Before deciding to come to Anderson, Caroline Tanner had been dancing since she was two years old. “I was dancing before I could walk. I mean, I was in bouncy chairs bouncing to the Wiggles,” she says while laughing.  

Her mother could see her energetic and contagious spirit and placed her in dance lessons, setting Caroline up for her passion for dance. So, when searching for colleges, she thought, “I couldn’t see myself not dancing.” 

“I saw that Anderson had a good dance program and a big musical theater program with the South Carolina School of the Arts. So, I visited, and right away, the atmosphere of the dance program was just amazing, everyone felt like sisters,” she explains.   

Thus began her journey at Anderson University, and while she knew she wanted to continue dancing, she wasn’t sure what to major in specifically. Since she had received several credits from dual enrollment while in high school, she learned that she could double major—an option she had not thought of but was very attracted to, since she would not need to choose between dance and something else.  

In thinking about her future, she decided to pursue a Communications: Digital Media major in addition to her Dance major because it would allow her to creatively use those skills for dance videography and photography. She also liked the safety of a backup plan it provided, in case her success as a performer was not what she envisioned.

Due to her hard work and dedication, however, this double major served as an enhancement to education rather than a necessary safety net to fall back on. Now a senior graduating in May of 2025, Caroline has performed in many productions within the South Carolina School of the Arts. 

As a dance major, these productions include the dance concerts performed each semester. One of her most memorable moments at Anderson was when she was able to perform her own hip hop choreography at the dance concerts and the President’s Gala.  

In the Spring of 2023, she took the initiative to invite President Whitaker to attend the dance concert. She didn’t expect him to be able to come, but he showed up! She and her peers were pleasantly surprised. After this, President Whitaker personally chose her hip hop choreography Run 4 Cover to be performed at the President’s Gala in 2023.  

Then, for the 2024 Dance Concert and President’s Gala, she was able to perform her choreography entitled The Super Bowl.  

“Both semesters that I got to perform my hip hop dances, it was on my birthday, so that was very fun,” she recalls. “There’s something different about being onstage,” she adds. “There’s an aspect that’s fun about the process of learning the dance and practicing it that is gratifying, but also, once you’re done and everything is set, and you get on stage and can see it all come together, there is something magical about that.” 

She also was in the musical theater productions of Anything Goes and Seussical, and says they were incredible experiences. She was able to learn more about acting, singing while dancing, and the unique world of musical theater. “That prepared me for my next professional jobs that I had,” she says.  

These jobs included being a Dive Mermaid and Mermaid actor at Ripley’s Aquarium of Myrtle Beach and being a Can Can Dancer and Clogger at Tweetsie Railroad in Boone, NC. She loved being able to apply all that she had learned through the dance program and the various experiences it opened for her. 

As she looks toward post-graduation life, she says, “Right now, I am auditioning anywhere and everywhere that I can find an audition.” 

She has already auditioned for Disney World, Disney Cruise Line, and the Royal Caribbean. She primarily wants to work at amusement parks because she fell in love with them while working at Tweetsie Railroad, and she enjoys being close to and interacting with the audience. 

She hopes to keep performing after graduation but also wants to pursue a job within the communications realm so that she can have a steady flow of income. 

“I’m hoping to focus more on combining the two and doing something like I did with my senior project, which was combining video and dance.” She was producer, director, editor, choreographer, and performer for her senior project—a choreographed music video. So, she was able to exercise all the skills she has learned since being at Anderson.  

She points to her lifelong history with dance and the formative environment of Anderson as the foundation for her character and her knowledge.  

“I feel like AU has prepared me for being professional, especially for auditions,” she says. “Dance in the performance industry is basically auditioning–that is your job. You are going to be auditioning all the time, and there’s going to be a lot of nos and a lot of rejection, but you have to keep pushing for it.” 

This has fostered her sense of perseverance, time management, and flexibility. Her college career has confirmed what her mother has often told her—that you cannot change outcomes, but “you can control your attitude and your response to whatever happens.” 

The dance family she has at Anderson has encouraged her in this aim along the way. “It is good to know you have someone on your side, who is coaching and pushing you but also supporting you,” she says of her dance professors.  

For example, when she was about to audition for Disney World, her professor Lauren Imhoff provided a Disney masterclass for her and information on what the audition process would be like. “It helped me so much,” she says. “I would not have been as prepared if I didn’t have that coaching from her.” She appreciates how reassuring her professor is—she even called her and debriefed with her after the audition. 

As for her fellow dance majors, she loves the sense of competition and support they provide. “We all want what is best for everyone, so it is nice to have a dance family like that,” she says. “And the dance program is not all serious all the time. We all goof off and have fun together.”

Between her work in the dance program, her second major of communications, and her role on the cheerleading team, Caroline says she feels as if she is leading a triple life sometimes. But practicing yoga and leaning on her community of friends has helped her along the way, and she wouldn’t trade her amazing experience at Anderson for anything else. 

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Get tickets to the Fall Dance Concert!  

Henderson Auditorium | November 21, 22, 23 at 7:30PM 

Learn more about our Dance Program here.  

Learn more about our Communication: Digital Media degree here.