In the 1970s, Powers began studying tai chi to understand the movement of calligraphy and ultimately got hooked on vintage dance. Megs Booker, a former consulting professor in the Drama Department who spent many years in New York theater before coming to the Bay Area, says Powers' reputation as a historian and performer is well deserved. He is exceptionally good with period dances, especially American period pieces. He does everything from the lindy hop and the fox trot. He's a wonderful teacher and is also magical to watch.
Powers considers the segue from engineering to dance a natural one.
When I was a freshman, they hand-picked a few engineering students coming in every year whom they thought showed the greatest potential, then followed them. When we graduated, we all got together at the dean's office, and none of us was going to continue in engineering. They considered that a success because we got the bigger picture. Powers' background may serve him well in the classes he teaches, which almost always attract more men. He says his classroom approach is to restate things in several ways using physical terms, visual explanations or even engineering speak.