Finding Balance: Ballerina Realtor Caroline Atwell Stars in The Nutcracker This Weekend

If you think you’re above average when it comes to being busy this holiday season, meet @properties Realtor Caroline Atwell. She’s made a name for herself in Dallas real estate in a relatively short time, closing deals with the best of them, and doing it en pointe. No, that’s not a typo. Caroline is, in addition to her full-time career as an agent, also a professional ballet dancer with Dallas’ Avant Chamber Ballet.

Now, most people hope to have achieved just one successful career in their 20s, but Caroline has never been most people.

A Boss in Training

Originally from Charlotte, Caroline began dancing as a child and her love for the art form took hold early. Unlike a lot of young dancers who, in order to get on track to have a professional career will opt to homeschool or take online classes to work around the daily training regimen, Caroline attended traditional school through high school.

“I have always, and still do to this day value balance,” Atwell said. “Everyone has their own journey, but I’ve always found that having that balance brings something different to my artistic qualities, and what I bring to a performance as well as in the professional world.”

Atwell started getting serious about ballet after attending a summer intensive one summer after 8th grade. “I came back that summer knowing this was something I wanted to pursue.” She began training with the Charlotte Ballet, studying under acclaimed dancer and instructor Patrica McBride, under whose tutelage she gained her love for the work of the choreographer George Ballanchine. Ballet enthusiasts will know that while Ballachine’s work is revered in the ballet world, it is not every dancer that can perform it, and Atwell is such a dancer.

While training at Charlotte Ballet, she did summers at the Chautauqua Institution, San Francisco Ballet, and Houston Ballet, ultimately opting to go to Indiana University as a double major in ballet and business, again choosing balance over joining a ballet company straight out of high school, as a lot of dancers do. Atwell was able to continue honing her ballet ambitions at Indiana’s renowned ballet program, while still attending a Big 10 school and getting to have a traditional college experience. She graduated in 3 years …

Now wait just a minute. “You were a double major and you still graduated in three years?” I asked Atwell. I know a little something about a ballet dancer’s schedule having worked as an Arts Education Administrator for Ballet Austin, and having been a theater major myself. I know a lot of dancers. And business majors, for that matter.

She laughed. “Sleep is not something I have a lot of,” she said. “But I wouldn’t trade one of those nights of 1-2 hours of sleep for the experiences it gave me, or if it gets me where I want to be.”

Going Pro

After college, Atwell took a job with Nevada Ballet Theater, where she had the opportunity to perform Balanchine’s Serenade, Western Symphony, Raymonda Variations, and many other roles. NBT also has the unique distinction of collaborating with Cirque du Soleil, where Atwell was able to debut her choreography. Currently, she is a company member at Avant Chamber Ballet, in her third season, and Atwell says she has found a home both at ACB and in Dallas.

Atwell started in real estate serendipitously while in Las Vegas. While dancing with NBT, she was working to get her Pilates certification on the side. A fellow dancer who was running a dog-walking business had a client who had just started her own real estate brokerage and needed some help. Knowing Caroline had a background in business, marketing, and graphic design, she made the introduction.

Atwell started out helping the agent with marketing, but since she had so many clients, it wasn’t long before Caroline was learning contracts, staging, and everything there is to know about running a boutique real estate business. She still has a great relationship with that thriving Vegas firm today and said she received a referral from her former boss just recently.

Dallas and @properties Christie’s International

Upon relocating to Dallas, it was natural to pick up where she left off, and soon Atwell got her license and was working with a group at Rogers Healy. When she was approached by her current team at @properties Christie’s International, it felt like the next right step. “It felt like the perfect fit for so many reasons,” Atwell said.

Atwell says the culture at @properties Christie’s is a good fit for her. She works on the broker team: Jerry Mooty, Tara McGraw, Michelle Holland, and Atwell. “It’s a good team dynamic, a good balance, Atwell said. It’s the most supportive group of people to work with.”

“One of Jerry’s gifts is being a leader. Being able to push someone, encourage someone, always having a positive attitude even when things are tough. I feel like all of our families have become families.”

Caroline atwell

Art Influences Life

I asked Atwell how her two careers influence each other. “What I love about real estate is it’s an interesting balance of business and numbers and my creative side,” said Atwell. She told me about an interesting listing with unique features and the creativity that went into finding the best way to market and showcase the home. “I want to tell a story about the house to envision who might live there to help create an experience so it’s not all just facts and figures.”

But how does the business inform the art? Atwell says meeting so many people and having so many different kinds of experiences has enriched her life and given her a deeper toolbox to pull from in her performances when it comes to portraying a character as a dancer, or expressing an emotion through movement. “I think it’s hard to have a genuine connection with an audience when you’re trying to portray something that you’ve never truly experienced, whether that’s heartbreak, struggle, or something exciting and emotive. If that’s not something you really connect to, it’s hard to make that a genuine experience for the audience.”

Balance in Action

“How do you do it, Caroline?” This is what I’m begging to know as I gaze at her across the table over coffee.

“It’s not that it’s easy,” she says. “There are a lot of things that people don’t see being in sales. Staying up all hours of the night, and having deals repeatedly fall through. You don’t get paid until (the sale) closes. Sometimes it’s not in your control — there are so many different pitfalls that can come up, but we don’t put that on social media. We see the glamorous side of ballet, the beautiful performances, tiaras, and tutus, but you don’t see the injuries and the hours of PT, the mental health struggles, the pressure to stay in shape, the competitiveness.

“It’s taking things one thing at a time. I start my day off the right way. Refocus, take time for me first: I work out, or walk my dog before I kick off the day. And I surround myself with other people who are focused on pursuing their passions. Building a business, working hard. I love both of the things I do, that also helps me find balance. I try not to commit to anything that I don’t love and enjoy.”

The Nutcracker

There you have it. Caroline Atwell will be performing The Nutcracker with Avant Chamber Ballet this weekend at Moody Performance Hall. You can see her in the roles of Arabian for all the matinees, lead Mirlitons in the evenings, and Snow for every show. Kick off your holiday with a wonderful night at the ballet, and support Caroline Atwell and Avant Chamber Ballet this weekend.

Otherwise, you can find her teaching Pilates, closing real estate deals with Mooty Luxury at @properties Christies International Real Estate, rehearsing at ACB, or walking her golden doodle, Kuechly.