William Byrd High School graduate Danielle (Knight) Schill, from the Class of ’98, will be leading a team of dancers in the National Cherry Blossom Parade on April 14. Although her family is still based in Vinton and surrounding Roanoke County, Schill now lives in Herndon, Va., where she started her company, LineDance4You, in 2005.
Schill will be leading a group of 63 dancers as they perform line and patterned partner dances with national recording artist Ty Herndon and rising country stars Temecula Road. The parade will broadcast nationwide on ABC affiliates beginning at 10 a.m. Dancers will perform a montage of known couples’ dances and Schill’s own choreography, written specifically for this event.
LineDance4You offers line dance lessons at Washington area bars four nights a week and at multiple events in Northern Virginia with three staff instructors. Schill has been featured on “Let’s Talk Live” on NewsChannel 8 and in two segments of “Dancing at Dawn” on WJLA/ABC 7. She and her students have performed alongside Rascal Flatts, Taylor Swift, and Keith Anderson. Her company performs annually at Joe Gibbs’ Country Fair & Auctions and regularly at events for actor and Virginia resident Robert Duvall.
Schill is looking to expand the company in the coming year to include a possible site in Roanoke.
“Roanoke is such a special place to me with such genuine people and line dancing just has a way of bringing those kinds of people together,” said Schill. “I’m pleased to see line dancing cropping up in the valley and believe that there’s potential room for growth. Besides, I’d love an excuse to come ‘home’ more often!”
Schill, who moved to Vinton in her sophomore year of high school from Florida, was known around town for her orange Volkswagen beetle, the “Dani Bug,” now owned by another Vinton resident.
Working at the now-closed Winn-Dixie throughout high school, she loved the small-town charm and sense of community in Vinton. Her mother, Lynne, still lives in Vinton, so Schill loves returning, now with her husband and two young daughters in tow and is looking forward to her 20-year William Byrd High School reunion this fall.
More information is available about LineDance4You at www.LineDance4You.com as well as on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube under “LineDance4You.”