Lynn Jacobellis Lynn Jacobellis graduated from Agoura High School in 1999, leaving behind a legacy of creativity expressed through dance and theater arts. The alumna is now sharing her talents with students throughout the Las Virgenes and Conejo Valley unified school districts.

After graduating from college with a degree in theater arts and dance, Jacobellis landed jobs with the two school districts as a choreographer, musical director and production manager. At Thousand Oaks High School, she is the choreographer for the show choir and annual musical. At Redwood Middle School, also in Thousand Oaks, Jacobellis leads the show choir.

At her alma mater in Agoura Hills, Jacobellis works as a guest choreographer and production manager for the Dance II concert and the school’s Song/ Pom competitive team.

Jacobellis teaches jazz, tap and hip-hop at a Manhattan Beach studio, and the 29-year-old is also an aspiring actress and filmmaker. She recently wrote and directed the music video “Anything” for singer-songwriter Alison Coster. In the video she cast members of the Redwood Middle School show choir, a few of their parents and even show choir director Gary Fritzen.

The video is airing on YouTube and has been entered into the Los Angeles Film Festival’s Music Video category, she said.

“I love working with the students in these school districts,” Jacobellis said. “They keep me on my toes, are excited about learning and never cease to amaze me.”

Jacobellis, a Sherman Oaks resident, works with fellow Agoura High alumnus Matt Goldberg at Go! Fight! Win! Music LLC, a custom cheer and dance services group.

She also produced the feature film “All of a Sudden,” a coming-of-age drama about a young woman in college who dreams of being an actress but must reconcile her priorities with the friendships she has cultivated over the years. The film is under development with Mike Dusi, CEO of Gold Rush Pictures, and cinematographer Stefan Silvers, also a graduate of Agoura High.

Jacobellis is also busy producing short films for various festivals and competitions. She directed actor Patrick Gallagher (“Glee,” “Night at the Museum”), in two shorts—“Barefoot” and “Return of the Champion.” “Barefoot” won the Best Cinematography award at the Los Angeles 48 Hour Film Festival.

On a more controversial note, Jacobellis created “Constitution USA,” a short film based on Proposition 8, the 2008 amendment to the California constitution that bans same-sex marriage. The film, Jacobellis said, demonstrates a stylistic and thematic nod to the 1960s “Twilight Zone” television series. It was filmed in black and white and used the Twilight Zone-quese technique of flipping reality into what host Rod Serling called the “fifth dimension beyond that which is know to man.”

The film tells the story of a 16-year-old boy who falls in love with a girl, but he is tormented because love across the sexes is “against the rules,” Jacobellis said.

The protagonist’s two mothers disapprove of their son’s choice, and the film ultimately highlights how the conventions of society can be destructive to the human spirit.

“It’s a pretty out-there film,” Jacobellis said. “Some people won’t like it because of the subject matter.” If any money is made from the film, Jacobellis said she will donate it toward the goal of overturning Prop. 8. The film has been submitted to the Edgemar Film Festival and will soon be posted to YouTube.

Jacobellis said her love of dance was born at the age of 10 when she saw Michael Jackson’s music video “Thriller.” By the time she got to Agoura High School, she was already an accomplished dancer, and dance teacher MariAnn Hodgson, took her under her wing and allowed Jacobellis to choreograph the yearly dance concert and homecoming halftime dance numbers.

Jacobellis was awarded Best Thespian and Dance Award in her senior year at Agoura High and credits much of her success to Hodgson.

Hodgson says that Jacobellis has been a “fabulous” support to the Agoura High dance programs.

“She’s great at lighting, design, working with the tech crew, in addition to choreography,” Hodgson said. “She’s so theatrical . . . creative, thoughtful and fun. We really just can’t say enough good things about her.”

Carly Brown, an eighth-grader at Redwood Middle School, said she loves working with Jacobellis at her school.

“She listens to you and will go over (dance routines) as much as you need to understand it,” Carly said. “She’s not mean but strict when she needs to be. She’s a really good teacher and works well with kids my age.”

Jacobellis has choreographed two Michael Jackson tributes for a dance concert at Agoura High School scheduled for March 5. The show starts at 7 p.m. in Building G and costs $10 for general admission and $8 for students. For more information, call the high school at (818) 889-1262.