About us
I’m Danielle, a dance coach/choreographer-turned-dance-mom! My amazing journey has been fulfilling, fun, and full of learning experiences along the way.
The backstory (everyone has one, right?)
In 1994, shortly after graduating high school, a friend of mine called with a problem she needed my help with: the two junior demonstrators for her sister’s dance team (that her mother coached) had quit, and they had no routine for their upcoming competition in six weeks. I had been on the high school dance team and was going to college for teaching, so I jumped on the opportunity! I stayed for ten years, leading my team to several local and regional championships, as well achieving the rank of NATIONAL CHAMPIONS THREE YEARS IN A ROW! Afterwards, I had the privilege of bringing several of those same girls to the Universal Dance Association’s High School Dance Championship in Orlando to be the first from their school (my alma mater) to compete in this event.
After I had my son, I felt that life was pulling me away from dance to focus more on being a wife and mother. I did take some adult classes, but my involvement in the dance community was sidelined for the most part. That is, until I gave birth to my identical twin daughters! I enrolled them in their first dance class (at the studio where I had taken my high school team for technique, and where I had taken adult tap and jazz) when they were just two years old. And just when I thought I was out, they pulled me back in…
At five, they joined the studio’s competition team. That’s when I went from a self-assured coach/choreographer to a skittish, anxious dance mom! Things were done very differently from what I was used to, so I was definitely in unfamiliar territory. But I eventually found my footing, and have learned so much along the way.
Our family dynamic has changed considerably since my daughters’ first dance class. I now operate as a single mom, juggling the responsibilities of being a full-time teacher along with raising three kids with a variety of high-commitment activities. We also said goodbye to my father in 2015; he was my most loyal supporter when I was coaching (a team dad without a daughter actually ON the team, lol), and I desperately wish he could have been here to cheer my girls on (although I know he’s doing so from above, during breaks at the Let It Ride table in the sky). But life goes on, so we adapt and make the best of the situation.
My girls’ dance experiences have taught us all so much. The ups, the downs, the friendships, the memories…it’s not easy, but nothing worthwhile ever is.
I hope you find value in my posts, and wish you and your dancer all the happiness and success this path has to offer.
Credentials
- B. A. Elementary Education
- B. A. Psychology
- Reading Specialist (Master’s degree in progress)
- Universal Dance Association – certified in Dance Technique and Conditioning
- National Cheerleaders Association – Level 1 Coach
- Coach/Choreographer of Brick Pop Warner Dragons Midget Dance Team (3 national championships, multiple regional and local championships) – 10 years; Coach of the Year for 2005
- Coach/Choreographer of Brick Township High School Dance Team (2 years)
- NJ Highly Qualified Middle School Language Arts Teacher
- Middle School Reading Teacher (16+ years)
