Skip to content

Plano grad, dancer Danielle Bush talks viral, super sweet proposal

Utah Jazz Dancer Danielle Bush thought she was about to lose her job. Then, she received the surprise of a lifetime.
Danielle Bush
Utah Jazz Dancer Danielle Bush thought she was about to lose her job. Then, she received the surprise of a lifetime. | Image via @utahjazz on Instagram

Since graduating from Plano Senior High School almost 10 years ago, Danielle Bush has been on her feet. She studied dance at Brigham Young University-Idaho and has traveled across the country doing what she loved. At the height of the pandemic, Bush was living in L.A. training for auditions to be an NBA dancer, before beginning her rookie season as one of the Utah Jazz Dancers last August.

Despite her impressive resume, nothing could’ve prepared Bush for a fateful winter evening. On December 20, during a performance with the dancers, the music scratched in the middle of the routine before transitioning into Bruno Mars’ “Marry You.” Everybody seemingly knew this new routine except for Bush, who, despite feeling very anxious, did her best to follow suit with her team.

“First of all, I don't know what the heck my teammates are doing,” Danielle Bush tells Local Profile. “And second of all, I’m thinking I'm going to lose my job because I was like, ‘I don't remember this choreography. I was at every single practice. When did this happen?’ But then I was like, ‘Wait, I'm a professional dancer, maybe I can pick up this choreography.’”

Moments later, Bush would freak out even more, but this time in a state of elation. In the matter of seconds, her boyfriend of three years, Brandon Heiser, would become her fiance. 

During the performance, Heiser ran into the court and proposed to Bush. An ecstatic Bush, now having realized her team’s plan, said yes, with a shimmering smile on her face.

The proposal went viral online, and Bush says she is still receiving congratulatory messages on Facebook, Instagram and TikTok weeks later. She even receives benedictions from people who recognize her out in public.

“I'm just super-duper excited for this next step in our relationship, and to continue this journey with him,” Bush says.

As a professional dancer, Danielle Bush and her team practice twice a week for four hours a day, with one day of the week entirely devoted to physical training. From a young age, she knew she wanted a career in dance, and she credits her time as a member of her high schools’ drill teams for helping her succeed in the professional dance world.

“My dance director for the [Vines High School] Vikettes, Nicole Dillon, and also my director for the [Plano Senior High School] Planoettes, Meredith Walraven, were both very blunt and structured, which I love,” Bush says. “I feel like their structure really prepared me to go into the pro dance industry. My coach, Ashley [Kelson, of the Utah Jazz Dancers], she is also very structured, which I love.”

Bush and Heiser plan to wed in the fall, but in the meantime, she hopes the Utah Jazz makes the playoffs and looks forward to dancing throughout the year.

“Dance is the reason why I kept up my grades in school, all throughout Vines and all throughout Plano Senior High,” Bush says, “because I knew the consequence would be that I wouldn't be able to dance if I didn't succeed in school. It really is what’s kept me going. Dance means everything to me, aside from Brandon, of course.”


Did you know Gossip Girl actor John Benjamin Hickey is also from Plano?