns, Ronna secured funding, and initiated what is now one of the longest running residencies in NM.

The fourth-graders dance every day for two weeks with their class in school, with an NDI-NM dance instructor, and a professional musician. In the third week they move into the theater and incorporate costumes, a live band, lights, stage blocking, and props, she said. Each year about 20 children are invited to join their senior classmates after school for the Super Wonderful Advanced Team (SWAT). Along with the Celebration Team, they rehearse an extra two hours a day. SWAT students get an opportunity to be a part of the team after their first year, after going through an annual audition process, and can move up to the Celebration Team as middle schoolers.

Chavez-Baca said, as someone who grew up performing in Socorro, and as the local NDI coordinator for 10+ years, NDI-NM is a program very dear to her heart.

“For a lot of the kids in Socorro, it is the one time that they actually get to be on stage in front of an audience,” she said. “I know how incredibly rewarding the feeling can be and how rare the opportunities to do things like this are.”

Chavez-Baca said it’s amazing to watch how much the students grow and accomplish from participating in the NDI-NM residency in Socorro.

“It gives them a sense of belonging and a feeling that they can accomplish things that they did not think they could, and you can see that on their faces throughout the three weeks of the residency,” she said. “Having this program in Socorro is a really special treat and a great experience, and the kiddos know from the time that they are in kindergarten that eventually in fourth grade, they will have the opportunity to be in NDI. It has become an institutional legacy in Socorro, with many parents being NDI Alums themselves.”

John Ray Dennis, a fourth-grade teacher at Midway Elementary School and former principal at San Antonio Elementary School, has been involved with the NDI program for many years. He said students are as excited as he is for the performance.

“There is so much to love about NDI,” Dennis said. “The energy and professionalism the NDI staff brings to our community -- what they are able to do with our kids in such a short amount of time.”

Dennis said his favorite thing about the NDI-NM residency is watching some of the more resistant kids get so excited about dancing. 

“It is usually a boy who thinks he is going to have a horrible time and does not want to participate in NDI,” he said. “Many times they are chosen to be on SWAT -- the Super Advanced Wonderful Team.” 

The NDI-Socorro residency is a collaboration between the NDI statewide program, Socorro Consolidated Schools, and the New Mexico Tech Performing Arts Series with support from New Mexico Arts and the National Endowment for the Arts. This year NDI New Mexico is serving over 8,000 students in 90 schools across 29 communities, partnering with 271 public school teachers. More information about the organization is on its website: https://ndi-nm.org/ Sponsors of the NDI-NM performances in Socorro include: Positive Outcomes Inc., Socorro Consolidated Schools, Walmart, Betty Clark Platinum Memorial Endowment, and A-1 Quality Redi-Mix.