After taking a one-and-a-half year hiatus from performing amusing jump rope tricks, only to teach adults the ropes, the three women of the SFC Double Dutch are back on stage with a collection of new moves.

Formerly known as the "Double Dutchess," the San Francisco-based jump rope crew performed at the Rockit Room on Clement Street Oct. 22, proving to audiences that working out can truly be all fun and games.

Two of these women, with determined looks on their faces, wore long socks and schoolgirl outfits as they faced each other. They kneeled down, firmly grasped the ends of a set of two 16-foot ropes laid out across the dance floor and begin to turn them in an eggbeater-like fashion.

Transforming San Francisco's jump rope scene, Valerie "Death Valley" Hurysz, Jill "Switchblade" Herrera, and Erin "Venomiss" Dougherty, formed SFC Double Dutch and defy the stereotypes attached to the popular playground pastime in every way possible.

As Herrera and Dougherty turned the ropes in perfect sync, the cheering club-goers formed a half-circle around them, and the dimly lit room began to resemble a middle school playground rather than a night club.

The pulse of the ropes beat against the hardwood floors to create a steady rhythm, as Hurysz was invited into the mix. The athletic woman entered the rotating ropes with a cartwheel, her feet touching the ground just in time for the one arcing cord to pass her feet, while the other brushed her short, curly hair.

During the five-minute performance, all three women jumped between the ropes as they ran in place, did push-ups, hand stands and leapfrogged over each other's shoulders as their miniskirts flew high. The deafening cheers and applause followed long after they were done.

"It's not very often that you see women in bars doing that," said Jon Fast, 39, a guest at the Rockit Room. "You usually see little girls doing this on the playground."

"People identify the sport with little black girls in New York," said 35-year-old Hurysz. "It's insulting on so many levels. We want to shed more light on it and show that it isn't based solely on little girls singing songs on the sidewalk."

For generations, the game of syncopated jumping game known as double dutch has been played on the streets and in schoolyards by cliques of urban youths, showing off their fancy footwork and chanting creative rhymes to keep the rhythm.

When these women aren't jumping and dancing with the ropes, they can be found working their professional day jobs -- Hurysz who works as a pastry chef, Herrera is the director of operations and Dougherty is an educational sales manager for Cycling 74, a San Francisco-based software company.

They picked up the ropes for the first time seven years ago. Even though they were adults when they discovered their passion for double dutch, it all came about when the three friends searched for an unconventional way to have fun without spending a lot of money.

"I was 29 years old and trying to find something I really liked doing, with people that I enjoy," Hurysz said. "Now, I can't enjoy life without double dutch."

In order to bring their skills up to par, the trio was forced to hit the books before hitting the pavement.

"Everything we do is self-taught. We had nobody to show us," said 26-year-old Dougherty. "We were limited to books and videos on VHS back then. It was a very slow learning process."

The three friends used to swing ropes on playgrounds and wide-open spaces across the city, and eventually honed their skills enough to form the "Double Dutchess," a performance troupe that put on themed shows at local dive bars, concerts and upscale parties.

"We were booked at more venues that we could perform at," said Herrera about the success of 'Double Dutchess,' which officially formed in 2002. The women took their show on the road, performing in Los Angeles and at the Apollo Theater in Harlem, New York.

"We did a show once where we dressed up as grandmas and jumped the ropes," Hurysz said. "Not cute at all."

"We really tried to avoid looking cute," added 32-year-old Herrera. "We didn't want to depend on our short shorts, but on our skills and humor."

Realizing that they were part of a greater mission, these ladies decided to pass on the tricks of the jumping trade and re-emerged as SFC Double Dutch one and a half years ago, ready to teach their skills to eager jump rope enthusiasts. No longer a performance troop, the name change was appropriate for the jumpers' new calling--teaching Double Dutch classes in San Francisco.

"We love Double Dutch so much and wanted to share it with other people," Herrera said. "We wanted to create a community."

"We didn't want students to learn the way we did," Dougherty added. "It took us months and months.

Herrera, Dougherty and Hurysz have since hung up their costumes, and replaced the stage with a dance studio. And as far as their bizarre stage names go, the trio is passing on their skills as well.

"It totally makes sense as a performing group to have a pseudonym," Dougherty said. "Our students have them too."

"Your name represents your style and your energy," added Hurysz. "It's sort of like your crazy alter ego."

The SFC Double Dutch teaches beginning to advanced level classes every Wednesday and Friday at Studio Gracia in the SOMA district, as well as at Cell Space in the Mission where students are able to master the energetic art form. Prices range from $120 a month for beginners to $65 a month for the advanced level participants, with a $10 charge for drop-ins.

"We look like idiots doing it for the first time," said Rachel "Kerosene" Packer, 31, an aspiring jumper enrolled in the beginning class. "But it's so much fun."