After years of hard work and practice, the curtain will rise one last time for three members of the Orangeburg Civic Ballet this Saturday and Sunday.

"Encore and More," which will be performed at the Stevenson Auditorium in downtown Orangeburg on April 19-20, will be the final OCB performance for the local high school seniors. The show will include selected portions of the classical ballet "Coppelia," as well as several shorter pieces incorporating jazz, modern dance and lyrical ballet. Seniors Emily Harrold, Magdalene Laursen and Allison West, who have been dancing together for 10 years, will be dancing lead roles in the performance.

While one prefers ballet, another tap and modern, the next jazz and hip-hop, it's evident they all love to dance. They said it's the ability to express themselves, both artistically and emotionally, that draws them to the dance floor. Their experience is evident as the final touches are made for this weekend's show. They are at ease in their roles and spend more time helping the younger dancers learn their parts. It's knowledge that comes with time -- and lots of hard work. Look deeper at these young women, and you can see the strength, confidence and poise they will carry with them into college.

Harrold has set her sights on a different type of stage as she pursues a degree in film-making at New York University. She said dancing with the Orangeburg Civic Ballet has allowed her to gain experience in pacing, sound, setting and acting. She has worked behind the camera as company photographer, providing the stills used in production posters and programs.

The OCB's Nutcracker will see its first new Sugar Plum Fairy in four years, as West heads off to school at Winthrop University. She plans to major in dance education and said she loves working with the younger dancers and enjoys choreography and adding new styles of dance to her repertoire. After graduation, West said she hopes to return to Orangeburg to teach in the public school system and at Tamalyn's Dance Centre, where her love of teaching dance was born.

Laursen, known as "Maggie" to her friends, is headed to Francis Marion University. She plans to major in the health sciences field and wait to see where life takes her from there. Laursen said she loves to dance and hopes to find opportunities to continue dancing while she is in college. She said she has no regrets about anything she has done and is happy and excited to be entering a new stage of her life.

The dancing trio have shared laughter and tears along the way, and each said she will treasure the memories of their first pointe shoes, their first trip to Piccolo Spoleto in Charleston, the excitement of getting a special part in a show, the applause and cheers from a delighted audience and this weekend, the bittersweet joy of their last performance with the Orangeburg Civic Ballet.

See these young women and the rest of the Orangeburg Civic Ballet celebrate the joy of dance at "Encore and More," which will be presented at 7:30 p.m. Saturday and 3 p.m. Sunday. Tickets are $8 for adults and $5 for students and seniors and are available in advance at Tamalyn's Dance Centre and the Piggly Wiggly on Columbia Road and at Stevenson Auditorium the days of the show.

Special to The T&D

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