Our Founder & Creator of Leadership through Dance™

 

Melody Mai
- Creator and Lead Instructor, Leadership through Dance™ @All schools
- Director, Zumba Kids Programs

Melody Mai, founder of Mariposa Dance and creator of our Leadership through Dance™ program, has been passionate about dance and music all her life. As a child, it taught her to love herself and to have self-confidence. As a performer through early adulthood, it gave her a passion and drive to continuously grow and learn. As a busy working mom of three, it has been her outlet to relieve stress. Understanding the different benefits that dance can bring to anyone at any phase of their life, Melody is here to share her energy and love of music and dance with the Redwood City community.

As the creator of the program, Melody is currently the Lead Instructor for all of our Leadership through Dance™ programs. She also teaches Zumba Kids at North Star and Roy Cloud.

Learn more about Melody’s story here!

 

Our Team of Dance Instructors & Choreographers

 

Esiah Gomez
- Choreographer and Dance Instructor, Leadership through Dance™ @Roy Cloud and @CSM

Esiah has always had a passion for developing leadership skills and empowering young girls. She is excited about our Leadership through Dance™ mission and brings with her, her extensive dance experience in modern and contemporary dance, and her background teaching self-defense to middle schoolers.

Esiah is currently our Lead Choreographer for our Teens Leadership through Dance™ program hosted at CSM, and occasionally supports our Roy Cloud & North Star classes.

Rita Finones
- instructor, Zumba Kids @Clifford
- INstructor, Leadership through Dance™ @North Star

Rita Finones is a natural leader who loves working with kids. With a background in teaching Zumba, Zumba Kids, UJam and other styles of dance fitness, we are excited to have Rita bring her energy and passion for dance to our programs!

Rita is currently our Lead Zumba Kids instructor at Clifford Elementary. She also teaches and choreographs for our Leadership through Dance™ program at North Star, and occasionally supports our Roy Cloud program.

 
 

SARA DEMELO
- instructor, Zumba Kids @ORION, Roy Cloud & North STar
- INstructor, Leadership through Dance™ @veterans

Sara is so grateful to be a part of this amazing team at Mariposa Dance. Her passions for music, movement, and helping others find their voices are deeply aligned with the Mariposa Dance mission. She is thrilled to be a Zumba Kids instructor to help kids feel embodied and find the fun in movement. Her experiences in musical theatre and live music performances, combined with her degree in Human Development, specifically adolescent development, made it easy to seize the opportunity to work with Melody. She looks forward to what the future holds for her and her two daughters with Mariposa Dance. 

 
 

Heather Krainer
- instructor, Zumba Kids @Orion & North Star

Heather grew up in a deeply musical home, developing an early love for rhythm and expression through ballet, jazz, and classical violin. Having performed with symphonies across Oregon and California, she knows firsthand how powerfully music shapes our daily lives. Her transition to teaching came naturally—after years of watching her own children light up in Zumba Kids classes with Sara at Orion, she was inspired to become a licensed instructor herself. Heather is passionate about making fitness feel like a celebration, creating a welcoming, high-energy space where kids can build confidence, let loose, and discover the pure joy of movement.  She is so happy to join the Mariposa Dance family!

 
 

Leoni Mai
- Choreographer and Dance Instructor, Leadership through Dance™ @Roy Cloud and @CSM

As one of the first ever students of Leadership through Dance™ , Leoni knows first hand how much this program has positively impacted her middle school and high school years. This program gave her an introduction to different styles of dance, ultimately falling in love with Hip Hop. Through dedicated & focused training in Hip Hop, she has been part of ” Krazy8”, a local Bay Area Hip Hop Team based out of CY Danceworks, for the majority of her high school years. As she enters into college, she is now part of “Syndicate”, another Hip Hop Dance Team based in the South Bay. She also teaches as a substitute dance teacher for the CY Danceworks Community. We are excited she has returned to our programs, sharing her talent with our students!

 
 

Guest Choreographers

Every season, if the opportunity is available, we invite guest choreographers to share their talent and creative choreography with our students. Most of our guest choreographers are current or past students who have demonstrated leadership readiness in our programs, along with demonstrated growth of technical dance skills acquired through additional external training, which they bring back to share with our students.

For our 2026 Fall Season, we welcome the following guest choreographers:

  • For our Tuesday Veterans class - Kaya Ocampo (for lyrical) // Mia Nelson (for hip hop)

  • For our Wednesday North Star class - Ella Prillinger & Natalie Dimitropoulos (for lyrical)

  • For our Thursday Roy Cloud class - Maayan Packer & Sienna Notte (for lyrical) // Naima Mai (for hip hop)