Senior Spotlight: Caroline Powell

Because she graduated a semester early, Caroline Powell won't be performing in this semester's show. But we couldn’t think of doing “Senior Spotlights” without her, considering all she’s contributed to the company over her six semesters with us! Caroline first heard about Prelude from Tatum Mortimer, who was already a member and knew Caroline from dancing together back home. By Spring 2011, second semester of her freshman year, Caroline was missing having dance in her life, so she decided to audition. Since then, she’s performed in six shows and choreographed countless pieces, always making Prelude a priority (even when she was hobbling around with a sprained ankle). Find out why Prelude was such a big part of her life in college:

Prelude Dance Ensemble: What was it like performing in your last Prelude show?

Caroline Powell: It was really hard. I thought that it wouldn’t be as hard, but getting closer to the end made it increasingly difficult to let it go. It’s especially hard because I don’t know when or where I will be able to continue dancing.

PDE: What do you miss most about dancing with Prelude?

CP: I absolutely miss the people. Every member was able to inspire me in their own way. If I was having an awful day, I knew that there would be someone there to make me smile. When I had my sprained ankle, I was so grateful for everyone’s patience and concern for me. It is just such an incredible camaraderie that I wouldn’t trade for anything. And I know that everyone goes their separate ways at some point, but these are truly incredible people that I hope to never lose.

PDE: What was your dance experience like before joining Prelude?
CP: My dance experience before Prelude was a real mixed bag. I came from a professionally oriented dance company from back home, so my training was pretty strict. We did The Nutcracker annually and had a recital every spring. I did everything from pointe to jazz to hip-hop and modern dance.

Performing in her first Prelude show, Spring 2011

PDE: After all that strict training, how did being a part of Prelude contribute to your growth as an artist?

CP: I have gained so much from my time in Prelude. The freedom to choreograph and really dance the way that I wanted to, surrounded by people who had the same passion as I do, was such an incredible environment to be in.

PDE: How did coming from a ballet-focused background influence your choreography and style?

CP: Being so ballet focused, it was always pretty easy for me to put a name to a step. As much as I talk about getting to choreograph and dance the way that I wanted to, ballet was always there in the background. There were always set counts and that discipline that had been ingrained in me over the previous 15 years. So, I claim to have a “Caroline Style.” I think that’s pretty fair in the sense that it’s a mix between classical ballet and really dancing for your heart.

PDE: What typically inspires you in your choreography? Will you discuss your choreographic process a little bit?

Performing "Halcyon," Fall 2013

CP: I usually find a song that means something to me. It is usually something that is important in my life at the time. It might only relate for a week or so, but that week has the ability to inspire some incredible choreography. In terms of the process, honestly, I choreograph all over the place. Certain parts of songs call for different things and “speak” to me in different ways. So I might choreograph the end of the dance before I’ve even started it. I usually choreograph without a mirror, which makes it pretty difficult to truly picture how it’s going to look. It makes for some interesting pieces.

PDE: What’s your proudest accomplishment in Prelude?

CP: My greatest accomplishment was managing to choreograph opener and closer pieces as well as perform in the show while I had a severely sprained ankle.

PDE: You mention choreographing opener and closer, which you’ve actually done multiple times. What motivates you to choreograph these big group pieces, and what are some of the challenges or benefits of doing them?

CP: The semester I did Opener and Closer, those were two songs that were very near and dear to my heart. Needtobreathe, “The Great Unknown,” was our opener, and the song was talking about how you need to expose yourself to different things in life. You need to be able to have an open perspective to whatever is going on around you. That is how you learn and grow and evolve into the person you want to be. I felt that was a good message, and I ran with it. And Closer was “What Do I Stand For,” which clearly has an incredible meaning to it as well. I felt like I truly got to know my dancers too in painting the shirts for that piece. [For this dance, everyone wore shirts made by Caroline that said, “What do I stand for?” on the back, with their own personal answer to that question on the front.] Each dancer found something they were passionate about and danced for that themselves. But, as a group, we danced for each other and for sharing each other’s passions.

Wearing the "What do I stand for?" shirts, Fall 2012

PDE: What is your favorite dance that you’ve choreographed?

CP: “Masked” (Phantom) or “Cosmic Love.” 

PDE: What’re your top 3 favorite dances you’ve performed with Prelude?
CP: “Cosmic Love,” “Gravity,” and " The Beginning" (Hemali's Beyonce dance). 

PDE: What’re your top 3 favorite Prelude dances (that you haven’t necessarily been in)?
CP: “Kaay Fecc” (African), “Masked” (Phantom), and “Den of Thieves” (Grace’s 500 Days of Summer dance). 

PDE: What’s your favorite dance performance that you’ve been to while at UGA?
CP: I really loved the CORE show in the spring of 2012. It was really incredible.

PDE: What are some of your favorite Prelude memories?

CP: Hands down, my number one favorite memory is the cuddle puddle. It was a time for all of us to get a little goofy and just get close as a company. I’m also pretty fond of the emergency rehearsal we had a couple years ago that was just so messy…there just aren’t even words. I mean, Prelude was a family for me, so any time we got together was really special to me. It was such a diverse group of people that all had the ability to come together and share in something special.

Cuddle Puddle at Caroline's last Prelude show, "Mirror, Mirror," Fall 2013

PDE: What’s your favorite show you’ve been involved in with Prelude?

CP: I really don’t think that I can choose just one show. I think that the semester we allowed new members to choreograph was the most diverse [Fall 2012]. It was really cool to see the talent of all of our new members. There are certain shows that mean more to me than others, just because of dances I did. When I had the pleasure of choreographing Opener AND Closer, it was really amazing for me to see the entire company come together to do something I had created.

PDE: What do you think Prelude contributes to UGA as a whole?
CP: I think that Prelude is a place for everyone, which is super important. There are clubs that claim they are all inclusive, but a lot of the time it’s clique-y or you don’t get in because you “lack” various certain skills. Prelude is a truly diverse group of people that come together to share in something that they love. We learn together and grow together. You know that there will always be someone you can turn to in a time of need. It’s an encouraging, positive environment, which is just everything I could have ever needed at UGA.

Performing her own choreography, "Goodbye Darling," for the show, "Lost and Found," Spring 2013

Caroline graduated in December 2013 with a degree in Business Management and a minor in Fashion Merchandising. While she would love to find a way to continue dancing somehow, she’s currently busy as Epting Events’ newest Event Coordinator Assistant here in Athens. She’s also busy helping plan her sister’s wedding…a good start towards her long-term goal of becoming an event coordinator, through which she’ll be able to “give people their dream events, from weddings to reunions and everything in between.”

Caroline, we miss you already but look forward to seeing you in the audience on April 13!

Be sure to join Caroline in that audience to see our company perform in “Compass,” April 13 at the East Athens Educational Dance Center.