Alexandra Spencer, Rachael Jensen and Elena Light Three high school seniors— Rachael Jensen, Alexandra Spencer and Elena Light, all 18—will head to college next year, ending nearly a decade of performances with Venturabased dance company Footworks Youth ballet and each other.

On Saturday the three will perform two shows: "Peter and the Wolf" in the afternoon and "Giselle" that evening.

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, each one plans 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."

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" Saturday 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.

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