Baile Ilusion, a Pojoaque Valley based folklorico dance group led by Renee Roybal, practiced on a recent Monday evening at the El Rancho Community Center. But before they could get started, Roybal had to shoo a sparrow from the practice room.

Seven little girls, members of the group, cheered when the sparrow escaped through an open door.

After the bird's departure, Roybal had the girls stand in a circle. They wore long, flowing colorful dresses and white dance shoes.

Roybal, who founded Baile Ilusion in 1999 while living in Las Vegas, N.M., counted out a 1-2-3, 1-2-3 rhythm and the dancers kept time with dancing feet. She then had the girls grab their skirts and proceeded to teach them how to flap their dresses to the 1-2-3 beat. They looked like angels.

But it wasn't angels they were emulating. They were learning one of nine Mexican folk dances they'll perform this summer at a variety of venues. The group performs at fiestas in Taos, Santa Fe and Las Vegas, plus the New Mexico State Fair. Last year, they also danced at the Santa Fe Opera Mariachi Festival.

Roybal, 35, a native of El Rancho and former cheerleader at Pojoaque High School, said she began her career in dance at the age of 5, dancing with Los Matachines del El Rancho.

"I danced with the Matachines until I was 13," she said. "When I was 14, I saw folklorico dances for the first time and fell in love with Mexican folk dances."

Baile Ilusion has 45 dancers in the troupe. The dancers range in age from 4 to 35. Seven dancers make a twice weekly commute from Las Vegas to rehearse for the summer season, which includes 10 performances.

Roybal moved back home to El Rancho in 2004 and, to her delight, discovered there was a cultural hunger for dance in Pojoaque Valley.

"Teaching Mexican folk dances keeps the culture and traditions alive," she said. "Most of the kids, and adults, don't get that much cultural experience anymore."

Before founding Baile Ilusion, Roybal danced with three folklorico dance groups, Baile Española and Baila! Baila! In 1995, she studied with Martin Rodriquez, founder of the Step Dance Academy in Albuquerque.

Grounded in a variety of traditional Mexican dances, Roybal said she teaches more than 100 dance steps from different regions. The repertoire includes the borrachito style of hard stomps; the tornio, a fancy, twisting of the ankles; and the taconiado step where the dancers maintain a passionate rhythm with the constant pounding of their heels.

Kalei Windham, 10, has danced with Baile Ilusion since she was 2. "I guess I know about 18 different dances," she said. "My favorite is a dance from Sinaloa called brizas. I like it because it has a bunch of different steps."

Every region has a unique style. And there are different costumes for every dance and region.

"The Veracruz area is a soft dance form," Roybal said. "Mariachi style dances are indigenous to Jalisco, while Sinaloa is big-band music."

The Veracruz costumes are white, flowing long dresses, while costumes from Jalisco, where, she said, the traditional Mexican hat dance originated, are all the colors of the rainbow with rows and rows of ribbons.

Veracruz dances include tons of flowers in the hair because there are a variety of flowers in Veracruz. The Jalisco dances feature ribbon-laden costumes because ribbons signify wealth.

"When we dance Jalisco dances, people tell us 'You look like a bag of skittles,'" she said. "Our costumes are authentic designs that make the dances come alive."

For every performance, each dancer takes three to four different costumes, hurriedly changing, often in makeshift tents, to get ready for the next dance.

"My dad, Gustavo, built a huge shed just for storing our costumes," she said. "We have over 100 costumes, plus hair pieces, beads and flowers."

Baile Ilusion performed at the Taos Fiesta on July 25.

"If people want to see colorful expressions of Mexican folk dances, Baile Ilusion will not disappoint," Roybal said. "The dances are wonderful, and it's a joy to watch the soul of Mexico come alive in our dancers."

Contact John Knoll at johnknoll77@hotmail.com