Mary Cortese was born and raised on John Street in Hudson Falls. Her parents, Frank and Vincenza Battiste, settled here after coming to America through Ellis Island from Italy, and then they ran a grocery out of their home. Mary was fourth of five children. She started school at the one-room schoolhouse, then called John Street School, where the Volunteer Firehouse is housed today. Mary graduated from the Main Street High School in 1950. She married Anthony Cortese in 1951, and they have five children, who are all graduates of Hudson Falls High School. They now have seven grandchildren as well.
Since she was three years old, Mary has been involved with dance. From her first tap classes as a young girl to student teaching as a teenager in high school, she knew that performing and teaching others to perform was her passion. She began her own dance studio out of her home in 1965, teaching tap, jazz and ballet. Over the years she has had thousands of students, ranging from three and a half to eighteen years old. She is still teaching out of her basement, and many of her dancers today are the children of former students.
For the last 41 years, Mary has donated the proceeds of her recitals to many local charities, including Hudson Falls boys and girls athletic programs, but she feels that her real contribution to the community has happened inside of her cellar studio. She values the relationships she has created with several generations of dancers. Mary is not just a teacher, but someone who her students also call a friend. Mary’s goal has not been to groom professionals, but to positively impact the lives of others through dance and music. She has taken tremendous pride and happiness in being able to give back to her community.