Whiz Kid of the Week — Caroline Chouinard

Name: Caroline Chouinard

Age: 10

School: Morello Park Elementary

Accomplishment: Award-winning dancer and exceptional student  
 
Caroline Chouinard, a fifth-grader at Morello Park Elementary, dances with Martinez-based . She began taking dance lessons when she was two and a half, and has been moving to the beat ever since.

At the Dupree Dance Competition in February, she received the “Platinum Award," which refers to the highest overall score. She also was awarded first  place out of all the solos, duos and trios in her division, as well as winning a special judges award for facial expression. Her small-group dance routines took a gold for hip hop, a silver for jazz, and a Judges Award for the lyrical group. At the Starbound Competition held in San Mateo in March she received high gold for her individual solo.

Caroline is also an outstanding student whose favorite subject is math. She loves it so much that she completed the fifth-grade math curriculum in December. Now she works independently with a small group on advanced assignments. She also writes short stories and poetry and  one teacher said she has a “writing voice uncommon for students of her grade level.”  Raised in a multi-language household, Caroline speaks fluent French.  

 Caroline says her long-term goals include being a pediatrician and possibly teaching dance on the side. She says dance allows her to express herself without using words and she simply loves to move. 

If you would like to see Caroline and her group perform, two major dance competitions are coming up. Santa Clara will host the Move Competition April 16-17, and there is a Spotlight Competition in San Mateo in May. Locally, the In Motion Dance Studio’s recital will be June 18 at .