D'Ann's Academy of Dance... Is Now
The
DA Center
Dance
In August of 1978 a young dancer stood before a glass door at 2349 Willow Pass Road, slipped her key into the lock, gave it a turn and opened not only a door but her heart…
In 1978 D’Ann Harvey opened D’Ann’s Studio of Dance with a passion for dance and a dream to bring
her love of dance to all her students. It all started in a small one room studio that held many a disco
class (after all it was the 70’s)! As the years went on the studio expanded and became D’Ann’s Academy
of Dance only to evolve and turn into The DA Dance Center.
D’Ann Harvey has been trained in ballet, tap, jazz, and acro. She started dancing at the age of 2.5 turning
professional by the age of 14 with the Duane Dancers where she traveled throughout the United States
and abroad. She has worked with numerous industry professionals opening for the likes of Tom Jones,
Charo, Smuthers Brothers and John Davidson just to name a few (don’t judge…they were big stars back
then). D’Ann continues to be a driving factor behind the scenes at the DA Dance Center.
Shawna Zimmerman is the director of the DA Dance Center as well as D’Ann’s daughter. Shawna began
dancing at the age of 2 where she would take class with all the other children of the Duane Dancers
while their mom’s held rehearsal. Shawna is trained in ballet, tap, jazz, lyrical, hip hop, and pom.
Dancing has also allowed Shawna to travel to Spain, London, Mexico, and the Bahamas while giving her the opportunity to travel throughout the United States doing what she loves.
Shawna has danced for the Golden State Warrior “Warrior Girls” dance team, the San Francisco 49ers “GoldRush” dance team and the Oakland Raiders “Raiderettes” where she has spent the last 20 years as the choreographer and coordinator. She has been to 3 Super Bowl Games and even has a Super Bowl ring to commemorate her time with the 49ers! She was also a staff member for United Spirit Association and performed in American Bowl games, World Cup soccer games, NBA playoff games, and San Francisco’s Black and White Ball. Her favorite memories dancing with D’Ann’s Studio of Dance was all of the performance opportunities that the studio had with the USO….performing for the USS Missouri, performing at the Dependents Day Cruise onboard the USS Enterprise along with all of the other opportunities to perform for our service men and women. Shawna hopes to pass along all of her knowledge about the professional cheerleading industry to future dance team members.
The DA Dance Center is thrilled to bring you an amazing teaching staff!
Our staff members have a wealth of knowledge and experience in the dance industry. We have staff members with an M.A in dance education from Stanfornd University, a B.A. in dance from Santa Clara University, a B.A. in dance from Chapman University, a B.A. in dance from San Jose State University along with a long list of choreography and show credits. They have backgrounds with Disney, commercials, touring companies, the Bolshoi Ballet as well as holding numerous competitive titles. All of our staff members have your child’s best interest at heart and are excited each and every day to share their gifts with all the dancers.