DNC is very much viable in SOA content. I play it myself, and it's VERY handy in Reives. Not only do you have decent damage output but you can also keep yourself alive as long as you don't have too many mobs come at you at once. Fan Dance can help in a pinch.
As for Rudra's Storm, if she wants it I'd say put in the effort and make a Twashtar, it really isn't that hard anymore, and you'll wind up with a weapon that you can truly feel you've earned. The Atoyac is nice, and I want one for myself, but the only issue I can see with it is that it's a knife, not a dagger, and has the increased delay to go with that designation (delay 200, as opposed to Lesilonu +1 having delay 183).
Best way to get her up to speed though, take her to Adoulin and get her out doing Colonization and Lair Reives in Ceizak, let her get a feel for how the Reives function. Build up her Bayld, and outfit her in the Shneddick (or possibly the Thurandaut +1 gear, I haven't parsed that stuff yet, probably won't as I spend my bayld on WKR these days) and have her get the Reive daggers for weapons. Once she's comfortable with how to keep herself alive in Reives, take her around to the various areas, get her Demolishing and Climbing and Watercrafting. Get a group of people together to do Skirmish on a regular basis, and get her two Lesilonu, then do Yorcia Skirmish to get her the +1s and some Iuitl gear. Once she has that, you can start taking her to WKR and she can get lots of bayld by killing the normal mobs that spawn. DNC should stay far, far away from the Wildskeepers themselves, as their TP moves can, and will, one-shot a DNC due to our lack of HP.