Meet Our Staff

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Owner/Artistic Director

Danielle “Mrs. Dani” Smalls is the proud owner and founder of Dani's Dance Dynamics, a passionate educator, and a native of St. Helena Island, South Carolina. With a lifelong love for dance that began at the age of seven, Mrs. Dani brings over two decades of experience and dedication to the art form.

By age 13, she was dancing competitively, earning numerous awards and scholarships across a wide range of dance genres, including ballet, pointe, jazz, tap, hip-hop, lyrical, and modern. She holds a Bachelor of Arts in Dance with a concentration in Business Management from Winthrop University and has trained under esteemed professional dancers throughout her career.

Following her graduation, Mrs. Dani returned to her hometown to share her passion with the next generation. She began teaching at local studios and in public schools, earning her South Carolina Teaching Certificate through the PACE program. She currently serves as the full-time dance educator and director of the dance program at Whale Branch Early College High School.

In addition to her teaching credentials, Mrs. Dani holds a Master of Business Administration with a concentration in Entrepreneurship. Her commitment to personal growth and excellence in dance education is the foundation of her studio’s mission.

A devoted wife to Demetrius Smalls and proud mother of five, Mrs. Dani embodies resilience, creativity, and community leadership. Owning a dance studio has been her lifelong dream—and now that dream is a reality, one she passionately brings to life every day through her work with young dancers.

Recreational & Competition Team Instructor

Kaiya Washington is a native Beaufort, SC and a 2019 Beaufort High School graduate, currently attending the Technical College of the Lowcountry to study Criminology. Starting off as a gymnast at the age of 8 she quickly progressed in tumbling, but didn’t love it as much as dancing. She began her dance career at the age of 9, and her competitive dance career at 10. Kaiya danced competitively for 7 years, and had been awarded numerous awards and scholarships. Her senior year in high school she choreographed Beaufort High School’s “Matilda the Musical.” She also was apart of IMMABreathe dance company, Season 2. Kaiya hopes to one day make it big but until then she will continue to share her love for dance.

Recreational Dance Instructor 

Meet Ms. Vanessa Valdez! Originally from Charleston, SC, Ms. Valdez began her dance journey at the age of 5, training in ballet, tap, hip hop, and jazz at her local studio. In high school, she competed for 7 seasons in color guard, where she built her performance skills and discipline.

Ms. Valdez earned her BA in Dance Education from Columbia College SC and was a member of the Columbia College Dance Company, focusing on contemporary dance. Along with her studio experience, she is highly skilled in social Latin dances and has even choreographed for Latin social events throughout the Lowcountry.

Now, she shares her passion for dance as the dance teacher at Lady's Island Elementary School, continuing to inspire students of all ages with her broad expertise and love for the art.

Master Class Instructor 

Eric Freeman, was born in Beaufort, South Carolina where he began dancing at age nine. He loved dancing. When he was eleven, Eric started competing at dance competitions and knew that his heart was in dancing. While competing he attended dance conventions, even winning many scholarships and “Dancer of the Year” awards. Eric credits his family as they inspired him to purse dance as a career. At age 16 he started teaching dance classes and at age 20 got booked for his first professional dance job. Later at age 21 Eric moved to Los Angeles, California to further purse his professional dance career.

He has performed at the Grammys, danced at the Apollo with Debbie Allen, opened for Mariah Carey and DJ Khaled for the AIDS Foundation, trained with the Cuban National Ballet School, was featured in ABC’s Modern Family and appeared in children tv series such as, “Chorals Tales.” Eric now teaches and choreographs for different dance companies  and is also an Artist at Debbie Allen Dance Academy in Los Angeles. Eric prides himself in embodying strong principles learned from former teachers while influencing young minds and souls during his travels as a performer, choreographer and master teacher around the world.