Margaret Hruschka is undoubtedly one of
the most passionate members of Prelude, something she demonstrates (and has
demonstrated over her four years of membership) in all she does as our Chief
Officer, as a choreographer (she’s choreographed twelve pieces for Prelude over the years), as a performer, and
last but certainly not least, as a supportive and encouraging member of the
Prelude family. Margaret became a part of that family in the fall of 2010, her
first semester of freshman year. Having enjoyed dancing in middle school and
high school, she was looking for a way to get involved in dance on campus while
meeting new people. Luckily for us, Margaret saw an ad for auditions hanging up
in Myers, and she got both of the things she was looking for: an opportunity to
dance, as well as a group of people who would become some of her closest
friends in college. Here’s what she had to say about it all:
Prelude Dance Ensemble: What was your dance
experience like before joining Prelude?
Margaret Hruschka: I did baby ballet
and tap when I was 4 and then danced a few times a week during middle school
and early high school (ballet, tap, jazz, pointe).
PDE: Has Prelude helped you grow in your
technique, confidence onstage, choreographic creativity, etc?
MH: Yes, undoubtedly.
The difference in my dance ability between now and freshman year is astounding.
Will and I discuss this and we’re both impressed with ourselves and how much
we’ve grown. Before Prelude, I had only dreamed of creating a piece to the song
“So She Dances” by Josh Groban.
Through Prelude I not only did so but also 11 other pieces that are vastly
different.
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| Performing "Dust," Fall 2013 |
PDE: Like you said, you’ve choreographed all
sorts of dances: jazz, contemporary, pointe, belly dance…What motivates you to
choreograph in a particular genre?
MH: I don’t have much background in any one style. I have a small
amount of knowledge about a lot of styles and thus I choreograph dances that
are more varied than what Prelude generally has. I want to dance in those
styles and in order to make something happen you often have to do it yourself!
PDE: How did you get involved in so many
different genres?
MH: I’m just random. I had basic training in the more traditional
dance styles before college [ballet, jazz] but when I got here I started
exploring every dance event I could. Ballroom Dance Club, Athens Swing Night,
and Ramsey Bellydance allowed me to learn completely new styles in the short
time I’ve been here.
PDE: So what typically inspires the
choreography itself?
MH: I like to experiment with the new styles I’ve learned. I find a
song or have a style in mind and create pieces that I would want to perform. My
pieces are generally very character-based and less emotional except for two. “In Memory” and “Oblivion”
are extremely emotional; the first was dedicated to my late grandparents and
the second about graduation and the bonds we have from Prelude. I was able to
create those pieces because of the contemporary pieces I learned through
Prelude. [Note: you’ll have to come to our show on April 13 to see “Oblivion.”]
PDE: Can you talk a little about your
choreographic process? You often choreograph larger group pieces, so how do you
visualize formations and the movement of formations working with those big
groups?
MH: Well, I write everything down. And I watch a lot of dance videos.
I tend towards large movements that take up a lot of the stage and I want
people to change positions a good deal. In order to make it not look like a
mess I end up making fairly complicated charts/diagrams/powerpoints so that I get
everyone where I need them. I’m not sure if I visualize them particularly well;
instead, I just choreograph dances that have lots of people that need lots of
arranging.
 |
| Performing "Right Here, Right Now," Fall 2013 |
PDE: What is your favorite dance that you’ve
choreographed?
MH: “In Memory” or “Right Here, Right Now [Party]” or “Trust In Me”
or “Show Me.”
PDE: What’re your top 3 favorite dances
you’ve done with Prelude?
MH: “Candyman,” “For No One,” and “Harder to Breathe.”
PDE: What’re your top 3 favorite Prelude
dances (that you haven’t necessarily been in)?
MH: “New School vs. Old School Hip Hop,” “These Arms of Mine,” “Give Me Love,” “Every Time You Go,” “Falling,” and “A Little Bit” (this is hard).
[Note: again, you’ll have to come to our show to see “Give Me Love” and “Falling.”]
PDE: What’s
your favorite dance performance that you’ve seen while at UGA?
MH: Prelude’s Fall 2012 show! Outside of
Prelude—Canopy’s performances are always stunning and the DanceFX Company
Holiday Concert inspired me tremendously.
PDE: What are some of your favorite Prelude
memories?
MH; Aerofit, street-painting, pool parties, random warm-ups, getting
new lifts, getting together to choreograph in Ramsey and just fooling around
until the dance works itself out. I spend so much time with Prelude people and
it’s all great. Prelude has created many of my best college memories, even when
we’re all exhausted.
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| Rehearsing "The Show Must Go On" with Chris Wages, Spring 2011 |
PDE: What have been the greatest difficulties
or challenges of being an officer?
MH: Getting people to
read/respond to emails. Getting people in one place to rehearse outside of
practice. As college students we’re all very busy and those small challenges
are really the most difficult. The rest of it just falls in place because
everyone is willing to put in the effort to make Prelude great.
PDE: The greatest rewards?
MH: I love seeing us
get a tricky bit of choreography or an individual mastering a double turn that
they’ve been working on forever. It’s always a delight when new members
choreograph for the first time and seeing the new ideas and ways to challenge
us that they each bring to Prelude is awesome.
PDE: What advice do you have for future
officers?
MH: Think ahead. Write everything down. Use time creatively. Most of
all, truly enjoy Prelude and the people in it. We’re able to do amazing things
and we’ve become a known entity on campus—our dancers are beautiful and our
choreography is stunning. It’s such an awesome thing to do the background work
to make Prelude happen, so enjoy it.
PDE: What’s your proudest accomplishment in
Prelude?
MH: I don’t know! I would say that being able to involve Prelude in
the dance community with things like the Children First benefit, CHROMA
fundraiser, Dance Athens, and Raise Your Hand has been really exciting.
 |
| Warming up for Dance Athens, Fall 2013 |
PDE: What do you think Prelude contributes to
UGA as a whole?
MH: With its members and alumni, I think it’s a great place to continue
dancing, improve, try new things, and be utterly supported while you struggle.
It’s a community and we help each other with so many things, inside and outside
of dance. Additionally, Prelude has become a known entity at UGA and in the
Athens community, which is pretty incredible for a 5-year old organization. We
volunteer with various charities and have partnerships with organizations that
allow us to present our shows for free to the public. I think we try to
encourage everyone to dance no matter their previous training and that’s really
unusual.
PDE: Prelude is 5-years old, and you’ve been
a part of it for 4 of those years. What has it been like to see so many people
come and go through Prelude and see it evolve over time?
MH: I miss so many
people. And I’m going to miss so many more. It’s sad to watch people graduate
and know that I won’t be dancing with them anymore. But getting to meet all the
new people and have everyone become part of Prelude is wonderful and I love you
all. Each semester they group dynamic changes dramatically but we remain a
community of interesting people who are joined by a common interest in dancing.
PDE: How do you feel about this being your
last Prelude show?
MH: Awful. I’m proud of everyone and I can’t believe we’re here but
I’m just not going to think about that now. I’m sure I’ll be crying my makeup
off by the end of the show (hopefully not the beginning).
PDE: What will you miss most about Prelude?
MH: I’m going to miss my Monday and Wednesday nights. Being able to
dance and learn with people has been awesome and I don’t know what I’ll do
without it. Prelude has meant so much to me for these four years and has been
such a space to develop and grow within a supportive group. It’s going to be a
shock to leave something that has become so integral to my daily life.
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| Photoshoot for the Spring 2013 show, "Lost and Found" |
After graduating in May with a Masters in Public Administration,
an AB in Linguistics, and minors in Spanish and Arabic, Margaret plans on
working abroad in nonprofit organizations, through AIESEC and then
individually. Long-term, she would like to run nonprofits in the US. She plans
on continuing dancing in some way, shape, or form!
Thank you for all your years of hard work and dedication,
Margaret. Break a leg come April 13!
Be sure to see
Margaret and the rest of our seniors in their last show, “Compass,”
April 13 at the East Athens Educational Dance Center.
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