Under the Spell of Madd X : Modeling: Michael Maddox is molding amateur models into a tightknit troupe called Pure Gold. Besides performing, often for free, the group helps out charities around town.

In a tiny dance studio at 91st Street and Western Avenue, Michael Maddox rehearses a group of 25 dancing fashion models who call themselves Pure Gold.

Only, Pure Gold has goofed up.

“Who missed their cue?” screams Maddox, a dark shadow in a canary yellow silk shirt, from the sidelines.

The exasperation is the flip side of his energy and his dedication to the dancers.

The 28-year-old self-taught choreographer and modeling school instructor stages elaborate fashion shows featuring amateurs from South-Central L.A. The troupe’s fee depends on what a group can afford pay--which very often is nothing.

Maddox’s models don’t just walk down the runway--they dance with canes, hurl scarves, do juggling tricks with hats, and pull off elaborate balancing acts with chairs and other objects scattered on the catwalk.

In the past year--and with support from local clothing stores, churches and relatively unknown apparel makers--Maddox has successfully turned Pure Gold into sought-after entertainers.

Although Madd X Productions is a modeling school, complete with instructions on posture, runway walking and working in front of a camera, Maddox’s students are hardly typical model wanna-bes.

“I’ve done modeling before, but never as part of a group,” says Tracy Sykes. “And we never did any dancing.” She was skeptical when Maddox asked her to join, but now, she says, “for me, it’s become an extended family.”

Maddox started Madd X by recruiting a group of residents ranging in age from 8 to 34. He then went to work building their confidence and self-esteem through modeling, dance classes and community service.

He teaches 35 beginners for free Monday nights. Intermediate students pay $50 a month for classes that meet on Tuesday and Wednesday evenings, which helps pay the studio rent. Maddox’s weekends are devoted to the more experienced students, whom he features in his extravaganzas.

Community involvement is part of the curriculum, and Maddox encourages his charges to volunteer at local charities, buy someone a haircut or, if possible, even take a stranger into their homes.

“There’s more to it than the modeling part,” says Sykes, a 23-year-old college student lounging on the studio floor with fellow student Michelle Banks, 24.

“Michael’s brought three homeless people into his home in the past few months,” she says, “and we’ve all brought in bags of food and clothes to help.” Once a month the students caravan to Venice Beach to distribute the goods.

The group performed at a fund-raiser in Monterey Park that earned $12,000 for Rebuild L.A. and AIDS Project Los Angeles.

In September, Maddox and his models staged a benefit fashion show at the First A.M.E. Church to inaugurate the Educational Center for Youth, a nonprofit organization operating from a house purchased by Arsenio Hall.

Maddox says: “As a group, I thought it was important that we do something constructive. The homeless cause is something I feel very strongly about and I’ve encouraged my class whenever possible to contribute.”

The group made its first public appearance last June when Maddox staged a fashion show at the Embassy Hotel downtown. The show was sponsored by Desi Wilkens and Ron Jackson, co-owners of Desi Wear, a clothing store in South-Central.

“We heard about Mike Maddox a few months before the show,” recalls Jackson, who says he was impressed by the young choreographer’s enthusiasm.

Pure Gold will star at the L.A. Sentinel’s community service awards banquet and holiday fashion bazaar Saturday at the Bonaventure Hotel. For this show, Maddox will receive his highest fee yet--$3,000. The models will earn $75 to $150 each, depending on how many trips they make down the runway.

Maddox is pleased with the public’s response to his efforts. And he hopes the Sentinel show will open more doors.

Modeling schools such as Madd X serve a purpose in the community, says Judith Fontaine, owner of a large L.A.-based modeling agency that bears her name.

“They groom their students and give them confidence they can’t always get at home,” she says. “And once they’ve learned to walk for a fashion show, they do everything else in life with style. It’s something they never forget.”

Still, she adds, rarely do such schools serve as steppingstones to a bigger modeling career. “Despite some success stories like Naomi Campbell, the odds are still very bad for minorities in the modeling profession,” says Fontaine. “For every 50 Caucasian models, there is probably one ethnic model.”

But that doesn’t faze Maddox. “I think there are some real opportunities out there for us,” he says. “It’s definitely happening.

“But I’m happy to just teach modeling, help a few people out, and have some fun doing it. That’s still the main objective.”