Mariner Square Athletic Club - Experience a Club, Belong to a Community - Serving the Bay Area, Alameda, Oakland

Roger Dillahunty's typical, jam-packed day as a dance professional calls for leaving his house around 8 a.m. and getting home at 9 p.m. Not until then can he possibly think about dinner, and after finally eating he jumps on the computer to plan his curriculum for the following day.

He might not even have had his first meal until after noon, perhaps squeezing in something at the Bayside Grille before darting from teaching at Mariner Square to his next commitment. He keeps a planner close by to make sure he has it all straight.

Whew!

Dillahunty's dancing has taken him to Europe 10 times. He's taught in Hungary, Romania, Germany, France, Italy, Denmark, Belgium and Austria. He's taken 10 trips to Alaska for workshops, too.

He manages The Beat studio in Berkeley and hopes to soon become the owner. Dillahunty also teaches dance at elementary schools in Alameda and San Francisco.

A self-proclaimed late bloomer when it comes to dancing, Dillahunty didn't begin seriously training until he was 26. But he admits he could bust a move as a boy.

"When I was a kid I used to dance and I knew all the dances of that time," he says with a grin. "At school when we had competitions, I used to win. I never really tested the waters. I never really like all the attention on me. But it was dancing that allowed me to do things I never thought I could do, like speaking in public. The dancing put me on the stage and gave me confidence and self awareness. I found my voice."

He grew up in Southern California singing in various groups and joined a traveling singing organization while attending Santa Monica College. He would participate in Hidden Valley Music Seminars in Carmel -- where he "deepened his appreciation for classical music" -- and people quickly noticed he could dance, too.