Holly Rochelle Quesada recently kicked off a new chapter in her life.

She’s the owner of Holly Rochelle Dance Company, which opened Oct. 7.

“I’ve always worked under someone,” said Quesada on Tuesday.

Her initial plan was to open her first-ever dance studio in Tracy. But that deal fell through and, instead, she was directed at the former site of Art of Dance, sharing the same parking lot in which her neighbor, Carissa Weber of Weber BBQ, once called “off the beaten path.”

Quesada, who resides in Antioch with her husband of 17 years and their three children – Joey, Jillian and Jenna– enjoyed the process of re-doing the studio located at 833 S. Mellon Ave. near Industrial Park Drive in Manteca.

She does a reverse commute daily to the Central Valley, previously going back and forth to Tracy. “I basically added 12 to 15 minutes (commuting) but without the traffic,” said Quesada, who signed the lease in late summer.

She was raised in Lodi, grew up dancing in Stockton, and has hopes of attracting folks from those places along with Ripon, Modesto, Tracy and, of course, Manteca.

No surprise that Quesada was pleased with the outcome of the finished studio. Her décor consists of light shades of blue along with gray and black coupled with a contemporary “HR” logo not to mention new floors.

“I wanted it to be inviting, homey and warm,” said Quesada, who’s among the five instructors handling classes such as Zumba, Hip Hop, tap and ballet.

Add interior decorator to that list.

She started out at age 5 doing Jazz and tap, and later added more dance subjects. “I was young and followed a friend who wanted to take dance lessons,” Quesada recalled.

A teacher, dancer, judge and choreographer, she’s now able to share her over 25 years of “passion of dance” with others. This also includes lyrical and acrobatics.

Quesada, who also passes on values such as responsibility, discipline, and life skill through the various dance forms, is part of the non-profit Dance Masters of California, Inc. – Chapter No. 13 makes up a nice chunk of Northern California, she said – and serves as director of its Solo Title Scholarship competition.

Her business has been helped out by social media coupled with its own website (www.hollyrochelledanceco.com) and word of mouth.

Quesada, in addition, has made it out to community events such as last month’s Great Valley Bookfest.

For more information on classes, hours, and location, call Holly Rochelle Dance Company at 209-239-8024 or click on to the website.

To reach reporter Vince Rembulat, e-mail vrembulat@mantecabulletin.com