ContraCostaTimes.com
Posted on Thu, May. 08, 2003
Getting up while getting down
By Janice De Jesus
STAFF WRITER
Dianna Rowley wanted to teach more than just dance.
It was her dream to help people feel comfortable about themselves in ways they never thought possible. She wanted to inspire not just children, but also adults to express themselves through dance.
Her dream has become Rhythm Room, a dance studio Rowley opened last summer in Walnut Creek. Everyone is welcome -- all ages, backgrounds and levels of ability can call Rhythm Room their home, Rowley says.
Dance-themed creations by local artists welcome each student who walks into the facility. Colorful oil paintings depicting a variety of dances taught at the studio adorn the walls.
"I envisioned having a place that specializes in beginning dance classes and would be a community center for people in the area," she says. "So we offered dance classes as an outlet for adults -- a place where they could feel good about themselves, feel at home, and respect diversity, opinions and styles."
Since opening the studio, she says, her dream has been coming true. Students, from elementary-schoolchildren to adults beyond 65, have taken classes in tap, ballet, jazz, hip-hop, belly dancing, yoga, flamenco and Tahitian.
Rowley especially wants adults who feel out of place and awkward dancing in public to build their self-confidence.
"Success is about having people feel really good and doing something they want to do," says Rowley, 31, a Pleasant Hill resident. "This is the place where they could come and be happy and be themselves."
Rowley's passion for dance began when she was a little girl, the youngest of four girls who were all dancers growing up in Pittsburgh, Pa. Though she excelled at jazz and gymnastics, she wanted to do well in ballet.
"I was told you need ballet to be a better dancer at any style of dance," she recalls.
Rowley says dance has always been a part of her life. After attending Fairgrieve School, a dance school founded by Gene Kelly's mother, Rowley joined a dance team at John Carroll University in Cleveland, where she majored in business communications.
She also received training in choreography at the New York Broadway Dance Center. Rowley remembers people were impressed by her talent in dancing hip-hop. During the late 1980s and early '90s, it was unusual to see a "white girl" have a real flair for dancing hip-hop, especially in Cleveland, she says.
It was then that she realized what she wanted to do with her future.
"I knew I wanted to create an adult hip-hop class and wanted to teach it," Rowley says.
Taking her dance skills a step further, Rowley auditioned for the Los Angeles Lakers dance team, the Laker Girls, in 1993. Though she didn't make the team, the experience was one she says she'll never forget. She learned women could be fiercely competitive and knew she wanted to be in an environment where she felt comfortable.
The following year, Rowley made the cut on the Indiana Pacers' dance team. But after two years, her dance career was cut short because she was having problems with her vision and her health.
"I couldn't see and I couldn't think straight," she says. "Every day for a week, I could see less and less."
After visits to a doctor, Rowley was diagnosed with diabetes. She took time off and began treatment, including shots of insulin, and took the time to recover. She worked as a spokeswoman for women's fitness products, but eventually became anxious to dance again.
She returned to the Pacers' dance team again but didn't finish out the year, taking more time to recuperate. After the proper care and good nutrition, her health began to improve.
The NBA hired Rowley as a choreographer for the WNBA's Indiana Fever dance team, which consisted of high school hip-hop dancers from all over Indiana. She left the post when she moved to California in 2000.
When she moved, her dream to teach followed her. While she was teaching dance at various venues in Central County, she saw a need in the area for something new.
"Parents wanted me to teach their kids hip-hop," she recalls.
A friend suggested Rowley open her own dance studio. She decided it would have to be something unusual.
"I didn't like competition and dealing with recitals typical of dancing schools," she says.
She launched Rhythm Room with the goal of starting a place for people to express themselves. Among those who have found that freedom is Alesta Meyer.
Like Rowley, Meyer danced jazz and ballet while growing up. As an adult, Meyer wanted to dance again, this time for fun and fitness. She couldn't find dance classes that catered to beginning adults in this area. The last thing 30-year-old Meyer wanted was to share a dance floor with 12-year-olds.
She enrolled hesitantly in the Rhythm Room's adult hip-hop class, but found her inhibitions quickly disappeared.
"As soon as I walked into the studio, everyone was warm and friendly," Meyer says.
In addition to hip-hop, she's taken yoga, Pilates, belly dancing, Tahitian and an adult jazz dance class at the studio. She says she's finally found a place that suits her needs, and with people her age, at the Rhythm Room.
"Dianna focuses on you," Meyer says. "The first day I went there, she said, 'You're a really good dancer.' She's really encouraging and I don't get intimidated. I'm on such a high when I leave that class -- it gives me so much energy."
Roberta Heath of Moraga loves taking the jazz fusion dance class Rowley teaches. Heath, a grandmother of three, says the class "is very aerobic, has a little hip-hop element to it, requires a great bit of stamina and is a lot of fun."
The jazz fusion class helps with coordination and balance, a plus for older adults, Heath adds.
"Dianna is truly one of most dedicated teachers I have ever experienced," says Heath, a schoolteacher for 20 years. "She treats mature women with respect. She encourages women to do their very best and she treats every dancer equally. No matter what your age, you'll be treated with respect."
Heath says Rowley has a knack for simplifying dance steps so anyone can understand and follow.
Though Rowley is still being treated for diabetes and she's had muscle damage in her eyes that makes focusing difficult, her spirits are up and she won't let her condition slow her down. She dreams of having her dance studio in a larger place, where it can become a huge community arts center.
"When I see people having fun, I get so excited," says Rowley, who's also the head coach for spirit teams at St. Mary's College in Moraga.
"It's OK to ask questions or mess up. There's no pressure and no competition."
She says dance classes teach more than the physical skills. They also impart the power to believe in yourself.
"I think anybody can learn at any age, and I want to teach adults who didn't get the opportunity to dance in their childhood."
Janice De Jesus can be reached at 925-682-6611, ext. 14, or by e-mail at jdejesus@cctimes.com.