A native of northern Virginia, Dana has been in the Charlottesville area for 10 years. She has been a student of dance her entire life-- from foundational jazz, tap and ballet as a kid to explorations of hip hop, salsa and bachata, west African, Bhangra, square dance, breakdance and bellydance, roller dance and flamenco as an adult. She began teaching dance to adults in 2009, and in January 2023 started teaching hip hop classes for kids at the Carver Rec Center. Dana's number one goal for her students is to experience the joy of creative expression and movement. It is a life skill that she is grateful to have learned at an early age and that she seeks to pass along. When she is not dancing, Dana is gardening, styling hair, and enjoying her home in Gordonsville with her partner and their animals.