When former Laker Girl Tricia Gomez opened her dance studio in Hermosa Beach, she thought she was retired from the entertainment industry.

After years of working as a professional dancer and choreographer with clients such as Disney and Universal Studios, and on TV shows including "Saved by the Bell," the Redondo Beach resident was ready to try something new.

So, in 2003, the beautiful brunette with the big bright smile opened HYPE Studios, a dance-fitness operation offering classes to students of all ages and skill levels.

HYPE offered a long roster of standard exercise and dance classes and included a fun mix of hybrid classes, such as pole dancing, Booty Camp and Freak Cardio. Eventually, Gomez incorporated her hip- hop how-to class into a simplified DVD and flash card kit.

HYPE Studios became a hit, and Gomez's past TV work became a distant memory.

Or so she thought.

Manhattan Beach resident Kaaren Lee Brown, a student at HYPE, had other plans. She approached Gomez about bringing her teaching methods to a TV show.

"After that first mention of the TV show, I didn't hear another thing about it for months," said Gomez, 31. "But that's the nature of the business. In the entertainment industry, people talk about things all the time."

But Brown, senior vice president of creative affairs at DIC Entertainment in Burbank, was doing a lot more than just talking.

"The next time I heard from Kaaren, she had a deal with CBS for a Saturday morning dance show for kids, and she wanted me to audition to be the show's technical judge," Gomez said.

"It was really exciting," she said. "I'd been waiting my whole life for something like this to happen. It's kind of like finding the right boyfriend -- you wait and wait and when it doesn't happen you say, 'Forget it; I'm just going to make things happen on my own.' As soon as I said that, along came exactly what I wanted."

Inspired in part by Gomez's work and in part by the wildly popular dance video arcade game Dance Dance Revolution, Brown developed "Dance Revolution," a TV show on which teams of teens and tweens compete in elimination-style dance competitions. Home viewers get involved in the action by learning and trying dance moves introduced during the show.

"Dance Revolution" debuted Sept. 16.

"The idea behind the show is to promote a healthy and active lifestyle for kids," said Brown. "The contestants are important but so are the kids at home, a lot of whom are sitting watching TV, being couch potatoes. We threw dance steps into the show so kids at home can get up and be involved in the dance."

The half-hour show starts with a song and dance number from the Slumber Party Girls, the show's team of professional young dancers, followed by four teams of two contestants who perform before a panel of three judges: two celebrities and Gomez, the technical judge.

The show also features an on-screen choreographer to help kids work through steps and a DJ to keep things lively.

Because of the sad reality that some dance teams must get eliminated for the show to progress to the finals, a big part of Gomez's job is judging the contestants in a kid-friendly way.

"Tricia is articulate and passionate, and I knew she could talk to kids about the technical side without being discouraging," Brown said. "Tricia comes in at the end of the kids' routine and says, 'Yes! You did it, and here's how you can do it even better.' "

Judging by the reaction of the gaggle of girls who got together with Gomez in Hermosa Beach to watch the first episode, the show seems destined to be a hit.

The girls quickly were out of their seats and dancing along to the show.

"I am going to watch every week," said 8-year-old Sydney Silva, a Redondo Beach resident who came out to watch the first episode dressed to impress in designer jeans and a rhinestone T-shirt that read "The Beatles." "And I'm going to one day do it."

Several of her HYPE classmates were equally excited at seeing Gomez on TV.

"I love the show," said 14-year-old Jasmine Kernodle, who lives in Torrance and attended the viewing party. "It's so cool to say I know her. And it gives the world a chance to see all that Tricia can do.

"But it's not all about the dancing," Kernodle said. "It also teaches you to be able to say, 'Yeah, I can do that' and then you do. It gives you confidence."

Brown was confident the show was going to work long before the first episode aired.

"I knew we had something the second day of taping the show," she said, "when we saw these big burly grips on the set trying out the dance steps."

That contagion, Brown said, is exactly what the show was aiming for.

"If we get kids up and moving, what an amazing thing in this day and age," said Brown. "We all know sedentary lifestyles rule and obesity is on the rise, but we can make an impact here. Kids don't have to have expensive toe shoes, classes, or clothes. All they have to do is move and enjoy it, and they're getting it."

Gomez shares that goal in her work, whether on TV or in her studio.

"Yes, we're dancing," Gomez said. "But my job on the show and at HYPE is inspiring kids to get up and make things happen and to make them feel good about what they've done."

Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction or distribution is prohibited without permission.