All manner of dance in Hampton Bays studio

With six brothers and one sister, it would be fair to guess that Kathrine Scotto’s childhood was filled with games of football or cowboys and Indians.

Not so, said the owner of Hampton Bays Dance School, which moved to a brand new studio on Main Street in Hampton Bays earlier this year.

The daughter of a former Broadway dancer, Ms. Scotto was raised with dance in her life from the day she was born. She was surrounded by it.

Her mother, Barbara Mordente, owned Brookhaven School of Dance in Bellport.

“We grew up in my mother’s studio,” Ms. Scotto said. “That’s basically where we lived.”

That same studio was where Ms. Scotto began dancing as a child and later began teaching as an adult.

She continued to pursue her love of dance and has now been teaching for 14 years, first at her mother’s studio and then locally in rented space in Hampton Bays.

That was until last year, when Ms. Scotto and her husband, Simone, decided to add a second floor to the building that houses the family’s other business, Scotto’s Italian Pork Store, and build Ms. Scotto the dance studio she always dreamed of.

Eight months after the studio opened its doors, the large room still smells of fresh paint and the reflection of the pale pink walls glimmers in the floor-to-ceiling mirrors lining the walls.

“I’ve been wanting to do this for years. This was my dream,” Ms. Scotto said, smiling as she looked around her studio on a recent afternoon.

The Hampton Bays School of Dance offers a variety of classes for advanced and novice dancers, adults and children alike. From classical ballet to tap, jazz and even break dancing, the studio offers a broad assortment of dance and fitness classes.

In addition to the traditional dance classes, during the summer Ms. Scotto takes advantage of her husband’s store downstairs and offers dinner with ballroom dancing classes for couples.

“It’s a great time,” Ms. Scotto said, adding that many couples with children have difficulty making time for themselves. “I know we don’t get many nights out.”

She also hosts birthday parties, 
pizza parties and movie nights at the studio.

Ms. Scotto said that having her husband’s store downstairs is one of her favorite things about the studio.

In addition to being able to have her three young children run back and forth from Mommy to Daddy’s work, she said having the store also gives her students’ parents a place to go and get something to eat or pick up some dinner while their children are in class.

Like many dance school directors, Ms. Scotto ends each year of training with a dance performance that highlights what the students have learned.

But unlike at many other dance schools, her students do not participate in competitive dance.

Ms. Scotto said she thinks not doing competitions is a positive element of her studio and is proud to stand by her decision.

“I’ve spoken to many professional dancers who thank me when they hear I don’t do competitions,” she said. “I strive for technique and excellence. I make dancers.”