 Dance
was the greatest of Caroline's passions, but it was more
than just a passion. Dance was what she loved to study,
to write about, to watch, to perform, to teach. It was
what she believed in, and - as she wrote in her journal
- "..it is the most powerful form of expression I
have."
 The
Dannevirke Dance Years
Caroline
couldn't wait to start learning ballet: at the age of five she
began classes with Joan Irvine, and was a pupil of hers for the
next nine years. During that time Caroline also learnt national
dancing, tap dancing and modern dancing. She did extremely well
in exams, partly due to the fact that she never felt nervous
- she loved performing in front of people, even examiners!
Fortunately,
Miss Irvine often put on dance recitals, so
Caroline got to dance in front of large local audiences
in the Dannevirke Town Hall.
A memorable night was Miss Irvine's 50th Jubilee Recital: Caroline
adored the many costume changes, the make-up, and the sense of
occasion. So she was beside herself when she was chosen to dance
in the Royal New Zealand Ballet's Palmerston North performances
of "The Nutcracker'. Then in 1988 she was offered a place
at the Royal Acadamy of Dance's Summer School in London - an
amazing experience for a ten year old from rural New Zealand.
Caroline never lost touch with Miss Irvine: she respected her
hugely,
and regarded her as her first dance mentor.
The
Woodford Dance Years
Caroline went as a boarder to Woodford House, but for a time she manged
to continue dance classes in Dannevirke (see Her Life) Though the demands of
a full school life meant that Caroline had to stop attending formal dance classes,
she continued to enjoy the performing arts while she was at Woodford. It was
at this time that she began to think of a career that would enable her to help
others through dance
therapy, and she decided to do Physiotherapy.
The
Dunedin Dance Years
The year she started in Dunedin as a student of Health Sciences, Caroline
discovered that the distinguished Dunedin dancer and choreographer Shona Dunlop
MacTavish took classes, and she leapt at the opportunity to pick up the thread
of dance again. Caroline immediately knew she had found an inspiring teacher
- Shona believed that dance expressed mind, body, and spirit, and she encouraged
free and fluid movements. A highlight for Caroline was performing in 'A Feather
on the Breath
of God", about the visionary Hildegard of Bingen.
A highlight of her second year as an undergraduate was being allowed to take
a dance paper, Fundamentals of Dance, on top of her physiotherapy papers. Her
excitement is conveyed in her dance journal (see Writings: Excerpts from dance
journal)
Then ill health shifted Caroline's focus. Chemotherapy meant a year away from
university, and when she returned to Dunedin she decided to switch from Physiotherapy
to Anthropology. (See Her Life) She knew she wanted to continue studying dance,
and the head of the Dance School, Ralph Buck, began to play a significant part
in the development of Caroline's dance philosophy. She chose to do the papers
Dance in Education and Dance and the Community, and her ideas took off!
Full of energy at this stage of remission, on an impulse she walked into the
office of the Otago Arts Festival one evening to ask if they needed any help.
Her offer was taken up, and she became their first ever volunteer. She loved
the buzz of organising friends to conduct a Festival survey, zooming round the
different venues in her dark green Subaru Impreza, co-ordinating the front of
house at the late night Festival Club, grabbing every opportunity to watch dance
and theatre performances. She was in her element.
The following April the tumour returned, and her left lung was removed in Wellington
Hospital. She returned to Dunedin in June, to resume her studies and to begin
a six week course of radiotherapy, just when the Royal New Zealand Ballet was
about to arrive in the city, on tour with "Swan Lake". Caroline and
three other dance friends were asked to appear as courtiers in the Dunedin performances,
and Caroline wasn't going to let radiotherapy or studies hold her back from getting
up on stage again! She'd race from the hospital to rehearsals at the Regent Theatre
- it was a crazy, typically Caroline, time.
Though that was her last 'stage appearance', Caroline's Dance was now set to
leap off in many new and exciting directions. Her 'BOOST' paper was written at
this time (see Writings), she danced with choreographer Daniel Belton, set up
Creative Dance classes for children with friend and dance teacher Davina Holmes,
and worked closely with Ralph Buck and Sylvie Fortin. She was amazed to feel
accepted as part of the Dunedin dance fraternity which she so respected.
By this stage, Ralph Buck had become Caroline's dance mentor. Recognising Caroline's
abilities, he pushed her to new challenges; he suggested the "BOOST" paper
should be offered for publication, and submitted it for inclusion in the CORD
International Dance Research Conference to be held in Taiwan. Before she died,
Caroline knew the paper had been accepted by CORD, that she was a published writer,
and that she was admired by her dance colleagues. Dreams had come true.
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