New Curtain Adds Professional Pizzazz to Greenport Stage

Rising young stars in Greenport will soon take to a stage that's a little closer to Broadway.

Lucille Naar-Saladino, owner of the MainStage Dance Academy in Greenport, has teamed up with the Greenport school district to purchase a new cyclorama curtain -- more commonly known as a "cyc," -- that will add a touch of glitz and glamour to the school stage.

Naar-Saladino said she and the school district will share the $5000 cost to purchase the curtain, which will "benefit the theater and the auditorium and make productions better," she said.

Working with Joe Capuano, the technical director at Greenport schools, as well as with Greenport Union Free School Superintendent Mike Comanda, the plan is to purchase hardware and different colored lights, that "bounce" off the screen, positioned at the back of the stage area, transforming the stage into an array of colors for plays and recitals, Naar-Saladino said.

"It's beautiful," Naar-Saladino said. "All of the theaters have this. This will help to take the plays up and make a much better production."

 Dance recitals presented by the MainStage Dance Academy will also be performed on the school stage, Naar-Saladino said. "This will benefit the school and the plays -- and it will better the community."

Shows utilizing the "cyc," she said, "are more upscale."

A professional dancer for 15 years, Naar-Saladino was a Radio City Rockette, and also performed in tours of Broadway shows. She moved to the North Fork after marrying her husband John.

After teaching in various spaces and churches, Naar-Saladino launched her own school, MainStage Dance Studio, now in its fifth year.

Watching students spread their wings is gratifying, Naar-Saladino said. "I just love seeing their passion develop and and seeing the enthusiasm that comes from them," she said. "It's contagious."

She added, "Some of the students that are getting their fifth year trophies, I've known since they were babies. It's great -- everything that I have experienced and been taught, I'm passing on."

Working with Comanda, she said, has been a wonderful experience. "He's a mover and a shaker; he ges the job done," she said.

Work on the new "cyc" curtain is expected to commence during the next week.