A soft splash of color adorned the trees outside the Long Island dance studio where Emily Finn spent her formative years — pink ribbons placed there Saturday by some of her closest friends.
The tribute came from a group of youngsters at American Ballet Studio in Bayport, and included three young women so dedicated to the victim, they plan to get tattoos in honor of their connection.
Katelyn Guterwill, 18, Brynne Ballan, 18 and Maya Truglio, 16, who called their pal “Emmie,” said they’re still trying to process Finn’s fatal shooting — allegedly at the hands of her ex-boyfriend.
“She was just the best person ever and it’s horrible that she’s gone,” Ballan said.
They chose pink because it was Finn’s favorite color.
Friends and loved ones were expected to gather Sunday in Sayville for Finn’s wake, with a funeral slated for Monday morning.
The Sayville High School grad and dedicated dancer was killed Wednesday inside the Nesconset home of Austin Lynch, police said, after stopping by to return some of his belongings.
Lynch, 17, allegedly killed Finn, then turned the gun on himself but survived. He was expected to face a second-degree murder charge, according to Suffolk County cops.
Finn had just begun studying to become a teacher at SUNY Oneonta, a dream she talked about constantly, her friends said.
Sources said she and Lynch were together about 3 ¹/₂ years but split as Finn left for college, saying, “it was time for her to move on,” and she wanted “to just have freedom, have fun.”
The girls listed the small rituals that filled their friendship with Finn — mall trips, coffee runs, beach days, concerts — time spent together that now feels impossible to replace.
“She loved life. I feel like she was so full of it,” Guterwill said.
Finn, who performed the lead in the studio’s production of the “Nutcracker” last year, was the friend who always knew what to do backstage and never hesitated to help.
“If I needed help putting on a costume or headpiece, I just go to Emily,” Guterwill said.
Ballan added that Finn could “bake anything, make anything, any craft, that was Emily” calling her “the most patient person I ever met, so independent.”
Inside the studio, instructors said younger dancers adored her.
Lanora Truglio, 48, a third-grade teacher whose daughter Maya will be dancing the role Emily performed last year, said the loss has shaken the children.
“The kids are very, very sad. They are distraught. They lost a wonderful dancing peer as well as a best friend. We’re all coming together as a community to mourn Emily and to keep her spirit alive,” she said.
“We are dedicating this year’s Nutcracker performances to her and future events will also be dedicated to Emily in a way to try to help these children heal,” she added.
The girls said they will carry her into everything that comes next.
“There are [no] words to describe that … forever, in everything we do,” Truglio said.
Guterwill added, “I don’t think I’ll ever find the words to describe it.”
“But we’ll continue to live for her and everything we do. She’ll always be with us,” Truglio said.
The trio will mark their bond in ink — matching tattoos for their group chat, “oh sugar.”
Ballan also carries a second tattoo on her right arm: “Love, Emmie,” copied exactly from Finn’s handwriting on an old card.
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