“Dance like nobody’s watching,” William W. Purkey said. Danielle Barkhuizen does – then turns the lights up, cues the chorus, and gets everyone else moving too. The daughter of a pastor and a dance instructor, she learned early that life has a rhythm and community has a pulse. Afternoons slid straight from school to studio; homework was done on the sidelines, and if she wasn’t taking class, she was helping teach it, with weekends given to competitions, family, and church. Those years didn’t just teach technique; they taught timing, empathy, and how to make a room feel welcome
A knee injury briefly pressed pause on the performance chapter. Danielle did what good dancers do when the choreography changes: she adapted. Helping her mum run dance events sparked a love of planning and production, which she formalised with a UCT online short course and then a Diploma in Events Management & Marketing. She even became a qualified dance instructor through the SADTA – proof that when one door demi-closes, another arabesques open.
Marketing, it turns out, is just choreography by another name: story, space, and sequence arranged so an audience feels something. Danielle cut her teeth in a SADTA marketing role before being scouted by Annelien Breed – first as a freelancer, then into a permanent home at CEO – where she now helps keep the brand in step and the messaging on count.
Ask what she loves about CEO and she’ll talk about culture first: a generous welcome, high standards, and a team that’s passionate because they’re treated well. It’s the difference between dancing to fill the space and dancing because the music moves you.
Margate on the KZN coast gave Danielle her village; a private Christian school and Boston City Campus gave her scaffolding; family gave her compass. Her dad remains her north star; her mum, the metronome of kindness; her older sister, a trusted duet partner. And at sixteen, she met the person who would become her biggest cheerleader, now husband, steadying the frame when she moved far from home.
Colleagues would call her bubbly and socially oriented, but there’s steel under the sparkle: she works hard, leads with empathy, and keeps a ready half-full glass. What she’s most proud of is not a single trophy but a trio: qualifications in marketing, events, and teaching people to dance – each one expanding the repertoire.
Off the clock, her non-negotiable is simple: dance. Add books, hikes, social dance evenings (of course), and the occasional sport. Hand her sushi or pizza, and she’s happy; cue Gilmore Girls or some Elevation Worship, and the mood’s set. When she looks ahead, she pictures exactly what she’s building now: meaningful work in a healthy company, a life that leaves room for family and the hobbies she loves. That’s not just a five-year plan, it’s good choreography.
So yes, Danielle dances like nobody’s watching. But in marketing, everybody is. And that’s precisely why she keeps the tempo kind, the message clear, and the finish memorable – inviting the audience onto the floor rather than performing at them. Step, step… shine.