In October of 2017, Danielle and fellow teammate Jo-Anna Cooke were approached by Rebound WA to go along to the WA Open DanceSport Championships, as Rebound were looking into the feasibility of running a para dance program. After attending that night they were able to feedback to Rebound WA that they both wowed by the spectacle of it all and they both saw many benefits in dance. With much enthusiasm they both agreed they would be interested in exploring dance opportunities further. Rebound were then able to set a up and run a Come and Try day with DanceSport WA in January 2018. It was well attended by a group of rebound WA members so the possibility of further classes was offered to anyone wanting to join in.
An administrative assistant in W.A, Danielle, is known as a hard worker but quite reserved so dancing was definitely not something she would of ever imagined would be a good match for her, but she had such a wonderful time at the come and try day doing things she usually felt uncomfortable with like meeting a lot of new people, learning things on the spot and doing silly things in front of an audience, she surprised herself by pushing her fears aside and jumped at the opportunity to continue.
Soon enough she was contacted by Darryl Davenport who was running the adult classes and they fast became the best part of Danielle’s week. She quickly began to feel the physical benefits of dancing like better balance, core strength, posture, co-ordination and also the mental benefits including increased confidence, esteem and having a sense of, respect, acceptance and belonging. Even the people around her, including her husband Bryan, have noticed the positive changes dancing has made on Danielle.
Danielle has performed demonstration floor shows with Darryl as her partner at the 2018 Night of Stars and the 2018 WA Open DanceSport championships and she is now looking forward to her first official para dancing competition at the 2018 Australian DanceSport Championships in Melbourne on 7th December 2018.
Danielle has found an unexpected joy in dancing and hopes that by attending the Australian DanceSport Championships she can share that joy with a bigger audience and prove that para dancing is a wonderfully fulfilling activity for people with a disability.
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