At 16 years old, the talented and versatile artist Dani Sterenberg has already conquered a significant space on stages and screens in Brazil. With a Jewish cultural heritage and solid foundations in Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo, Dani is an actress, singer and voice actress determined to make her mark in the world of art.
Dani stands out for her experience in Cinema, Musical Theater and audiovisual, adding an impressive repertoire that sets her apart among young talents. Furthermore, your fluency in English and basic knowledge of Hebrew expand your possibilities for acting and collaborating on international projects.
In the field of theater, Dani has shone in several productions, showing her versatility and interpretative skills. She starred in “Ariel – The Musical”, writing the play in partnership with director Grazi Luz. Her performance as “Gorila XuXu” in “Tarzan – The Jungle Man” promises to delight the public from October onwards.
In addition to theater, Dani has a strong presence on the big screen, being part of the cast of a long-awaited national feature film, with details still under wraps, directed by Cris D’Amato. Her film career began with “Testing Cast – the film”, in the role of “Lara”, directed by Washington Carvalho.
In fashion, Dani paraded in the “Desfile Inverno Carioca – June 2023”, showing her versatility as an artist. She also enchants little ones as “Anna of Arendel and Rapunzel” at children’s parties, spreading magic and joy.
In the digital world, Dani was the band’s vocalist in the web series “Hit a Trilha Perfeita”, an authorial creation that won over the audience on YouTube. Furthermore, her presence as “Maria” in “Vida de Atriz-parte 1 e 2”, a dramatic production by Prime, promises to once again captivate viewers.
Dani, passionate about art, constantly seeks new challenges and learning. Her trajectory is already a reflection of her determination and passion for acting. She continues to participate in workshops throughout Brazil, eager for new experiences and projects in TV, Theatre, Musical Theatre, Cinema and Advertising.
Dani, with such a multifaceted career in art, what inspired you to follow the path of acting and music from such a young age?
Since I was little, I have always been very communicative. I learned to speak very early and I liked to hum from a very young age. My family always encouraged culture and art as a child, always going to theaters, museums, musicals, cinema and reading books (which were prizes for any achievement), as well as having very close contact with fantasy and all kinds of stories. . But what really drove and inspired me were children’s soap operas, which sparked my interest and made me want to be on the other side of the screen, or as I said, “inside the TV”. At the age of 8, I discovered Projeto Passarela (currently MGT) by Marcelo Germano, responsible for discovering several renowned artists today. I really wanted to participate, but my mother, afraid of exposure, only allowed me to participate when I was 10 years old. That’s when it all started.
You have experience in theater, cinema and music. How do you balance these different forms of artistic expression in your life?
I believe that these different forms of art are very interconnected in my daily life. Theater is something I participate in constantly, on a daily basis. Practically everything I do involves theater people, where my best friends and happiest moments are. That’s where I started, which gave me more of a foundation to get to where I am now. Cinema was a great discovery in my life, because it was when I started to have a greater experience with cameras, behind the scenes and with something that is not live, where you can stop, repeat, record again. It was a very different experience! In the films I filmed, I had opportunities to experience something I didn’t have in musical theater. It’s a completely different direction.
Music is present 24 hours a day, as I’m always finding a way to sing. As for dancing, which I’ve been doing since I was a baby, it also involves music in a way, because it’s not just the singing itself; music is present from the moment I get in the car, even when I do ballet, tap, contemporary or Jewish dance. The experience ranges from musical theater, a singing class, a recording or simply the soundtrack of a film, every day! So, it’s something very organic, natural. I balance these different forms of artistic expression in my life because I always breathe art, I constantly live around art. I think that makes her so important in my life.
His participation in “Ariel – The Musical” and “Tarzan – The Jungle Man” shows his versatility in theater. What was the biggest lesson you learned from acting in musicals?
I believe that each musical theater show I perform brings me a new and completely different experience from the previous one. I say this because I’ve been in this career since 2018 and there have been many pieces! And each piece was totally unique, from learning how to behave on stage, with each light, each theater, each sound engineering, behind the scenes, to dealing with unexpected situations during a live show that has no pauses, cuts and repetitions. So we have to turn around, redo the scene and do our best.
I believe that, especially in Ariel, because it was my first protagonist, I had to learn to mature at various times. I had to learn what maturity is, especially in this new season, because I’m the youngest in the cast. So, at various times, I lived and acted with people older than me, having another responsibility behind the scenes, another focus and another perspective.
In Tarzan, my biggest challenge was the body work. I think that’s what I learned the most during this season, because we had a lot of preparation focused on the circus, and I had never done a circus in my life! So, I think all this body work to play Xuxu, my character who is a monkey, was completely different. I went out of my knowledge and my domain. For example, Ariel is a classic Disney princess, right? And now, she would be a gorilla in the middle of Africa. To compose, I had to learn how to do some acrobatics and how to behave, having all body work focused on an animal. It was very different!
But each musical theater performance brings me a completely new experience! Another example was when I did Lion King for the first time. Then, I began to have my first contact with comedy. In King of Show in 2022, I had to play a child who was in love and slightly enchanted to meet someone with so many dreams. And in the same show, soon after, I played another character who was this couple’s daughter, where I had to show the sweetness of another child and, at the same time, an agitation on stage that was very different from my own as a child.
So, they are always very different experiences! I always say that each role is unique, each character is completely different, even if it’s the same play, because each cast is unique. And this makes me grow, mature, gain more experiences, because none of them are the same as the last. And that’s why I love continuing in shows so much! I can’t stop, because I always end up learning more things! They are always completely different things and new lessons, not only with my relationships with people, but in general. We also learn a lot about ourselves: we see what our limits are and that, in fact, we have no limits. We can overcome and conquer and overcome challenges. So, each performance is unique, each character is unique, and I’m always learning a lot in the field of musical theater.
Can you tell us a little about the national film you are currently working on? What can fans expect from this project?
Well, due to contract reasons, I still can’t say much about this film, especially the name. However, I can say that it was an incredible professional experience, somewhat surreal. The production was immense, a large-scale project that, I’m sure, will delight you all. It has a strong cast and a wonderful production. Everyone involved in this project is simply charming. Besides being a wonderful film, what I liked most and what I believe the fans will love, and here’s a small spoiler, is the contact with a bit of Jewish culture! Obviously, I was very happy to represent a little of my culture in this film and to talk about an experience that I have personally had in my life, which is the bat mitzvah. I loved participating and showing a little more about this “world” that few know about, contributing to this important part of Jewish life and bringing this content in the form of art to everyone. I think you’ll love it! This project became very special to me because it was exciting to relive it. And I believe that you will really like the project: it is beautiful, fun, lively, funny, but it will touch your hearts. Unfortunately, I can’t say much about it yet, but it was something special that I will definitely never forget in my life.
In addition to your artistic skills, you also parade and participate in children’s parties as fairytale characters. What is this experience of bringing magic into children’s lives like?
I’ve always really liked this part of Disney princesses, Disney characters. In fact, one of my future dreams, one of my future plans, is to work with this at Disney. I’ve always really enjoyed seeing other actors working at children’s parties, bringing this magic into their lives. When I got my first opportunity, it was playing Princess Anna from Frozen, and I was very happy!
The preparation process involves study. I take each character, watch the films, watch videos of how they behave in the Disney parks, how they do each hug, each pose, what movement they make when they are thinking, and what are the typical answers they give to the questions that are normally asked. . In other words, I prepare a lot to bring each character, each princess, to life. I feel a responsibility to pass this magic on to children’s lives, mark them and make their day even more special! Therefore, it is very important and special for me to participate in these children’s parties. Each party is unique, each princess is unique, each character is unique!
I think all the preparation, from the makeup to the wig, is incredible. I do everything thinking about staying as faithful as possible to the park princesses. This requires a lot of study and focus. I always have to remember which princess I’m playing, to get “inside her body” and just lend my body to that princess. All the mannerisms are very well thought out, the voice is thought out, the entire interpretation, the movement, the hands, the looks, the makeup, in short, everything! I believe that this is what gives it such a big difference and makes this magic so real, so present. Therefore, it is a magical and unique experience, a magical day for the child. It has to be perfect.
His digital presence in the web series “Hit a Trilha Perfeita” won him many fans on YouTube. What was it like working on this project and getting involved with the digital world?
Well, “Hit” wasn’t my first web series; I had already had other experiences, more precisely 3 experiences. However, “Hit” was unique in that it included a sung part, something we had not experienced before at any time. There was the formation of a band, and this required very differentiated and focused preparation for each character. Each character had their own song in the series, their style, their personality, their color palette and their way of dressing. Playing a character like Bruna was a lot of fun, because she was very stylish, lively and had her own style, you know? She was the leader of a band, so she knew how to position herself, she was bold and, at the same time, welcoming. I hope that, perhaps, in future seasons, this character will continue to be worked on a lot,
Another important point was the incredible experience of being able to go to a studio and record songs, as well as recording videos with great teen actors and great friends. In this project, the coolest thing is the songs, all by Teka Baluthy, who really rocks! These are songs with incredible, positive and magical meanings, which bring great reflections. These are songs that you want to listen to all day long because they are so beautiful. It was certainly one of the best projects I did last year, one of the most memorable and one that gave me incredible new experiences, as a vocalist, in something unrelated to Musical Theatre.
The public saw you as “Maria” in “Vida de Actress – part 1 and 2”. What was it like playing this dramatic role and how did you prepare for it?
Well, in relation to preparation, when I received the script, Washington Carvalho, director of these 2 films – “Vida de Actress 1 and 2” -, talked to me a lot about the importance of Maria as the second protagonist, the heroine of this film. She has all the fragility and, at the same time, the strength to conquer and achieve her goals, to make her dreams come true. Throughout the film, she is a very dramatic, sensitive and strong character. She wears pastel colored clothes to show that she has sweetness, delicacy, but at the same time, she is a very suffering character, as she is unable to make her dreams come true due to Eva, her boss, who prevents her from being more than “just” a secretary.
It was a very strong character and I needed a lot of concentration, a lot of preparation. In all the scenes I had to do, I had to breathe a lot and concentrate a lot, because even the light scenes had, in a way, a weight for Maria. So, everything was very well thought out, very well constructed. I think Maria is a very complex character. Although drama is easier for me – I have an easier time with drama than with comedy – playing such a controversial character (sweet and strong, suffering and determined, humiliated but loyal) was a big challenge, as we never knew what to expect in the scenes. Sometimes there were things that weren’t in the text and were added by reaction, by looks, and I had to think about all the details, more than in some other film projects. In fact, because it was a movie, it was very different, because the emotions were more in the looks, everything in the feelings, the framing was different, without much body expression, it was all in the details, in the face, and Maria had a lot of details. It was a great challenge and I’m sure the public will really enjoy seeing this character. I believe that she is a character that matured me a lot and showed another side of me as an actress, which had not yet been studied or shown, in short.
You mentioned your search for new challenges. What are your future plans and goals in the art world?
I am always looking for new challenges to venture further into the path of art. Currently, my new goals include getting into a soap opera to have an experience on television that I haven’t had yet. I still dream of winning big roles, like Ariel, for example, and facing big challenges, like working on a musical at Charles Muller.
In the future, I have personal projects, such as original songs and original books, which are slowly getting off the ground. In the future, I intend, who knows – it’s a distant dream – to do plays on Broadway and, obviously, international films. Also, working at Disney as a princess – what I’m doing now is like a test drive, the whole issue of working at children’s parties.
What advice would you give to other young talents who are pursuing a career in acting and music?
Well, as advice for other young talents who are looking for a career in acting and music, I recommend, first, that they look for a theater course. I highly recommend musical theater, as I believe that theater frees us, is broad and makes us understand a lot about music, dance, acting, how to deal with others, how to behave, focus and discipline. So, I think the first thing you should do if you want to be an actor or actress is find a theater course.
After that, I believe they should start investing in workshops, after all, “those who are not seen are not remembered”. Make a name for yourself, go after it, train, listen to feedback and improve; see where you’re going wrong and get back to it!
Study! Studying is very important: study languages, texts, watch series and films with an eye on each actor’s interpretation, thinking about whether they could do it that way, how they would do that scene. Watch scenes thinking about these situations; read a lot, this helps with diction, understanding, ease of speaking, expressing yourself, imagining, having vocabulary. So, reading is extremely important!
If you have difficulty memorizing lines, record a lot of monologues, as this way you will not only practice acting, especially for TV and cinema, but you will also learn to memorize and learn to memorize texts easily.
About music, take music classes, study singing, listen to the artists’ timbre, the notes they reach and how they would do that. If you don’t have the capacity yet, go for it! The art world is very focused on study: if you want to be in this field, you need to study hard, as you always need to stand out! So, the study is constant! Everyone is capable, you just need to have willpower. If you really want to enter this area, study and dedicate yourself as much as possible, because it is possible!
Start by observing other artists, then take theater courses, TV acting courses, workshops, and improve and shape yourself, building your career in the best way possible! It’s like an athlete: the more they do, the better they get; It’s a constant exercise that you can’t stop improving.
Finally, how do you find balance between your personal life and your artistic career, considering your young age and your busy schedule of projects?
Firstly, it is essential to have a very organized agenda, as there are many activities in a short amount of time. I say that 24 hours are very little, that my day should have at least 48 hours, as I do a lot of activities. I love having an intense week, with lots of art, lots of life. Of course, I also need to take care of myself, take care of my school work, and that’s why I always make time in my week, with a lot of organization, to study and dedicate myself to school studies.
If it weren’t for the family support I have at home and especially spiritual support, I wouldn’t be able to take care of my artistic career and my schedule so much. I have wonderful friends who help me whenever I need it. I take care of my health, with a healthy and regulated diet, according to what I do throughout the week, as everything influences my physical, voice, memory and mental health. Therefore, it is very important to have discipline, concentration and balance between mind, body and soul to have a good artistic career. There is no point in doing several activities at random; You need to have a timetable for everything.
If it weren’t for my family and the entire spiritual side supporting me, helping me, advising me, I wouldn’t be able to handle my career. Finally, fans are also very important, they are my source of inspiration, help and continuous support. If it weren’t for them following my work, my “lives” and staying with me for more than 1 hour and a half online, for example, I wouldn’t have motivation. These are very important pillars: organization, family, spirituality, friends and fans.
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