 Stacey Dimberio knew she wanted to dance from age three. Before she graduated from high school, she was already teaching dance, and before she graduated from college at UMD, she already owned her own dance studio.
“Here I was, this eighteen-year-old kid, and I went to my dad and told him I wanted to open my own studio. Back then, there weren’t very many dance studios in town like there are now. Lucky for me, my dad was a great businessman and knew how to help me with a business plan to steer me in the right direction,” says Stacey.
Stacey’s major in college was English education. She relates, however, that although she knew she wanted to teach, her heart kept telling her that teaching dance was her calling.
Her first studio was located above Emerald Realty where she taught for two years. Then she moved her studio space to the Dewitt Seitz building for six years. For the last sixteen years, Stacey’s Studio of Dance Education has been a “hopping place” in her London Road location.
Love of Dance
“My mother was always so good about driving me to dance lessons from when I was three-years-old. I have never considered myself a ‘superstar’ dancer to this day. But what I have always loved is sharing my love of dance,” she says.
The dance studio “market” has definitely heated up over the years as many more studios have opened in town since Stacey first started sharing her own passion for dance 24 years ago. “It is now very competitive. But I think that’s good. It makes us all work harder. Parents and kids have to ask questions and find the right studio and program fit for them,” she asserts.
She adds, “I want to provide a really good dance education no matter what size, shape, or age the students might be or the financial situation their families may have. For me, getting them to move well and have a better self-image are what’s important.”
 Rewards of Teaching
Over the years, Stacey’s studio has grown as has her time commitment. She now has five other staff members who also teach at her studio. And some of her former students have also become “student teachers” in the program.
Stacey looks back with pride at all of her students, including Kara Goucher and Molly Aguirre, both of whom went on to become Olympic athletes. Katie Lenz, a former dance student, who is now a doctor, taught at the studio while she was in medical school.
Involvement in the community is very important to Stacey. Things like having her students perform at nursing homes or getting them involved in the Kidney Walk are all important lessons she wants to teach them about giving back.
“One of the best things I ever did in teaching was doing a class for dancers with disabilities who were all in wheel chairs. They performed beautifully at one of our shows.”
Recalling one girl with cerebral palsy in the group, Stacey relates, “When we would turn on the music, she would just come out of her shell, and her face would just light up. Her mother cried because she said she had never seen her react that way to anything else.”
A Float Builder and Two Little Ballerinas
Nine years ago, Stacey met her future husband Curt Dimberio at the Curling Club. “He really didn’t know a thing about the world of dance,” she says with a smile. “His life has completely changed now.”
 Curt, a purchasing agent for Moline Machinery, quickly became immersed in Stacey’s dance environment, chaperoning field trips with the dancers, pitching in when needed at the studio, and building props and floats for shows and parades.
The Christmas City of the North Parade has been a big annual event for the students at Stacey’s studio. For one of the parades, Curt built a replica of the Aerial Lift Bridge, put it on wheels, and mounted lights on it, so the kids from the studio could roll it down Superior Street as a prop for their dance routine.
Stacey and Curt have two daughters, Cursta who is six and Taran who is four. “Cursta already loves to dance and is really into hiphop. Taran is not so sure yet. I love looking at the world from their perspective. Every day is an adventure. Everything is fresh as I see the world through their eyes.”
With the high demands of her studio and being mom to her two young girls, her life is very busy. After Stacey’s father passed away, her mother, Lucille, came to live with her and her family. “We are very lucky to have her with us,” says Stacey. “She really helps out with the girls.”
Looking ahead, Stacey says, “I really want to help in the schools, stay active as a volunteer in the community, and keep doing what I am doing at the studio, watching children and adults connect with music and movement. Dance is not getting a trophy for yourself. If you can touch someone with a song or a dance, you’re making the world a better place.”
Pausing for a moment, she adds, “Most importantly, I want to raise healthy, happy girls and grow old with my husband.”
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