Meet Our Teachers
Melanie Pagurko
Melanie Lecher Pagurko, DanceMaineia's founder, has been teaching dance in Midcoast Maine for 39 years. She received her early training at the Casco Bay Movers Dance Studio and the Portland School of Ballet. Her traveling dance training includes a trip to Natal, Brazil, a stint of training and teaching at the Phoenix School of Ballet, and a venture to Chicago, Illinois, where she danced at the Lou Conte Studio. Melanie also took classes with many master teachers at the Bates Dance Festival. She continues to train with various teachers at the Casco Bay Movers studio and an occasional class at Steps on Broadway in New York City.
Melanie's passion is teaching dance to students of all ages and abilities. Her desire is to see students at all levels experience the joy of movement in a positive, fun setting.
Photo by Midcoast Photo
Anna Pagurko
Anna Pagurko has been dancing and performing with her mom at DanceMaineia for her whole life. She also trained with Michele and Heather Cox for several years in ballet and pointe. In recent years she has focused her training primarily on hip hop and its encompassing styles. Her experience has included training at Casco Bay Movers and master classes with dancers including Devin Woolridge, Brian Green, Bruce Tracy, and Josh Beaver. Anna continues to have a love for dance as well as a passion for teaching others.
Photo by Midcoast Photo
Calista Pagurko
Calista was a DanceMaineia student as soon as she could walk, her passion for dance and movement beginning at a very young age. At nine years old she began additional ballet training at Atlantic Ballet Company. A few years later she joined Elizabeth Drucker's Ballet School, where she trained extensively in ballet and pointe, performed in annual ballet productions, participated in three Youth American Grande Prix competitions, and performed for the elderly in several nursing homes. Calista participated in a variety of classes at the Casco Bay Movers dance studio, attended the Joffrey Ballet School's Summer Intensive in 2017, completed the Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre's 5-week Intensive Summer Program in 2018, and danced in one semester of Step's on Broadway's Conservatory Dance Program.
Calista loves to instruct others to help them learn and grow as dancers, artists and human beings. She is dedicated to pursuing a career in the arts, driven by gratitude for the ability to continue learning and sharing her passion with others.
Photo by Focus Photography
Michaela LaCrosse
Michaela has been training with Dancemaineia since the age of 5. Over the past 14 years, the Pagurko family trained her to become a jazz, ballet, hip hop, and contemporary dancer. As she trained, she found her passion in hip hop and began taking master hip hop classes with Kassandra Rateau and Devin Woolridge at Casco Bay Movers as well as with Nick Anthony at The Main Dance Center in Raymond, ME. Michaela kept developing her skills, and she was an assistant teacher for Melanie, Calista, and Anna for 6 years.
Photo by Midcoast Photo
Shae-Lynn Pagurko
Shae-Lynn has been dancing her whole life with DanceMaineia and has received additional training with Atlantic Ballet Company and the Casco Bay Movers studio. Currently, she attends the University of Southern Maine where she is majoring in criminology while double minoring in psychology and dance. Last year she had a lead role in the dance theater production of Eurydice. Shae-Lynn enjoys working with young children, evident by all who watch her teach the preschool-aged Creative Movement class.
Photo by Calista Pagurko
Francesca Weller
Francesca discovered her passion for ballet at just three years old, inspired by watching her sister's classes. She began her formal training under Elizabeth Drucker, a former New York City Ballet dancer, in Maine. Over the years, Francesca honed her craft through prestigious programs, including Miami City Ballet, American Ballet Academy, Nutmeg Conservatory, and Central Pennsylvania Youth Ballet. Francesca is excited to return to DanceMainea after stepping back from teaching pre-pointe and pointe in 2022 when she became a mother.
Photo by The Tiffany Studio
Ashley Steeves
Ashley Steeves has been dancing her entire life - but not in the way that you're "supposed to". At age 3 she was creating dances for her siblings to perform for parents and grandparents. At 5 she was in her first ballet, Snow White. After that life-changing production, Ashley wasn't able to regularly attend dance classes and worked with Youth Theaters in Southern Maine.
At 14 Ashley enrolled in The Ballet School with Elizabeth Treadwell-Drucker. She received her formal ballet and teacher training there. She went on to dance with Full Circle Dance Studio, Gemini Dance Company, Dirigo Dance Project, Tony Zumba, Living Room Dance Collective, and Vivid Motion.
Almost 10 years ago Ashley decided to create her own performing arts group, Resurgence Dance Company, which she continues to run to this day. She works with teens and adults and gives them a place to perform. While Ashley is very focused on RDC, she's thrilled to work with students in a structured studio this year. She hopes to bring artistry and technique to anyone who attends her classes. The community and non-competitive atmosphere at DanceMaineia is a perfect fit for Ashley, and she looks forward to meeting everyone and dancing together!