Meet Our Staff

We have an incredibly dedicated and talented staff at Positions Dance Studio. Each instructor is highly skilled and educated in their field and has extensive experience working with a variety of age groups. The entire staff takes great care in creating age-appropriate classes where each student receives individualized instruction and attention. Read more about our staff below.

Miss Kelly - Owner & Director

Kelly Peckholdt is proud to be the owner and director of Positions Dance Studio. She began dancing at Positions at age 3 and loves every second of directing a dance school that is so special to her. Kelly holds a BA in History Education from Siena College and an MA in Education from Hofstra University. In addition to dancing, Kelly is also a New York State Certified teacher in grades 5-12, as well as a certified group fitness instructor and Pilates Reformer instructor. In January of 2023, she opened her second studio, Babylon Barre, a Barre, Pilates, and Yoga studio in Lindenhurst. Movement is her passion, and she loves teaching people of all ages. Kelly’s dance background includes a great deal of ballet training with some modern dance – she danced in college at the School of the Albany Berkshire Ballet and trained in modern dance with Ellen Sinopoli of the Ellen Sinopoli Dance Company in Albany, NY. She continues her dance training as time allows and prides herself on incorporating her knowledge of anatomy and Pilates into her ballet classes to create a well-rounded dancer.

Miss Jillian - Artistic Director

Miss Jillian holds an MA in Educational Theatre from New York University, an MA in Communications from Hofstra University and a BFA in Theater Arts Performance with minors in Dance and English from Hofstra. Additionally, Jillian holds certifications from American Ballet Theatre’s National Teacher Training Curriculum as well as Yoga and Zumba certifications from multiple fitness organizations. Jillian has taught and performed across the world, including venues in Italy, Austria, and Walt Disney World. She continues to work in television, film, theater, and radio as an actor, dancer, host, and educator. She has been seen on networks like NBC, USA, Cartoon Network, Starz, Oxygen and Discovery ID and heard on radio stations like 106.1 BLI and 102.3 WBAB. This is Jillian’s fourteenth year teaching at Positions, and she has loved every minute of it!

Miss Dominique - Assistant Director

Miss Dominique started dancing before she could walk, and with every step her passion for the art has grown! Dominique studied Kinesiology and Dance at Temple University, giving her the ability to understand how the body moves and allowing her to bring this connection to the dance floor. She has taught and performed through out the east coast region, and continues to perform today. Dominique may be seen in nationally televised commercials, music and fitness videos, and local advertisements. Additionally, Miss Dominique is an experienced personal trainer, certified Piloxing and Zumbainstructor, and master fitness/wellness coach for a health and exercise program. With her new role as Director of Business Development, Miss Dominique is excited to start another successful year full of leaps and turns!

Miss Sam

Miss Sam has been dancing at Positions since she was 4 years old and has loved every second! She was a student assistant during her high school years at Positions, as well as choreographed for her high school dance team. She has studied styles of ballet, contemporary, lyrical, modern, jazz, musical theater, tap, and hip-hop. Through dance, Miss Sam has had the opportunity to perform in various college football games and even in Disney! She recently graduated from St. Joseph’s University and is a certified teacher in both general education and special education for Birth-6th grade, and loves to spread the joy of dancing to all of her students. She has taught children ages 18 months - 18 years and has been teaching dance at Positions for the past few years. She is always excited to take on new challenges that arise and is excited to see her students learn and grow. She is even more excited that it gets to be at the studio at which she grew up dancing!

Miss Carly

Miss Carly has been dancing for 20 years! She holds a BFA in Dance from Adelphi University as well as a BA in Psychology. She is certified in Progressing Ballet Technique (PBT) and enjoys attending workshops and intensives to further her education for the students. In college, she studied Ballet, various Modern techniques and Pointe 5 days a week, alongside other dance techniques. She worked with several professional choreographers such as Frank Augustyn, Orion Duckstein, Marni Thomas, Oliver Tobin, and more. Currently, Miss Carly attends LIU Post for her MA in Clinical Mental Health Counseling and is also a certified Mat Pilates and Reformer instructor at Babylon Barre. She is excited for her fourth season working at Positions with students of all ages, including adults! She is passionate about sharing technique and artistry with students so they can share in her love for dance! 

Miss Emily

Miss Emily began dancing at Positions Dance Studio when she was just three years old! Miss Emily took classes in ballet, pointe, tap, lyrical, and jazz while at Positions. She was also a student assistant and teacher during high school. Miss Emily went to SUNY Geneseo for both her Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees. She is a certified teacher for grades K-6, Special Education, and Literacy. While at SUNY Geneseo, Miss Emily was a member of a dance team that specialized in Bhangra, a form of Indian dance. She also taught at the local dance studio in Geneseo. Miss Emily is now a 2nd grade teacher and she loves teaching and taking dance classes at Positions! Miss Emily is looking forward to another fun year of dancing!

Miss Marisa

Marisa began her dance training at Stagedoor School School of Dance, where she danced competitively for many years. In her senior year, she was the recipient of the Steven James Lunati Scholarship. She was also the Caption of the Longwood Lionettes Varsity Kickline team and was named the Most Valuable Player in 2017. From there, she went on to earn her BA in English with Honors Distinction from Hofstra University. For the last 7 years, Marisa has been fitting dancers across Long Island for all of their dance needs such as shoes, tights, and leotards, helping to instill confidence in dancers of all ages. Marisa is so excited to join the Positions family!

Miss Ally

Miss Gabrielle

Gabrielle Heaney grew up dancing in West Babylon, NY. Her dance journey began when she was just 3 years old and continued throughout high school. She attended Long Island University where she earned a Bachelor's of Fine Arts in Dance Studies. Gabrielle has performed behind many local artists as a back up dancer across Long Island and Manhattan. Gabrielle has performed as a member of Brooklyn Royals Dance Team for four seasons. In 2018, Gabrielle was given the opportunity to choreograph for the Royals and was then promoted to Co-Director for the following season. Gabrielle began her dance teaching career in 2015 at an after school program in Queens, NY. She then made her transition to the private dance studio setting across Long Island. Dance has allowed Gabrielle to perform at many different venues in various states. She was able to perform at the South by Southwest Music Festival in Austin, TX two years in a row! In 2017, Gabrielle's dancing career took her all the way to China to tour and perform for the Chinahoops Organization. In addition to teaching dance, Gabrielle is also an assistant preschool teacher at a local daycare!

Miss Meredith

Miss Meredith was bitten by the ballet bug at the tender age of 4 and has yet to be cured! Her lifelong career included studies with Andre Eglevsky at the Long-Island-based Eglevsky School of Ballet, Christine Neubert at The Children’s Ballet Theatre at Carnegie Hall, The American Ballet Theatre Company’s open division, and with Colin Worth of The National Ballet of Canada. After receiving her B.A. from Hamilton College (double major in Dance and English Literature), Miss Meredith was awarded an 18-month teaching fellowship at George Watson’s College in Edinburgh, Scotland she worked to establish a comprehensive theater arts program for the prestigious primary/secondary school. Her daughter’s interest in learning to dance brought Miss Meredith to Positions Dance Studio more than 23 years ago.

Miss Kate- Voice Instructor

Miss Kate is thrilled to join the Positions team as a Voice Instructor, and is ecstatic to share her love of singing with the Positions students! Kate has extensive experience both teaching and performing. She is a New York State certified music teacher for grades Pre-K through twelve, and is a public school middle school chorus teacher. She is a proud graduate of Nazareth College of Rochester where she completed a dual major in Music Education and Music Theatre. Miss Kate also completed her Master’s Degree in Music Education from the Aaron Copland School of Music at Queens College. Over the past decade, Kate has directed and/or music directed for professional regional theater, summer stock, community theater, summer camps, and public schools. As an actress, Kate has professional touring, regional, and children’s theatre credits, with vast experience in performing musical theatre. She has had the privilege of performing at various theatres on Long Island including the John W. Engeman Theater, The Argyle Theatre, Theatre Three, Plaza Theatrical Productions, BroadHollow Theatre Company, Studio Theatre, Smithtown PAC, and CM Performing Arts Center. Kate toured along the eastern coast of the United States as Dorothy in American Theater Arts For Youth’s production of The Wizard of Oz. Additionally, for the past four years, she served as the Artistic Director of Children’s & Educational Theatre at The Argyle Theatre in Babylon, a professional regional Equity theater. Miss Kate teaches our private voice lessons at Positions, and always loves working with new students of all ages and abilities. Contact the Positions Front Desk for more information or to sign up for a private voice lesson with Miss Kate!