Dance school turns 30

West Milford-based Precision Dance Academy is celebrating its 30th anniversary.

The studio, at 1616B Union Valley Road in Bearfort Shopping Village, provides a safe and comfortable space for dance education and exploration.

Classes in all styles of dance are offered to students from as young as 16 months to adults.

Each of the owners - Michelle Toale, Jessica Phalon and Sandra Meacham - has been with the business since its founding. They were students for more than a decade before taking the reins as owners.

Each grew up around dance and wanted to provide the same environment for those in their community.

All three owners took part in a recent interview, discussing their feelings about the business milestone and the school’s future.

Precision Dance Academy maintains an active presence in West Milford, investing time into the community that consistently has provided it with support and new students to teach.

“We always just want to be there for our families and for our students,” Phalon said.

“We participate in really anything that’s going on around town,” she added. “In the 30 years, you name it, we’ve done it in town.”

Toale spoke about how important their growth has been in maintaining the studio. Each of the owners are mothers, and Toale said this life change has given each a new “perspective of care.”

The three are intimately aware of the many questions and concerns parents have and try to fashion their studio to be meet those needs.

“We are not looking at it as dance teachers and business owners but as dance moms as well.” Meacham said.

They have been on both sides of the relationship between a family and a studio and that experience makes meeting the needs of their students much easier, she said.

“We know what we want, we know what our parents want, and we make sure that we can provide that welcoming and warm community to our students.”

Toale, Phalon and Meacham have seen how dance can bring people together and help forge powerful friendships. That’s why they emphasize that capability in their studio.

This is what the motto “Peace. Love. Dance.” is all about.

“It’s charitable, it’s kind, it’s compassionate,” Phalon said, discussing their philosophy. “It’s not just dance education. I think we all take on a well-founded proactive approach to teaching.”

They stressed the importance of students’ expression in dance. The school aims to provide an open and safe space for students to express their passions and personalities on the dance floor while reminding them of why many dance in the first place: joy.

Each of the owners spoke about how dance has contributed to their lives and how they enjoy providing that experience for their students.

Most people see dance as a product of joy, and Toale, Phalon and Meacham reinforce this connection through their teaching. They allow students to learn flexibly, using their emotions and life experiences to forge their relationship with dance.

This year, Precision Dance Academy is planning a celebration along with the Autumn Lights Festival (ALF), as both are turning 30 this year. It will be “like a birthday party,” Toale explained.

ALF is scheduled Sept. 27-29, and the studio’s birthday party will be Oct. 12. The idea is just to “offer another performance opportunity for the kids,” she said.

Phalon said, “We make sure that there’s a performance every single season. All of our dancers, all ages, they’re able to showcase their talents and how much they’ve grown throughout the whole year.”

Many of their students have been dancing with Toale, Phalon and Meacham for years and of those students’ children are now students as well.

“The amount of people that we’ve been able to connect with, the families we got to know, and just everybody in the community that we’ve been able to work with has just been really special,” Meacham said.

The owners plan to continue the services they offer while adding a few, particularly Toale’s fitness classes for older students. She studied exercise science in college.

“We have strength classes and yoga Tuesday through Friday, starting in September,” she said.