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 through the rigor and joy of dance. The athletic, high-energy dance style appeals to boys and girls alike. Our choreography has been carefully tailored to allow all children, including those with special needs, to experience success.

CDI is the California associate of the National Dance Institute, founded in 1976 by New York City Ballet’s Jacques d’Amboise. CDI Founder and Artistic Director Carole Valleskey, formerly a principal dancer with the Joffrey Ballet, started a prototype NDI program in Los Angeles through a California Arts Council grant in 1999. In 2001, Ms. Valleskey established CDI as a separate non-profit.