We take a moment to look back at the career of dancer Jacques d’Amboise, who died Sunday at the age of 86 in his Manhattan home following complications from a stroke. His work with the New York City Ballet, on film and in public schools, brought dance to new heights.

Directions: Read the summary, watch the video and answer the discussion questions below. To read the transcript of the video above, click here.

May 24, 2021 video and resource materials from PBS NewsHour. Find the original story at PBS NewsHour Extra.

• Jacques d’Amboise called himself a New Yorker with a fancy French name, but was first and foremost a legend in the world of dance, best known as a principal dancer with the New York City Ballet, appearing for decades on stages around the world.
• “If you think back, why are you doing what you’re doing, it’s those early influences,” d’Amboise told Newshour in 2015, “your teachers especially, and your parents, that kind of write the scripts that you end up acting out the rest of your life.”

Discussion questions: 

Warm up questions: Have your students identify the 5Ws and an H:

• Who was Jacques d’Amboise?
• What were some of d’Amboise accomplishments? 
• When and Where did he begin to work with public school children and bring dance education to the classroom?
• Why did d’Amboise become a dancer?
• How do you think d’Amboise will be remembered?

Then have students share with the class or through a Learning Management System (LMS).

Focus question: Why do you think Jacques d’Amboise dedicated so much of his life to helping young people, many from low-income families, how to dance? 

Media literacy: What memories, images and stories are captured in obituaries that are not captured in other types of news articles?

Check out our Daily News Story collection, or find more at PBS NewsHour Extra.