When the curtain calls

IN STEP—Alexandra Spencer of Thousand Oaks, left, and Camarillo residents Rachael Jensen and Elena Light, all 18, practice for their upcoming performance of Footworks Youth Ballet's production of "Giselle." The ballet will be performed at the Oxnard Performing Arts Center, 800 Hobson Way in Oxnard, at 7 p.m. Sat., May 30 and 2 p.m. Sun., May 31. For tickets, call (805) 676-1600. Look for Rachael Jensen tonight and chances are the Camarillo teen will be sitting someplace quiet, working her way through a children's coloring book.

The 18-year-old ballet dancer admits coloring isn't typical for a high school senior, but Jensen said it helps calm her nerves before a big performance.

And tomorrow night will definitely be one of the biggest in Jensen's 10 years as a dancer.

The Camarillo High School student will take the stage as the lead in the classic romance "Giselle" for her final performance onstage with the Footworks Youth Ballet, a Ventura-based dance company.

That's not all the dancing Jensen will do tomorrow.

Before Jensen and the troupe perform the tale of a love-sick girl gone mad, the ballet company will stage an afternoon performance of "Peter and the Wolf," the children's story of a peasant boy and his animal cohorts who nab a hungry wolf.

The performances mark the last time Jensen and longtime ballet classmates Alexandra Spencer and Elena Light will dance together.

The three high school seniors—all 18—will head to college next year, ending nearly a decade of performances with each other.

It's a final curtain call that has the three friends feeling more than a bit bittersweet and has Kirsten OakleyRagsdale, the trio's longtime ballet instructor, remembering the nearly 10 years she spent with the three teens during hours of ballet class.

"They're my baby chicks," OakleyRagsdale said. "It's heartbreaking seeing the families go— not just the dancers, but the families, because we've grown together."

Oakley-Ragsdale is quick to point out how the three teens shone as dancers and as students. "They're all quite brilliant," she said. "It's an amazing thing to see them be so well-rounded."

Oakley-Ragsdale said the teens could dance professionally, though none of the three plan to begin a professional career; however, each one does plan to continue dancing in some capacity in college.

Jensen will head to California State University Sacramento; Spencer will start at Texas Christian University in the fall, and Light will head to the East Coast to attend Yale University.

The fact that all three are headed to college is a testament to their dedication to schoolwork as well as ballet, which entails an enormous commitment of time. Before a performance, the dancers rehearse six days a week, totaling more than 20 hours in the studio. The time demands require the dancers to be focused in order to complete their homework.

"(Ballet) forces me to be disciplined with schoolwork," said Spencer, who will graduate from Thousand Oaks High School in June.

Jensen said "Giselle" is her favorite ballet and that the lead role requires proper technique and the ability to clearly tell Giselle's tragic story through dance.

"It's not about tricks; it's about the story," Jensen said. "You want to touch the audience."

Jensen said any teenage girl can relate to Giselle, who learns that the boy she loves belongs to another.

"The first love, the first heartbreak, you find out truths and lies about people. It's been my favorite ballet since I was nine," she said.

In "Giselle," Spencer will dance as Myrtha, queen of the Wilis, brokenhearted spirits that live in the woods and dance men to death. Light will perform as one of Giselle's friends and as a Wili.

But before the three perform "Giselle" tomorrow night, Light will take center stage as Peter in Sergei Prokofiev's "Peter and the Wolf." It's the second time she's played the part.

"(The role) is really just plain fun because I get to run around and act like a young boy," said the Newbury Park High School senior and Camarillo resident. "It's not as much about the technique as it is about the entire performance."

All three said the final performance has them thinking about the past and present with equal excitement for the future and melancholy for the end of an era.

"I'll always have that love for ballet, but I'm ready to move on to something different," Jensen said. "I'll walk off the stage wishing I could do the show 30 more times."

"I'm really going to cherish these last few performances," Light said. "I want to cherish what we were able to do."

"Peter and the Wolf" will be presented at 2 p.m. Sat., May 30 at the Oxnard Performing Arts Center, 800 Hobson Way in Oxnard. "Giselle" will be at 7 p.m. May 30 and 2 p.m. Sun., May 31 at the center.

For tickets and details, call (805) 676-1600.