Ashley Reichstein, 20, is a sophomore in the School of Dance who transferred from Houston.
Arizona Daily Wildcat: Why did you decide to come to the UA?
Ashley Reichstein: I was at a point where I really wanted to learn, and I knew that the UA had amazing opportunities. Our dance program is actually one of the top five in the nation. So it is a great place to meet dancers, to make connections and learn a lot. The faculty is amazing as well. So they are open and knowledgeable and they know what they’re doing. They’ve been around for a while, so it is a great place to be.
W: What are you looking forward to in your time here?
R: Well, I suppose that I came to the university for learning purposes. Most people really want to learn about a specific thing when they come to college, and I really want to get into dance. So it’s about what it means, how your body moves, why technique is the way it is and the history of dance, as well.
W: What kind of dance are you really interested in?
R: I am really interested in what they call contemporary movement, which is just a really basic prissy term that everybody understands, but a little more specifically, jazz and modern. They are two very different types of movement, yet they seem to lend themselves to one another and they seem to get intermingled very easily. But it is interesting to me, and the way it feels on my body is wonderful. It is amazing.
W: So no line dancing, huh?
R: No. My father likes to correct people when I initially say I am a dancer. He is very adamant about no line dancing or taking clothes off.
W: Do your professional goals lead into a jazz or contemporary area?
R: I actually would like to go to a nationally recognized company. I have had the opportunity to work with an amazing company in the Southwest region in Houston. But I think I want to go somewhere a little bit more national or international because a lot of the international ones are doing well.
W: What kinds of things are going on this year in the School of Dance that you are especially looking forward to?
R: I, personally, am really excited about the Arizona Jazz Dance Showcase, which is held once a year. They bring in people from all over the world. A lot of the faculty teaches as well as a wonderful teacher I have worked with before I went to the UA. Her name is Pattie Obey. She is amazing and she is from Amsterdam. So they bring a lot of people. I think Richard Havey from UNLV is coming. It is another awesome opportunity. Another great thing about the jazz dance showcase is you get a lot of kids from across the nation, and the showcase allows them a stage to perform on. You have to submit work, and then they decide if they would like to have you in their venue.
W: Now that you transferred here and school is definitely underway, how are you liking the UA?
R: I love it. I actually, by chance, got a thing through e-mail called H.I. Team, which is a hall involvement team. I thought, ‘Sure, why not? Let’s just get involved early.’ I got to move in early, I did not have to pay early move-in fees, and it’s a great way to meet new people. I have been meeting amazing people, making friends, getting to know people in my residence hall and getting to meet my roommates before they meet me. So it is great and I really enjoy it.
W: What would you tell other transfer students interested in coming to the university?
R:I think I would just let them know that college is what you make of it and there are so many different things that you can do within this university that you can’t do anywhere else. I don’t feel like I’ve ever encountered a place where so many people care about you succeeding. Many want to think that in high school and elementary school they all want you to succeed, but they just want to get you through school. Here you have a choice to do what you want to do and go where you want to go, and if you take the opportunity, which is basically handed to you on a silver platter, you can go very far.
W: So what’s your favorite ice cream?
R: There’s a great little place in my hometown of Houston where they make all their ice cream homemade and they have a Chocolate Brownie, which is chocolate ice cream with chocolate brownie chunks inside. We’ll see if anyone can beat that – a Chocolate Brownie ice cream.
