Denise Melani of South Park recalled the experience of watching her daughters, Noelle, 15, and Tiffany, 12, march onto the gym floor during the opening ceremonies of the World Championships of Baton Twirling, held in Ghent, Belgium, last month.

"It was like the Olympics of baton," she said.

The girls, members of a baton dance group from South Park called the Modernettes, brought home their sixth world championship in the Show Corps event, along with a second place in the Pompon event. They have won the Show Corps title six of seven times, losing only to the Netherlands in 2000.

"No matter what else you do in your life, you can say you're a world champion," said Sherry Vignoli-Parisi, director of the Modernettes, a competitive baton-twirling dance team. The team was founded more than 50 years ago by Ruby Daugherty, co-owner of the Ruby Daugherty and Sherry School of Dance of South Park.

Ms. Vignoli-Parisi, 63, is Ruby Daugherty's daughter and co-owner of the dance studio. "We started out as a street parade corps, but the competitions have become my love," she said.

In the winning performance, the choreography was set to a medley of 12 songs. "Music," the title of the performance, was spelled out by the team's 38 performers, as they lay on the gymnasium floor at the beginning of the elaborate eight-minute routine.

The performance included multiple costume changes, including reversible jackets and skirts that transform into white wings with black music notes.

"Parents make all of the props and costumes for the show," Ms. Vignoli-Parisi said.

Modernettes team member Kristy Miller, 18, of Peters, said dramatic baton tosses and exchanges across the gym floor grabbed the audience's attention. She estimates she had nearly 30 "releases" during the winning performance.

"But we don't really count them. It's a little overwhelming to think about it," she said.

The finale includes a banner that turns into a vertical backdrop with musical notes. "I wanted it to become the icing on the cake at the end," Ms. Vignoli-Parisi said.

The baton exchanges require precision and a lot of practice. During the summer, the Modernettes practice 25 hours a week for six weeks in preparation for the national competition,

"The Modernettes are the exception to the typical organization because the girls make the sacrifices," Ms. Vignoli-Parisi said. "These aren't the teenagers hanging out at the mall. They put in a lot of sweat and hard work."

There is a juvenile Modernette corps, with girls ages 7 to 12, and a senior Modernette corps, with girls 13 to 23 years old. The senior corps traveled to Belgium for the world championship. According to Ms. Vignoli-Parisi, a few juvenile corps members participated as well if their older sisters were going on the trip.

More than 100 family and friends made the two-week trip to Belgium with the team in mid-April. The Modernettes maintain a fund-raising account for each performer. The Belgium trip cost about $3,400 each.

The Ruby Daugherty and Sherry Dance Studio has become a local landmark in its renovated movie theater headquarters. But the studio often rents space at Southpointe and local school gymnasiums during the summer months due to demand for dance and baton training.

Leading up to the World Championship, the Modernettes even found themselves practicing in an airport hangar donated by one of the Modernette families, which owns Corporate Air, a charter airplane service based at the Allegheny County Airport. Show Corps routines often require a ceiling height of 40 feet or higher to allow for the high tosses.

Each July, the Modernettes travel to the University of Notre Dame in South Bend, Ind., for the National Baton Twirling Association Championships. Every three years, the team competes there for a chance to represent the United States at the World Championship event held the following April.

Since 1979, The Modernettes have won the national Show Corps event at the University of Notre Dame all but three times.

The Modernettes team also qualified to represent the United States in the Pompon event at the World Championships with a routine titled "Circus." The elaborate dance included 36 Modernettes in a synchronized movement with their palms often hooked together in pantomime.

"It's nothing like a cheerleader routine," Ms. Vignoli-Parisi said.

The Modernettes have earned an international reputation for excellence, though they're still relatively unknown in their own hometown, Ms. Vignoli-Parisi said.

"The Italian coach called me the 'Grand Dame Modernettes,' and invited us to his country for a future competition," she said.

Many Modernettes go on to college and use their skills as majorettes, dance team members and feature twirlers. All believe their experience has taught them valuable life skills such as time management and teamwork.

Modernettes member Kristy Miller was just offered the feature twirler position at Georgia Tech, where she will perform at football games. The Sewickley Academy senior, 18, plans to study engineering. "My father has already booked hotel rooms for every home game," she said.

Donna Marcolini was a majorette in high school, but admits twirling never gave her the opportunities it has provided her daughter, Brittany, who started twirling at age 4 and started with the Modernettes at age 7. Brittany Marcolini has two world championships and has traveled twice internationally with the team.

"If you're going to put a lot of time into something, you have to love it," Ms. Marcolini said. She is thrilled her daughter has been able to see other countries and make lifelong friends.

Kristy Miller's parents wanted her to play golf like her brothers, but Kristy fell in love with dance and twirling after one visit to Ruby Daugherty and Sherry's School of Dance. She says that it's hard for some to understand the sport until they see it in action.

"We joke that twirling is dancing with a metal stick flying at your head," she said.

The Melani girls have had a love affair with dance and twirling, but they've also learned other valuable lessons.

"It teaches them a lot about commitment, dedication and responsibility," said their mother, Ms. Melani. She believes the corps experience, in particular, helps girls understand teamwork.

The next World Championship will be held in 2012 in Switzerland. Ms. Melani is already hoping the Modernettes get the opportunity to compete there. She acknowledges there is a time and financial commitment, but believes the rewards are well worth it.

Meanwhile, the third generation of Daugherty dance is well under way. Ms. Vignoli-Parisi's granddaughter, Miranda Vignoli, 14, of South Park, is a Modernette.

"It's really nice to share it with her."

And, Ruby Daugherty, 82, still teaches dance.

"She's had both knees replaced, and she can tap better than anyone I know," said her daughter.