On one bright day in May, seven fifth-grade girls took the stage of Nezu Shrine in Tokyo's Bunkyo Ward for their last mai dance performance to mark the end of their role as the Shinto shrine's official dancing girls.

They are all from Nezu Elementary School, one of four elementary schools in the district whose residents are protected by the shrine's guardian deity. The four schools take turns in choosing the maihime dancing girls for the Urayasu mai dance. The chosen girls practice and perform the dance for a year at festivals and other occasions.

Selected from Nezu Elementary School last summer were Chihiro Warashina, Rie Kono, Satomi Ogawa, Rina Fujita, Miri Nagao, Chieko Katsuno, and Aya Kuroda. They practiced under the guidance of Mr. Saburo Hanayagi, and their performance was one of the main attractions at last autumn's festival in Nezu.

Urayasu mai performed at a Shinto ritual consists of Suzu no mai (dance of the bell) and Ogi no mai (dance of the folding fan). The girls dance these numbers gracefully, clad in traditional dress worn only by maidens in the service of a shrine and wearing floral hairpins.

The seven girls looked a little nervous before their last performance at Bunkyo Tsutsuji (azalea) Festival in early May. Being relaxed is important since Urayasu mai, danced to the slow pace of ancient gagaku court music, requires that all the movements be synchronized. Mr. Hanayagi cheered them on, telling them to enjoy their last dance.

"It's not easy to sit, stand, and move around in a hakama [a long pleated skirt worn over a kimono]," Chihiro said.

"The hardest part is learning and mastering the choreography," Rie added.

The seven girls danced beautifully for about half an hour before leaving the stage to a big round of applause from local residents and sightseers.

"I shouldn't have smiled when I made a small mistake," reflected one of the girls.

"We enjoyed it very much," another pitched in. "I wish we could continue dancing."

Photo: The dancers perform for the last time. (Mainichi Shimbun)