DanceHampton ready to take a big step

Nearly everything in the small studio is a pale pink. In the corner is a single, tiny fleck of green: it’s a small iPod lying on a table, vibrating with the pulsating music filling the room.

Although the décor screams classical music and stirs up visions of ballet shoes, barre exercises and Bach beats, Kelly Hren, one of the founding partners of DanceHampton—a new dance studio in Springs—is leading a small group of young dancers in a tap routine to upbeat music that shakes the walls and clears away any gloom from the dreary spring rain pelting the windows.

“Come on girls, stage presence. Remember that’s why you’re here. And to have fun,” Ms. Hren’s partner Melissa Knight says as a flood of young girls brandish their tap shoes and begin the next routine to the 1980s hit, “I’m Walking On Sunshine.”

Fittingly, dancing through the decades is the theme for the school’s first-ever recital this weekend at Pierson Middle-High School in Sag Harbor.

And it’s at this weekend’s two performances, on Saturday and Sunday, that about 90 students at the school will be performing in front of a crowd of friends and family—some taking the stage for the very first time.

As the big day nears, anticipation builds, and the students, ranging in age from 2 to 18, become more and more eager to show off the dance skills they have been practicing since September.

“The kids feel really confident. It’s good,” Ms. Hren said about two weeks before the upcoming performance.

Even first-time performers such as 10-year-old Dana Chihavong said the several months of practice have banished any lingering feelings of stage fright.

“It’s a lot of fun,” she said, beaming after practicing the finale on a recent Tuesday evening.

Her peers, all wearing matching DanceHampton sweatshirts, shared in her enthusiasm for the dance classes.

Jacqueline Bates, 9, said she looks forward to coming to dance class because, “it gives you something to do after school.”

As her friends huddled around her, they all smiled, nodding in agreement as they shared their favorite things about attending DanceHampton.

“I mostly like the music,” Alexandra Vecchio, 8, said. Meanwhile, 8-year-old Danielle Futerman added that her favorite part of spending her afternoons in the studio is learning new dance steps, especially in ballet class.

DanceHampton is new to the dance studio scene on the East End and opened its doors in Springs less than a year ago.

After The Lighthouse Dance Project in Wainscott closed its doors in December 2006, Ms. Hren and Ms. Knight scooped up the remaining students and launched DanceHampton in January 2007, soon finding a home of their own in East Hampton.

Ms. Hren, a dancer most of her life, had been teaching classes at the studio when then owner Mary Ponsini asked if she would be interested in taking over.

Both teachers in the Springs school system when they met, Ms. Knight and Ms. Hren said they had always discussed opening a studio on the East End. When they worked together in Springs they led theatrical programs for their students, including plays and opera programs.

Growing up, the two teachers had both pursued their passion for dance, but in very different ways.

Ms. Knight, who was raised in Nassau County, had studied Irish step dancing at the competitive level throughout her youth.

Ms. Hren, a tap enthusiast, taught dance classes locally before opening DanceHampton.

The studio is nestled in the woods of Springs on Three Mile Harbor, and many of the students who are currently enrolled had also been students of the duo. And although Ms. Hren is currently on maternity leave, both teachers have a great bond with the students.

“It’s fun, we have a lot of these kids in class at school, too,” Ms. Knight said.

One of the things that stands out in this new studio is the teachers’ willingness to add more classes to the schedule—as long as students show up.

For instance, with the summer session, the teachers are looking to add an acting class to the roster.

“We’re both trained for acting classes and a couple of the students have asked about it,” Ms. Knight said.

The studio is also looking at offering adult classes, such as hip-hop, or even tap, ballet and Irish step if there is an interest, the teachers said.

With three additional teachers in the ranks, the school already offers a wide array of dance classes for kids, from Irish step to classic ballet to hip-hop and even Pilates.

As for plans for the future, Ms. Hren said the partners just hope to continue to grow the studio as the years roll on. When they are feeling particularly daring, they sometimes dream about opening another studio in the future.

And after doubling in size in the last year and a half—the studio began with about 40 students and now boast nearly 90—it looks like Ms. Hren might just get what she’s hoping for.

DanceHampton performances are scheduled on Saturday, June 7, at 7 p.m. and Sunday, June 8, at 3 p.m. at Pierson High School in Sag Harbor. Tickets are $15; for information, call 631-513-8099.