Tell us about yourself. Who are you and what do you do?
My name is Danielle Smith and I am a dancer, artist activist, and educator. I create a lot of pieces on the intersectionality of being a woman and being Black. I enjoy connecting with people that have different perspectives and backgrounds than me, so I try to incorporate that within my work as well. As an educator, I’ve been able to teach students in underserved schools and schools with state of the art dance departments. I value this because it pushes my creativity and allows me to be open to diverse experiences.
What does your typical workday look like?
A typical work day incorporates a lot more screen time nowadays! In a day, I will teach a virtual class from my living room, lesson plan for my dance classes the following week, and create marketing for promoting those classes on social media. I’ve also been curating a video archive of dancers from all over, to share their experiences with the dance community; so I will either edit those videos or conduct interviews for that project as well. So again, a lot of screen time which doesn’t include taking online technique classes to keep up with my own technique!
Which habits help or hinder your creativity?
So much of being a dancer is being in tune with your physical instrument, so when I am too tired because of poor sleeping and eating habits, it makes me sluggish and less likely to be open to creating. On the flip side of that, to try to combat that I try to do yoga 1-2 times a day (it helps me know if I’m sore, tight, have pain when I activate a certain muscle). I also like to listen to music A LOT, daydream, and take dance classes to give myself the freedom and space to be creative.
Tell us about some other jobs you have had other than being an artist.
Apart from dance, I really like working with my hands. I love creating new clothes out of old clothes and costume designing for my dance pieces as well. So right now, in addition to dancing I work for a Black-owned boutique called Dru Christine Fabrics and Design. It’s fun and calming and it still allows me to express creativity. I’ve also worked at an amusement park as the wardrobe assistant to help make sure everyone had the correct outfit, made alterations to outfits and overall just made sure what the employees were wearing, looked good on them.
Where can we find your work?
You can find my work and keep up with me on Instagram, Facebook and YouTube @dsmithdance. I post my dancer tings interviews and choreographic works on there all the time.