GCHS’s Dutch, Morrell introduced as next team for Calhoun’s DWTS Gets Schooled
Mohawk Presents Calhoun’s Dancing with the Stars GETS SCHOOLED is gearing up for its debut as GEM Theatre and United Way of Gordon County administrators—leaders of the target beneficiaries--prepare to present a dramatic reinvention of Calhoun’s single most popular and successful fundraiser. This year, Dancing with the Stars will get schooled—hence the new name-- as high school students will be the ones dancing for dollars in this wildly popular event.
Ticket sales began Sunday, March 19 at 2:00 at the GEM box office and fans were already lining up that morning at 9am to grab their tickets. On-line sales began at 12:01 AM Monday, March 20. A very limited number of tickets remain available for the finale and a sell-out is expected. Sponsors are still coming forward to support the nine teams and all eighteen dancers are busy naming their tunes and planning their moves as they get ready to put on the show of the year.
The eighteen most important people are the dancers themselves and this year, those nine teams will come together to heat up the stage and tear down the ceiling when Mohawk Presents Calhoun’s Dancing with the Stars GETS SCHOOLED opens at 7:30pm on Friday, May 12, and Saturday, May 13, 2017.
“I am so excited about this year’s show. It’s been such a pleasure watching these eighteen students come together in friendship and cooperation for such a great cause,” said Andy Baxter, representing the planning committee that brings the show to Calhoun. “It’s given me a wonderful opportunity to meet some fabulous students that I would not have met otherwise. We are very fortunate to have such a wonderful group of students giving so freely of their time to help others.”
“The GEM Theatre is truly excited for this year’s show,” said Kim Brazell, GEM Theatre manager. “The students are all working really hard and the group number is looking great. This year’s show in particular, is what the mission of the GEM is all about, encouraging involvement in the arts and creating a love for performance. These students are making history as the first student dancers in our six years. The audience will not only be entertained, but they will be thrilled to see the amazing talent that Calhoun/ Gordon County has to offer.”
Elizabeth Dutch and her partner Ryan Morrell will be the third team to dance on this impressive roster. Both are juniors at Gordon Central High School. Elizabeth is the daughter of Allen and Sabrina Dutch and has one sister, Taylor Barton. Ryan is the son of Jeff and Donna Morrell and has two siblings: his brother Aaron and sister Kaitlyn.
Elizabeth is a member of St. Timothy’s Episcopal Church, the National Honor Society, Services of Strength, Warrior Academy and the International Thespian Society. In January, she was named the Distinguished Young Women of Gordon County’s 2018 representative and in July, she will travel to Macon and compete for the state title.
While she has no formal training in dance or music, Elizabeth is very interested in musical theatre and has performed in several shows. She has the lead role as Belle in “Beauty and the Beast” which will be performed at Gordon Central later this Spring. She also has performed in “The Spitfire Grill,” “Godspell,” “The Sound of Music,” “Young Frankenstein,” “Annie Get Your Gun,” “Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat” and “Thoroughly Modern Millie.” She was chosen to perform in the opening number for the 2016 Georgia Thespian Conference.
Ryan Morrell will partner with Elizabeth in Mohawk Presents Calhoun’s Dancing with the Stars GETS SCHOOLED. He and Elizabeth are friends and classmates who have performed together in several shows. Ryan has performed in every show at Gordon Central since his freshman year. His major dance roles were in “Annie, Get Your Gun,” “Young Frankenstein,” “Sound of Music” and “Godspell.” He has completed Modern Dance Classes 1, 2 and 3, and that dance experience led to his being named Dance Captain for “Young Frankenstein.” He also was selected to direct and choreograph an individual event for ThesCon 2017 and will perform in the upcoming Shuler Awards Ensemble opening and closing numbers in April 2017.
Ryan serves as a Performing Arts Camp Leader and has served as the kindergarten leader at Vacation Bible School every year. He also is involved with Pre-School Pops. His extracurricular activities include performing arts and he is a soloist for Literary. An excellent student, Ryan is a member of the National Honor Society and is on the school Honor Roll. He was named a One Act State Champion and a Literary Team State Champion in 2016 for Region 7-AA.
This musically gifted student plays the guitar and recently began writing his own music. He has no formal dance training but is very interested in musical theatre. He currently is enrolled in his third year of voice lessons at Reinhardt. He has not decided yet on a college or career, but is certain it will be performance-related.
The other sixteen dancers, listed alphabetically, include Matt Adcock, Garrison Baumgardner, Allie Childers, Kirsten Gordon, Sarah Green, Kelsey Hall, Logan Hannah, Natalie Mathis, Zeke Nance, Julia Palazzolo, Madison Reyes, Chandler Smith, Kathrynn Stockman, Joseph Taylor, Jose Trenti, and Kade Wright. Each team will be featured in a newspaper article beginning in March and leading up to show-time.
The mission of United Way of Gordon County is to accurately assess the needs of Gordon County and to mobilize available resources to meet these needs. The mission of the GEM Theatre is to enrich the community by providing a premier facility to be used for viewing, learning and participating in the performing and visual arts, enlist community support to maintain Calhoun’s landmark theatre building, and ensure preservation of the theatre for future generations.
Profits realized from Mohawk Present’s Calhoun’s Dancing with the Stars remain in Gordon County. Each student dancer will receive a $500 scholarship, and remaining profits are divided equally between GEM Theatre and United Way of Gordon County.