Bellport studio named for late teacher Rachel Quinn who 'loved to dance'
Dance was in Rachel Quinn's heart long before it quit on her unexpectedly two years ago.
Now students who share the late teacher's passion will be able pursue their own dreams in a Bellport dance studio that was named for her Wednesday.
Quinn, a Hauppauge elementary school teacher, was 27 and pregnant when she died suddenly in June 2021 from an undiagnosed heart abnormality. Her first child, Ellie Anne Quinn, who had been due within weeks, also died.
Last year Quinn’s husband, siblings and co-workers established the Rachel Quinn Children's Foundation in her memory to help those in need. Recently the foundation donated about $11,000 to bolster the dance program at the Boys & Girls Club in Bellport, home of the newly-christened Rachel Quinn Dance Studio.
The money is being used to bring in the Peconic Ballet Foundation, a Riverhead-based nonprofit that aims to make dance more accessible to kids. The donation also will pay for an instructor from Amethyst Music Productions in Selden to come to the club once a week to provide voice lessons and training in song writing and production.
Peconic instructors are teaching once a week at the club for nine months and will guide students in the production of two performances. The program augments an existing dance program that meets three days a week at the club and covers everything from African to modern dance.
“The overall idea of our arts program is to give the children in the community an opportunity they might not otherwise have but also to give them coping skills and a positive direction,” said Kim Livingston, executive director of the Boys & Girls Club.
That mission aligns with the spirit of Quinn, who often bought school supplies to help students in need and who loved singing and dancing, her family and friends said.
“It really is the perfect fit,” her widower Nathan Quinn, 33, of Patchogue, told Newsday.
Friend Caitlyn Eccleston, 28, said she and Rachel Quinn had taken dance classes together for 15 years.
“Rachel loved to dance, so this would have just brought a huge smile to her face,” she added.
The late teacher's foundation also is helping the Boys & Girls Club get mirrors for the dance studio. Last year, the foundation gave away a total of 500 backpacks stocked with school supplies to students in four school districts.
Quinn, who promoted a philosophy of kindness, also inspired those at the helm of her namesake foundation to give out $100 Amazon gift cards to eight students as a “kindness award.”
Boys & Girls Club dance instructor Nya Numa, 24, said recently that the new classes will help give the studio's ballet students structure and help them learn technique, while also will teaching them lessons beyond movement.
“It gives them confidence to get up on stage in front of people and it teaches them teamwork,” she said. “I want them to learn how to work together and encourage each other. I want them to lift each other up and become their own person.”
Yasmin Lewis, 32, said her two daughters Ashia, 9, and Royale, 8, are excited for the classes.
“Every day they come home and show me what they learned,” she said Wednesday. “It’s been amazing for them.”
Nathan Quinn said the dance studio's dedication is a special tribute to his late wife.
"It makes me feel like she's not completely gone," he said.
Dance was in Rachel Quinn's heart long before it quit on her unexpectedly two years ago.
Now students who share the late teacher's passion will be able pursue their own dreams in a Bellport dance studio that was named for her Wednesday.
Quinn, a Hauppauge elementary school teacher, was 27 and pregnant when she died suddenly in June 2021 from an undiagnosed heart abnormality. Her first child, Ellie Anne Quinn, who had been due within weeks, also died.
Last year Quinn’s husband, siblings and co-workers established the Rachel Quinn Children's Foundation in her memory to help those in need. Recently the foundation donated about $11,000 to bolster the dance program at the Boys & Girls Club in Bellport, home of the newly-christened Rachel Quinn Dance Studio.
The money is being used to bring in the Peconic Ballet Foundation, a Riverhead-based nonprofit that aims to make dance more accessible to kids. The donation also will pay for an instructor from Amethyst Music Productions in Selden to come to the club once a week to provide voice lessons and training in song writing and production.
Peconic instructors are teaching once a week at the club for nine months and will guide students in the production of two performances. The program augments an existing dance program that meets three days a week at the club and covers everything from African to modern dance.
“The overall idea of our arts program is to give the children in the community an opportunity they might not otherwise have but also to give them coping skills and a positive direction,” said Kim Livingston, executive director of the Boys & Girls Club.
That mission aligns with the spirit of Quinn, who often bought school supplies to help students in need and who loved singing and dancing, her family and friends said.
“It really is the perfect fit,” her widower Nathan Quinn, 33, of Patchogue, told Newsday.
Friend Caitlyn Eccleston, 28, said she and Rachel Quinn had taken dance classes together for 15 years.
“Rachel loved to dance, so this would have just brought a huge smile to her face,” she added.
The late teacher's foundation also is helping the Boys & Girls Club get mirrors for the dance studio. Last year, the foundation gave away a total of 500 backpacks stocked with school supplies to students in four school districts.
Quinn, who promoted a philosophy of kindness, also inspired those at the helm of her namesake foundation to give out $100 Amazon gift cards to eight students as a “kindness award.”
Boys & Girls Club dance instructor Nya Numa, 24, said recently that the new classes will help give the studio's ballet students structure and help them learn technique, while also will teaching them lessons beyond movement.
“It gives them confidence to get up on stage in front of people and it teaches them teamwork,” she said. “I want them to learn how to work together and encourage each other. I want them to lift each other up and become their own person.”
Yasmin Lewis, 32, said her two daughters Ashia, 9, and Royale, 8, are excited for the classes.
“Every day they come home and show me what they learned,” she said Wednesday. “It’s been amazing for them.”
Nathan Quinn said the dance studio's dedication is a special tribute to his late wife.
"It makes me feel like she's not completely gone," he said.
How to give
The Rachel Quinn Children's Foundation focuses on providing school supplies and clothing, sponsoring teams and artistic opportunities and rewarding student kindness. To make a donation, go to https://rqcfoundation.org
Denise Bonilla has worked at Newsday since 2003 and covers the Town of Babylon, including the villages of Lindenhurst and Amityville.
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