DO YOU WANNA DANCE?; ROYAL BALLET & SCHOOL OF PERFORMING ARTS TURNS 10 WITH RECITAL SATURDAY

Nine little girls in tutus, rouge and smiles were having their pictures taken at the Royale Ballet & School of Performing Arts in downtown Cape Girardeau. The photo-session was a prelude to the school's annual recital, scheduled for Saturday.

The recital coincides with the school's 10th anniversary.

Owner-artistic director-choreographer Gaymarie Tomlinson posed each one just so for photographer Barry Gray. As the girls' mothers watched through upstairs windows, each leg was arranged, each braid put in place just as she hopes they will be during "Juke Box Jamboree," the school's recital.

The recital will be presented at 6:30 p.m. Saturday in Academic Auditorium at Southeast Missouri State University. A reception will be held from 9 p.m.-12:30 a.m. at Port Cape Girardeau.

Allison Brune, Christy Wong and Jessie Fluegge were dressed not in tutus, but in costumes appropriate to the musical "Jelly's Last Jam," the recital's opening number.

They and Tara Heisserer, whose cheerleading duties forced her to miss the picture-taking session, have been attending the school since it opened.

Dancing for that long has required devotion, they say.

"After the first couple years you just can't stop because (it) becomes a part of your life," the 16-year-old Wong says.

"You don't have time for anybody else," Brune, 13, adds.

"It feels like a big family here," said Fluegge, who is 12.

Their 10-15 hours of practice most weeks for the past 10 years have imparted poise and an appreciation for the hard work necessary to do something well.

Brune, who was 3 when she began dancing, said, "The older dancers really impress you."

Fluegge, who put on her ballet shoes at 2, says, "It's great to have something to be looked up to for."

At least one of the girls has professional aspirations. Tomlinson says the school aims to prepare its students for just such a career if they want it.

"We always provide the motivation to go on," said Tomlinson, who is assisted at the school by Leigh Lindley.

"I think I want Broadway," Wong says. "Then I saw auditions for the Fly Girls (from TV's `In Living Color'), and then I think that's what I'd like."

She knows it's a demanding profession. "One injury and you're out."

Brune has choreographed plays at school and does some modeling. She says dancing will help her no matter what she eventually decides to do.

During the past year, the school's 39-member Royale Dancers won six first-place awards in the St. Louis Starpower Competition in February, four firsts in the Tremaine Dance Convention/Competition in early April, and 12 first-place awards in the Showstoppers Competition in Memphis in late April.

Saturday's recital is named for the 100th anniversary of the music machine. The performance will include all their competition numbers along with some extras. The 29 dances are choreographed to tunes from the '40s to the present.

That's a range from "High Hopes" to "Devil with the Blue Dress On" to "Achy Breaky Heart."

The school has more than 150 students. All but two are girls.