‘Dance mom’ has artistic side
When she’s not boogieing at Warriors games, Robin Schreiber often picks up a paintbrush
BELMONT — The only thing Peninsula artist Robin Schreiber doesn’t like about painting and collage is the solitude.
Schreiber is a social creature who enjoys getting coffee with friends, hosting dinner parties and, as you may have heard, busting dance moves in a garish blue sweater before 20,000 people at Oracle Arena.
The retired Redwood City teacher — aka “Dance Cam Mom” and “Dancing Warriors Mom” — became an internet sensation and Bay Area celebrity in November when a clip of her boogieing during a game between Golden State and the Dallas Mavericks went viral. In the weeks that followed, she was interviewed by national news programs and performed a routine on the court with the Warriors Dance Team.
On Wednesday, the Warriors season ticket holder flew to New Orleans with her husband, John, to film material for this weekend’s NBA All-Star Game festivities.
But when she’s not entertaining the masses, Schreiber often can be found at her small art studio in Belmont. She rents space in a former psychiatric hospital that, she enthusiastically notes, once treated comedian Jonathan Winters, according to local legend.
It is here that she creates a variety of artwork, with a focus on collage landscapes made of acrylic paint and tissue paper, and listens to talk radio or a podcast to dispel her loneliness. She typically draws inspiration from photographs — of the Grand Canyon, for example. Lately she’s gone through an abstract “underwater” phase. In April, she’ll put on her first solo exhibition.
Schreiber studied art in college and has always enjoyed creating it. As a history teacher on the Peninsula, she established a districtwide “art and authors” program. Students would dive into an artist’s life and work, then
make a piece inspired by the artist accompanied by an essay.
As she prepared to retire several years ago, she knew she would plunge immediately into making art again. In her 60s, she continues to learn, taking classes and experimenting with new materials and techniques.
“When I create something that I feel looks good, it gives me such a feeling of satisfaction,” she said. “I feel like I’ve accomplished something.”
Though her quiet and solitary work in the studio may seem far removed from her improvised dance routines, her husband sees a common thread of creativity running through them. The string extends through other hobbies and passions, from Christmas decorations to interior design.
As for the dancing, it appears she’s always been a ham. John said Robin’s parents recall taking her to see a movie in Alameda when she was 2 years old.
“She somehow made it down in front of the stage,” John said, “and was dancing in front of the whole audience while the movie was playing.”
Now she has more than 16,000 followers on Instagram, and it takes the family up to an hour to leave Oracle Arena because so many people want to take selfies with her. The wellwishers at Oracle hail from around the globe.
“We’ve met people from Canada, Australia, Holland, Japan — just all kinds of places,” said her husband.
Schreiber’s dance-cam moves are largely improvised. She has “a surprising sense of rhythm,” said her 25-year-old son, J.P. But what really comes across is her enthusiasm and enviable indifference to appearing silly.
Said J.P., “I think she really embodies the phrase ‘Dance like nobody’s watching.’ ”