Dance school marches to the beat of its own drum
Milltown instructors
teach self-esteem first,
dance skills second
PHOTOS BY JERRY WOLKOWITZ Aspiring young dancers from First Position School of Dance, Milltown, take a class with Sharon Dolan and Emily O’Connell (r) Saturday morning. The instructors say they focus on letting the students enjoy what they do.
MILLTOWN — It all began with a little optimism and the simple notion, "Feel good about yourself and succeed in everything else."
Sharon Dolan and her partner, Emily O’Connell, opened First Position School of Dance in 1999 with the hope of attracting parents and students in search of both a productive and nurturing learning environment.
"We wanted to create an atmosphere where our pupils were never criticized or scolded, but rather molded into individuals with high self-esteem and confidence levels," said Dolan. "Yelling at students is not only detrimental to the learning process, but damaging to the image they hold of themselves."
Prior to opening First Position School of Dance, Dolan’s daughter had been attending the dance school where O’Connell and her three sisters, Taryn, Colleen and Lindsay, were teaching.
Emily O’Connell, artistic director at First Position School of Dance, leads her class in stretching exercises.
Well-respected throughout the country for their numerous achievements in dance, the O’Connell sisters have each competed on the national champion Rutgers University dance team. They were even featured on Good Day, New York a few years back.
"My daughter loved taking lessons from them. They were so great, not only with her, but with all their students," said Dolan. "They made her feel good about herself, even if she made mistakes, which is really what it’s all about."
Then one day O’Connell announced she would be leaving the school. She said she was just not satisfied with the school’s philosophy anymore, feeling at times they were a tad harsh on students.
"I immediately wanted to know where she was going so I could send my daughter there," said Dolan. "I agreed with her completely and knew that another teacher like her would be near impossible to find."
Realizing they shared similar views, Dolan anxiously agreed to add her strong business skills to Emily’s 21 years of dance experience, putting First Position School of Dance on the map in September 1999.
Dolan and O’Connell signed the lease for a 1,000-square-foot space on Washington Street next to the Ice Cream Depot.
O’Connell’s three sisters followed, willing to lend their expertise as instructors.
With an enrollment of 167 students early on, Dolan and O’Connell’s dream was fast becoming a reality, and news of their mild-tempered teaching methods and reputable staff was getting around.
Colleen and Lindsay O’Connell — still students at Rutgers — committed to teaching classes while continuing to dance on the university team. Colleen is team captain.
Taryn, who holds a degree in child psychology, teaches gymnastics at top-ranked Bishop Ahr High School in Edison during the day, while running First Position’s gymnastics program afterward.
Emily teaches classes at the school while also serving as assistant coach and choreographer of the Rutgers dance team in her spare time. She holds down a full-time job during the day as well.
"They’re pretty amazing women, which makes this school that much more unique," said Dolan. "Because they all continue to be extremely active in their dance pursuits outside the studio, our students have first-hand access to very real role models."
By September 2000, enrollment had nearly doubled to 280 students, with classes being offered in tumbling, floor gymnastics, twirling, cheerleading, tap, hip hop or ballet.
There is also an in-house dance company for 5- through 12-year-olds, consisting of about 18 girls. Students are either invited to join based on instructor assessment or else they must audition.
"It was both exciting and scary to receive such an overwhelming response to our programs," said Dolan. "And upon talking to some of the parents, we realized that what we were doing was not only portrayed as different, but appreciated as well.
"People seemed to feel comfortable sending their children to us."
To better accommodate growth, First Position School of Dance moved into its new home on Ford Street a little over two months ago.
It is a 4,000-square-foot space, housing three spacious dance rooms, a large waiting area with a kids’ corner, and dressing rooms.
The staff also grew, with Lydia Sampietro and Kim Conlin teaching ballet and cheering classes.
Sampietro studied ballet with Koslov Ballet, the premier Russian dance academy. She also dances seasonally for the New Jersey Red Dogs, an arena football team who plays at the Meadowlands in East Rutherford.
"We have had many young girls enroll in ballet classes just to study under Lydia," said Dolan.
Conlin’s résumé includes choreography work for the National Basketball Association cheerleaders, as well as the opening ceremony for basketball in the 2000 Olympic Games in Sydney.
"Kim had attended Rutgers with Emily and contacted her about a teaching position," said Dolan. "Of course we were ecstatic to have her and the students are even more so.
"They can’t get enough of her stories about Sydney."
With Conlin’s arrival, the school has recently begun to offer exclusive cheering seminars for local Pop Warner squads.
They are held every Saturday and focus on improving techniques and routines.
Students from as far south as Old Bridge and as far north as North Brunswick show up regularly for classes.
In fact, the majority of them come from those towns surrounding Milltown, such as Monroe, East Brunswick and Sayreville.
"Emily and I are still somewhat surprised at times that people will travel so far for our classes," said Dolan. "But with each compliment we receive, the more clear that reasoning is to us."
"We recognize that not every child that comes to us wants to be a professional dancer, but if we can teach them to be happy with themselves first, they will succeed in whatever it is they decide to do later in life," she concluded.
Prices start at $40 per week for unlimited sessions of any one class. Each class after that, up to eight, will be discounted.
Families receive discounts as if one child were taking multiple classes.
This means that if a mother signs up her daughter for ballet and her son for tumbling, the total cost per week will be less than $80 for an unlimited number of ballet and tumbling classes.
Classes are held Monday through Saturday. The school is closed on Sunday.
Students ages 2 and up are welcome. Toddlers can participate in tumbling, which is taught by Dolan.
"In the younger classes especially we try to be playful and encouraging, while at the same time teach real skills," said Dolan. "We need to keep in mind that the attention span of a 2-year-old is short and that requires great patience and a good use of time."
Dolan recommends that parents have their child come in for a trial class before committing to a month or more of lessons, especially if they’ve never taken structured classes before.
"We want them to enjoy this; otherwise there’s no point."

