Danielle's dancing background

Danielle began dancing at the age of 5 with intensive training in ballet, jazz, modern dance and gymnastics. After competing in gymnastics for 10 years at a local and state level, she began her entertainment career in high diving, fire diving and trapeze shows around the country and at numerous theme parks. This all lead to her interest in couples dancing after seeing her first competition in 1994. Danielle now teaches group and private lessons for all ages in west coast swing, two-step, waltz, cha cha, nightclub, triple-two, polka, east coast and hustle and holds 2 World titles in Showcase Open for 1998 and 2004, numerous Division I, II, III and IV titles, and 12 Top Teacher awards on the UCWDC circuit, including top teacher for World's 2007, 2008, and 2009! Danielle's focus then turned to west coast swing where she competed w/Stephen White and placed 3rd in Rising Star at the Tampa Classic in 2009, 1st in Rising Star at Swing Dance America 2010 and 4th in the Pro Classic Division at the Tampa Classic 2010. Danielle now currently competes and teaches on the west coast circuit w/her new partner Demery Strickland from Jacksonville, Fl. She also competes with her students around the country and 17 of her pro-am students have won World Titles on the UCWDC Circuit over the past 7 years.

Floortime and Bayou Dance Club

Floortime is located at 6520 Yellowhammer Ave. and is where Danielle holds all her private lessons and small groups. This studio is equipped with mirrors, sound system and a brand new DVD recording system that can film the whole floor during lessons! Bayou Dance Club is located at 6541 102nd Ave North, Pinellas Park. This studio is where Danielle holds the Tampa Floorplay that meets every 4th Saturday from 7:30pm til 1am and Floorplay Meets Country Night on the Town that meets every 1st Saturday from 7:30-midnight!

Pricing

Pricing for private lessons with Danielle is $60 per hour. Guest instructors brought in to Floortime can be anywhere from $60 to $75 per hour. Group class rate is between $10 and $12 per hour and choreography depends on the length and level of the routine. Pro-am competitions are $20 per dance.

Lessons

Even if you think you have 2 left feet, you can learn to dance!! Dancing is not only fun but a great way to meet new people, de-stress and exercise all at the same time. Danielle and Floortime Dance Studio offer group and private lessons for beginners, novice, intermediate and advance in country, swing and ballroom. No partner is needed as she is skilled in both leading and following each dance. Group classes will give you an introduction to dance and focus on patterns and private lessons will give you one on one attention to acquire more knowledge on technique, lead and follow, and partnership. Danielle also runs an extensive pro-am program for west coast swing and country for those interested in competing. You can contact her at 813-390-2556.

Jason Connor

Danielle has been my chosen instructor since December of 2010, when she was recommended to me by a professional male dancer as an excellent instructor. As a completely new dancer with no dance experience, Danielle has been instrumental of the development of my dancing ability. One of the great things about learning from Danielle as a leader is that her teaching style emphasizes technique for making the dance feel good for the partner. Developing a 'feel good' style of dancing and connection means that I am rarely without a dance partner, and am often complimented on how clear my leads are to my partners and how comfortable it is to dance with me. Beyond helping me develop good dance habits, Danielle is an excellent competitor and my preferred partner in ProAm competitions. She and I recently took 4th place/Gold Medal at a West Coast Swing event after only six months of lessons. Lastly, Danielle is just great fun. Her humor, personality and spirit shine through in her lessons and she truly cares about the success of her students. She's a fantastic instructor that I would recommend to anyone seeking to learn to dance, no matter their level of experience.

Michelle

I can say without a doubt that Danielle has taught me more about actual dancing, lead/follow and body movement than any instructor ever did. There is such a huge difference between learning to dance (including lead/follow) vs. learning "steps" and Danielle is the person to see if you really want to learn how to dance. She is extremely knowledgable as well as personally talented. She is a hard worker and takes her job seriously in the sense that she is prompt, reliable, committed and focused during the lesson. You get your money's worth with Danielle's lessons. But just as as important to me is that she is so much fun!! She laughs a lot and and has a great way of finding the positive (and giving immediate feedback) while making sure to gently correct the not-so-postive things she sees-- usually in a very non-judgemental, humorous way that makes you laugh at yourself. She can critique without being critical. I also greatly respect that she gives you honest feedback and doesn't just tell you what she thinks you want to hear. She knows how to balance teaching serious technique with fun styling and musicality. She continues to take lessons from other top professionals herself in order to keep growing and learning. From that personal experience she knows how hard and frustrating it can be to struggle with something as a student and she has an uncanny knack of knowing when to switch gears or rephrase something during the lesson to help you understand. (And I can't believe her patience!) She is very flexible in her teaching methods and helps adapt styling concepts or technique in a way that she feels works best in YOUR body. She is a both a great dance leader and follower. I LOVE dancing with her during the lessons and at the dances. She smiles and puts you at ease and is very playful. When you're with Danielle you really get the feeling that she's there with you 100% and she wants you to be successful. She has a teacher's heart and soul and that means more to me than anything.