2026 MCD Intensive "Guest" / Resident Faculty

Leilani Neal (Children's Program Director) began her training at “The Dance Network” under her mother Melinda Neal in Fairfield, Ca. She continued to train with schools such as Contra Costa Ballet, Oakland Ballet, Academy of Ballet, Dance Theatre of Harlem, and received scholarships with Alonzo King Lines Ballet, Joffrey Ballet, and Miami City Ballet. She graduated from the dance department at Ruth Asawa School of the Arts in San Francisco, and was hired by her high school shortly after to be the ballet instructor for the musical theatre department.  Leilani has danced professionally with Peninsula Ballet Theatre, Bay Pointe Ballet,Labayen Dance sf, and most recently Oakland Ballet. In addition to dance, she is currently a signed model with Marla Dell Talent Agency in San Francisco and Clear Talent Agency in Los Angeles which has given her opportunities to be in commercials with Intel, Nikon, Microsoft,Visa, and Ford Go Bikes, Grub Hub to name a few. She was featured in the Mr.Carmack Coachella set and danced in the “Romance” music video for island artists CRSB that hit #1 on top charts in Hawaii. Leilani shares the love of dance with her students and aspires to give them the tools to succeed in the dance world and commercial industry.  

Melinda Neal (Director) a Bay Area Native received her early ballet training from Yanina Cwyinska and was privileged to further her training under the tutelage of Ronn Guidi, founder of Oakland Ballet Company. She earned her BA from St. Mary's College of California LEAP program for professional dancers. She is also a certified Pilates Instructor. Melinda danced professionally for 16 years with companies such as Oakland Ballet Company, Peninsula Ballet Theatre, was a founding member and Soloist with Napoles Ballet Theatre as well as Bay Pointe Ballet. She has also guested with California Youth Ballet and Milissa Payne Project. As a dancer Melinda danced many classical and contemporary roles as a corp member and a Soloist. She co-owned "The Dance Network" for 9 years and was the Artistic Director for their Non- Profit youth ballet company. She's served as Children's Ballet Mistress for State Street Ballet, Peninsula Ballet Theatre, and Bay Pointe Ballet. Melinda has taught in the Bay Area for many years with various schools including Alonzo King Lines Dance Center, Alameda Civic Ballet, SF Arts Education Project, Peninsula Ballet Conservatory, Bay Pointe Ballet, as well as served as Ballet Director and teacher at Roco Dance. Her students have gone onto prestigious ballet schools, summer intensives, and college dance programs such as San Francisco Ballet, Alonzo King Lines Training Program, Alvin Ailey Training Program, Rock School of Ballet, Ballet West, Joffrey Ballet, Miami City Ballet, Dance Theatre of Harlem, School of American Ballet,UCLA, Fordham University, and NYU Tisch School of the Arts. She has a passion and love for training the future generations with a focus on the physical, emotional, and mental health of the dancer. This passion and love for the Arts instills a fresh outlook on ballet, passion, creativity, discipline, and individuality in her students.  

Isabelle Sjahsam began her study of the Royal Academy of Dance with Connie Vaughan, and at thirteen, moved to England to continue her training and complete her major examinations in London with Susan Robinson.   While in the United Kingdom, she competed in the All England Dance Competition, reaching the Quarter Finals with her ballet solo.   She has an International Baccalaureate from the American Community School in Cobham, England, and a BA in Dance and Political Science from Mills College.  

Ms. Sjahsam has performed with Bay Area dance companies including SF Renaissance Dancers, Em Space Dance, Jenny McAllister/13th Floor Dance Theater, and Anna Halprin and Dancers.  Most notably she spent 10 years with Leyya Tawil's Dance Elixir and was fortunate to tour internationally with the company.  She has danced and taught under the direction of  Michael Lowe since 2005 with; Moving Arts Dance, Black Diamond Ballet Theatre, Menlowe Ballet and Menlo Park Academy of Dance.  Sjahsam's teaching style has been shaped by the late, great Augusta Moore with whom she studied for 15 years.  

Sjahsam's choreography has been presented in venues 
including Counterpulse, Temescal Arts Center, Mission Creek Music and Arts Festival, Cal Arts Electronic Music Festival, and West Wave Dance Festival. From 2005 to 2011 Sjahsam collaborated with actor and director M Trimble to create new works for their dance-theater troupe ArtFace Performance Group. In 2008, she received a new work commission by Middlebury College Dance Company. The work she created
 there, Standing Mother, premiered in Vermont and was also performed in Tabor, Czech Republic. In recent years she has collaborated with Saint Helena based Ehlers Art Society, and Los Angeles based artists Daniel Leland Crook and Luka Fisher.  Her work with Crook and Fisher has been shown at film festivals internationally.  

Thea Solomon was born in New York City and of French heritage, Thea Solomon began her training at the Paris Opera School of Ballet at the age of ten. In 2017, she continued her training at the American Ballet Theatre's Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis School. She graduated in 2020, and later worked privately with Fabrice Herrault Studio.

In 2023, Thea joined the corps de ballet of the Hungarian National Ballet. Her repertoire features Marius Petipa’s Don Quixote, Rudi Van Dantzig’s Swan Lake, a Paquita Suite, Herald Lander’s Etudes, Anna Marie Holmes’ Le Corsaire, John Cranko’s Onegin, Kenneth Macmillan’s Mayerling, Manon, Marius Petipa’s La Bayadere, Jiri Kylian’s Petite Mort and Laszlo Seregi’s Roméo and Juliet.

Her highlighted roles include the Doll/Louisa in Wayne Eagling and Tamás Solymosi’s The Nutcracker, Jiri Kylian’s Petite Mort, Manu in La Bayadere, Pas De Trois in Gyula Harangozó’s Coppélia, the Armide variation from Paquita, Princesses from Swan Lake, and Bridesmaids from Don Quixote.  She has also performed the Coppélia Pas de Deux by Arthur Saint Léon.