Danielle V. Heller graduated Magna Cum Laude from Colorado State University in 1993 with a Teaching Certification to teach German, English and Dance at the Secondary Level. From 1994-1997 she taught in the Colorado Public Schools. In 1998 she purchased Peak Academy of Dance where she serves as artistic director and lead teacher.
Through seminars, residencies and master classes she has studied with such greats as Chris Baker, Cassandra Baker, Ira Bernstein, Brenda Buffalino, Bril Barrett, Buster Brown, Barbara Duffy, Idella Reed, Ellie Sciarra, and Chester Whitmore.
She performs professionally as a member of “The Tap Company” out of Boulder, Colorado under the direction of Ellie Sciarra. She served as Dance Captain for the company’s third run of “Taps are Talking: Women in Tap”.
Outside of her regular teaching position, Danielle choreographs for local schools, choirs and community productions. She enjoys teaching seminars and master classes and has served on the Colorado Dance Initiative Board, a board set up to further dance in the state of Colorado.
Danielle has been teaching dance most of her life. She started informally teaching dance in Jr. High and has since that point has never stopped.
“I love teaching. Being in the classroom is like having my own laboratory, where I experiment to find what elements combine to make the most effective teaching techniques and learning environments.
Anyone who has the desire to become a master teacher can! Each one of us has a deep connection with art in some form, in my case it has been Tap. It is natural to want to pass on this great love of art; however many times we are not given the tools to adequately communicate what we want to.
How many times has an incredibly, technically adept dancer suddenly found themselves in a teaching position with no teaching skills at all? They stumble around only drawing from the memories of what they saw their teachers do in class. This doesn’t have to be anyone’s experience!
There are teaching skills that are universal to any subject being taught. Over the past 10 years I have been applying basic pedagogical teaching skills to the field of Tap. Through this experimentation I have come up with techniques and concepts that are effective at all levels and a curriculum matrix that can be molded to fit any teaching situation. I look forward to sharing this information with anyone who is interested in learning.
I want to see Tap blossom, grow and spread everywhere. I believe the best way to do this is to give teacher’s the most effective tools possible!”