Andrew Parkhurst is thrilled; he can’t believe he’s being asked for an interview.

“Usually no one wants to talk to the dance captain,” he says. “Usually people haven’t even heard of or know what a dance captain is.”

Although it may not be the first role most think of when watching a musical, Parkhurst knows his job in the traveling stage production of “Mamma Mia!” is important.

“Dance captain has a couple of major duties,” he says. “The primary thing is to maintain the physical integrity of the production.”

Parkhurst says the scenes and dialogue that take place when the music is not playing are the director’s duty, but when the music begins, it all falls into the hands of the choreographer. Since the choreographer does not travel with the show, however, his duty is left to the dance captain.

“My job is to represent him,” Parkhurst says. “I am basically the choreographer that travels with the company. I watch the show frequently and [make] sure the actors are keeping the choreography and the movement any time the music’s playing.”

Another of Parkhurst’s responsibilities is to teach new cast members the dance numbers. With two weeks of rehearsal, Parkhurst says he teaches the staging and choreography as well as the cast members’ understudy tracks.

In addition to the role of dance captain, Parkhurst is also a swing. A swing’s job is similar to that of an understudy’s. Just as an understudy covers the speaking roles, a swing covers the ensemble.

“Generally the dance captain is a swing,” Parkhurst says. “The reason for that is so they can watch the show periodically.”

Parkhurst has surrounded himself with dance from the very beginning. His experiences have included everything from ballet lessons as a young boy to performing with the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater at the age of 16, to dancing solo in film director Roman Polanski’s musical.

Before joining “Mamma Mia!” Parkhurst also taught in Vienna, Berlin and at his alma mater, Texas Christian University, as a guest artist.

Theresa Broussard, a former student of Parkhurst, says it was Parkhurst who presented her with a side of dance she’d never known.

“As a freshman in college, I was just kind of lost, although I’d been dancing for a long time,” she says. “He was the one who introduced me to, ‘This is what you can do and this is how you have to get there.’ It was just the first look into real life as a dancer and the actual possibility of getting paid to do what you love. In that respect, he’s an inspiration in my eyes.”