Former Raiderette Harmony Rebeiro Brings Fancy Footwork to Lodi

By Ed Yevelev
Lodi News

After fulfilling a personal dream by joining the Oakland Raiderettes, Harmony Rebeiro has made a career of molding future professional dancers.

Her newest launching pad will be right here in Lodi.

It was 10 years ago that Rebeiro opened up her first dance performance studio in French Camp, a tiny two-room space in a warehouse that drew around 40 students. She would add another, larger Dance and Cheer Stars in her native Manteca that took in over 150 pupils.

And tomorrow at 11 a.m., a musicand food-filled celebration will mark the grand opening of her newest location, over on 167 Commerce Street. Classes officially kick off on Feb. 6, with the studio providing youth classes in tap, ballet, jazz, hip-hop and lyrical dance, as well as cheerleading.

For Harmony and her husband and co-owner, Paul, it was a fast, wild ride to this new spot — and it all came together during a New Year’s trip to Philadelphia.

“We had been talking about franchising. I got a phone call saying there was a studio that was going to be going out of business, and if we were interested,” said Rebeiro, who now lives in Lathrop.

“We had a meeting on the Tuesday that we came back, and we decided Thursday we’re gonna go. We’ve had the keys for two weeks, and everyone’s really excited, and our staff has really come through.”

Indeed, ace instructors are what Dance and Cheer Stars carries in bunches, and what Rebeiro thinks set her brand of dance studios apart. Not only has every teacher gone on to dance with NBA or NFL teams — including fellow Raiderettes — but each one has done so after coming through Rebeiro’s studio.

In other words, those who want to eventually compete at the highest level can find an avenue through Rebeiro.

“What makes us unique is that I have shown I can turn the kids into professionals,” she says. “We have kids that don’t want to be professional, they just want to come and dance. And we have that. But if they want to take the next step, get jobs and work in the industry, we’ve had a huge turn-around and I think that makes us different.”

With her little son, Bryce, in her arms, Rebeiro walks into her newest studio on Wednesday afternoon, fresh from teaching classes back in Manteca. As she gives a grand tour of the spacious location — featuring two sizable dance practice rooms, with the office walls painted in a bold scheme of pink, black and white — Rebeiro is undeniably amicable, but above all else, exudes knowledge and passion about her craft. She talks about trying out three different times before becoming a Raiderette for the 2005 and 2006 seasons; about the importance of teaching kids ballet, despite its unpopularity, because it truly contains “the fundamentals of dance”; and her love for the challenge of tap dancing, which she reverently calls a “big puzzle” that “messes with your mind and your feet.”

“Kids will come in and be like, ‘It’s so hard, dance is so hard,’” Rebeiro said. “I always tell them, if dance was easy, I wouldn’t have a job. You need someone who can teach it.”