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By Dorothy Parvaz
Arizona Daily Wildcat
October 17, 1996
Dance graduate student Stacey Gartrell is busier than usual these days. In addition to teaching modern and jazz dance classes and keeping up with her own courses, she's choreographing the Arizona Rose Company's "To Touch The Glory," a musical on the rigors of auditioning for a Broadway musical.
The Muncie, Ind. native didn't initially audition as a dancer for the company, but switched roles after the director asked her to choreograph.
"You can't really do both, because you don't get a complete picture. Every time you look at everyone dancing, there's a hole (where you'd be standing)," she said.
Keeping routines fresh is not a problem for Gartrell, since this is her first gig as a choreographer. Up until now, her involvement with local productions has been limited to the Spring and Last Chance dance concerts at Centennial Hall, put on by the UA dance department.
"I'm new at choreography, so it's all fresh for me. I'm finding my own style.," Gartrell said.
"There are similar moves in my routines, a lot of repetition, but I'm finding my own trademark moves," she added. In preparation for pulling together routines for "To Touch The Glory," Gartrell rented several musicals, making notes of the steps she used.
"None of the dancers in the production are professional dancers. They're all amateur actors, which is fine, but I can't get too technical with them. It's fun, though," she said of the challenges of putting together her first production. Having never choreographed before, Gartrell is working hard to establish her own style.
"There really aren't any new steps in dance, but you can distort certain moves to make them a little different, like holding your head or your leg a certain way," she explained.
As a performer, Gartrell can relate to the plot of the musical. The dance department encourages students to audition as frequently as possible.
"The more you audition, the more comfortable you'll feel, so you'll do better," she said.
"To Touch the Glory" opens on Oct. 19 at the Berger Arts Center on Arizona School for the Deaf and Blind at 1200 W. Speedway. For more information call 321-1000.
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