A group of local girls will stage a Renaissance dance number to introduce the king and the queen at the return of the Mighty Moorpark Melodrama tomorrow night.

The Melodrama grand opening will feature a gala event spearheading the revival of the Theater on High Street. The highlight of the show is a comedic musical play, "True Love Ways—The Legend of Sleeping Beauty (sort of)."

The girls, all accomplished dancers, wanted to use their skills to help preserve the historic theater, which is a great venue for dancers and performers of all types, they said.

"We love performing there," said Alena Campagna, 13, the youngest member of the group.

"I heard it’s about saving the theater and I think that’s a really good cause," said Jinny Liechti, 17.

Both girls take lessons at Pam Rossi’s Dance Ten studio and they’re passionate about the art of dancing.

Keri Pelletier, Erin Riddle and Jessica Robinson are also featured in the opening number.

All the girls started to dance when they were very young, and the after-school practice takes up most of their free time. Most of them are also on the Moorpark High School varsity dance team.

"This particular number is uplifting, and it’s a procession to the king and queen coming on stage," said Pam Rossi, the girls’ instructor, noting that the girls are quick learners.

These girls, like many others who take classes at the dance studio, are adept dancers who compete in national events.

Rossi is a professional dancer and choreographer. She’s the artistic director and producer of the Moorpark Civic Ballet, started in 1993 with excerpts from the Nutcracker Ballet.

Rossi has been dancing for more than 30 years. Today she owns the Dance Ten studio, which has 12 dance instructors who teach everything from jazz to hip-hop, ballet and more and is home to about 400 students.

Before she began to teach, Rossi danced professionally in Las Vegas and in New York and she worked on a TV series in the 1980s.

Erin Riddle, a 16-year-old who is also performing at the Melodrama event is the recipient of the annual Pat Jackson scholarship award. Rossi established the scholarship in honor of her mother who owned a dance studio in San Louis Obispo. Jackson is the one who imparted the love of dancing to her daughter Pam. She died from breast cancer three years ago "The scholarship is based on dancing ability, character, attitude and personality," said Rossi.

Erin is the third recipient of the Pat Jackson scholarship award. "Each girl that has gotten the scholarship lives, eats and sleeps dance, but they are also people with character and value," Rossi said, adding her mother was a positive person and the scholarship is given to someone who reflects that.

Pat Jackson was a dance educator who was presented the Bob Fosse Educator Award in L.A. in 1997.