Danielle Figueroa – New York

Danielle Figueroa began dancing at the age of 3 at the Starlite Dance Studio. Under the direction of the late Mr. David Melendez she excelled and was usually the youngest in all her classes. Danielle competed in National Competitions with Starlite’s Company Class until he chose her to become one of the original Starlite Sweethearts at the age of 8, becoming the youngest Sweetheart ever. A duo, Heart & Soul came shortly after, in which Danielle danced with her first partner Timothy Lanier. Already having taken Ballet, Tap, Hip Hop and Mambo, Danielle decided to add Modern to her dance resume and joined the Boden Performing Arts Program at her church, Crossroads Tabernacle in the Bronx. In Boden, Danielle studied under prestigious Alvin Ailey Dancers, such as LaTrisa Harper, Hope Boykin and Matthew Rushing. At the age of 13, Danielle decided that it was time to move on and started taking classes at Santo Rico Dance Studio, where she was asked to join their semi -professional dance team shortly thereafter. Around the same time, Danielle was also accepted to Professional Performing Arts HS and continued studying Modern and Ballet as well African Dance at Alvin Ailey as part of her HS curriculum. At the age of 15, Danielle became a dancer for the Santo Rico professional dance team and the Director, Tomas Guerrero’s partner, where she remained until November 2013. By the age of 20, she had travelled to over 23 countries dancing as well as teaching alongside him. In the Fall of 2012, Danielle was invited to join Sugar and Spice Dance Company under the direction of Kesha Nichols (Basketball Wives) and has since done several videos as well as performed for Tom Pappas’ Comic Relief show in 2013. In addition to dancing Danielle has had the privilege to be included as an extra in some movies and tv shows including, New Year’s Eve, Law & Order SVU, A Gifted Man, Person of Interest and several others. In the Spring of 2013, Danielle was chosen as a dancer for New York’s Major League Lacrosse Team – the New York Lizards for the 2013 season. Currently, Danielle is a member of the Yamulee Dance Company and actively pursuing a degree in Criminal Justice.