That New York City vibe

There’s no denying the wow factor inside Stage Door School of Dance.

The lobby area has a cutting-edge Manhattan feel with its glam Art Deco parents’ sitting area, brown velvet couch, two tawny leather barrel chairs, a fabulous coffee table.

And, what’s this? Five studios, with lit marquee boxes in the hallways embellished with the names of famous locales, like Central Park and Times Square, their interiors emulating, well Central Park, Times Square, etc. The Little Italy Studio was where The Gateway’s “Newsies” recently rehearsed. Its choreographer, Chaz Wolcott, also held master classes here.

“Everything here is to match the New York vibe,” explained Mary Giattino, Stage Door owner of the Patchogue location off Route 112 and Sunrise Highway. “We’re not just a shopping mall studio.”

Stage Door reopened their doors mid-July. They had been in their new digs just two weeks when COVID hit last March, after waiting four years for the building’s completion (they are tenants). Then in May 2020, Giattino started Stage Door School of Dance at Home and classes were offered virtually. Over 100 student recitals eventually took place online—by pools, in decorated living rooms and bedrooms. Some parents even built stages.

Aware of their blessings, Giattino’s team worked with restaurants to offer food for pickup at the studio for struggling families during those times.

“We did a Friday night grab-and-go. Some restaurants gave us discounts. Bobbique in Patchogue donated food. Some families gave us money, some made cookies. One thing we knew we had to do was help,” Giattino said.

“Mary also did an online check-in and came up with different topics that addressed mental health,” said Stage Door director of communications Michael Mastroddi, who also teaches and directs at The Gateway’s Acting School. “We ended last year with over 700 students.” Mastroddi is a Gateway Acting School alum, along with Giattino; they met in classes.  He’s performed in national tours, was in 40 Gateway productions, and casted many shows.

When on-site classes were to begin in July, “We also created a video with a whole devised plan on how kids could take lessons safely,” explained Giattino. There was a long line waiting outside when in-person classes resumed.

An ebullient, positive force as well as a talented Broadway baby, Giattino has high-kicked as a Radio City Rockette, was resident choreographer for the national tour for “Billy Elliot” and tap teacher for its Broadway company. Other roles include assistant choreographer for the TV show “Rise” and associate director/choreographer for the National Tour of Irving Berlin’s “White Christmas.” She was in the Broadway National Tour of “42nd Street,” starred in over 20 Gateway productions and is currently working as assistant choreographer with legend Randy Skinner on the new Off-Broadway musical “Cheek to Cheek: Irving Berlin in Hollywood,” this fall at The York Theatre Company.

That’s just a short list.

Her 20 instructors have impressive resumes as well, including Cullen Titmas, another Broadway alum who’s performed around the world (“Avenue Q,” “Bridges of Madison County,” “Billy Elliot”) and worked as a personal trainer to stars. He’s Giattino’s director of facilities and teaches their Boot Camp class.

It’s a wide age range for classes, from 18-month-olds to tap-dancing seniors, including some 80-year-olds. (No excuses for you, my friend.)

A familiar fixture at Swan Nursery Commons in East Patchogue for years, “We needed to move out of that space,” Giattino said. “My husband Ricky, a stagehand, had a good eye and said we had to be on Sunrise Highway. The question was, would our families follow? And it was a screaming ‘yes!’ ”

The Stage Door Styles area is a small dance store off the lobby named for Ricky, who died tragically several years ago. It has regional tour championship trophies displayed on top of the snack fridge. There’s also a shadowbox dedicated to Ricky with his director’s jacket down the hall. “He found this space,” said Mastroddi.

“The theme of the studio was New York City, because it’s the heart of dance, and to also pay homage to our professional backgrounds and our parents who moved us out of the city,” Giattino explained. (Stage Door was started by Giattino’s parents in 1975. Mary took over in 2012.) Themed decor includes subway tiles, a dressing room with theater lights surrounding a mirror, and a homework nook, a quiet space with a metro city subway map and a mural of the Flatiron Building. “We wanted it to be a learning tool,” said Giattino of the visuals. “They can be here sometimes two to four hours.”

As for the positive impact of dance, Giattino has seen a lot of tender metamorphosis moments. “It’s a safe haven for most people who come through the doors,” she said. “The teachers become extended families. But the best things are the faces of dancers who are shy, insecure, have low self-esteem, and then after lessons are grateful for every hug. You see by their posture and demeanor, they feel unstoppable. It’s moments like that that get them through the next day.”