Studio reopens after fire

Four months after a fire ravaged Cathy’s Dance Studio, organizers threw open the doors at 33-19 Crescent Street for a grand re-opening and 50th anniversary celebration.
“[The celebration] was absolutely lovely,” said Michelle Koutsoubelis, the studio’s artistic director and owner. “I’m getting emotional just talking about it.”
Koutsoubelis, a lifetime Long Island City resident, began dancing at the studio at the age of 5 under Cathy’s original owner, Miss Cathy Dooley.
“The first day of school for me was the first day of dancing school, so you can imagine how I must have felt,” Koutsoubelis said, referring to the fire.
The dance school was forced to close for a week, following the fire, but re-opened temporarily at the Variety Boys and Girls Club in Long Island City.
“They were our angels,” Koutsoubelis said. “With 250 dancers there was no way I was going to let a fire stop us.”
The Astoria school, which features dance classes in tap, modern, jazz, theater, ballet, and acrobatics, has turned out nine Radio City Rockettes and other professional dancers since its opening in 1956.
Cathy’s Dance Studio also gives scholarships to children of firefighters in memory of Christopher Santora, who was killed in the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, and to foster kids living at Our Children, a home for children whose mothers are imprisoned.
At last week’s celebration, Councilman Peter Vallone Jr., who emceed the event, introduced a chorus line of kickers and other performers and joked that he needed to learn a few steps.
“If you can walk you can dance,” Koutsoubelis told him, quoting Toni-award winning tap dancer Charles “Honi” Coles.