'SYTYCD': Talking with Annapolis dancer Caitlin Kinney
Mary Carole McCauley got a chance to catch up with Annapolis dancer Caitlin Kinney yesterday. The 21-year-old is in the Top 12 on Fox's So You Think You Can Dance, which airs on Wednesday and Thursday nights. Here's Mary:
After portraying an alien attempting to impregnate her human prey, Caitlin Kinney fully expected to be in danger of elimination last week on Fox’s hit reality show So You Think You Can Dance.
Before Thursday night’s results show was broadcast, the lithe, 21-year-old from Annapolis rehearsed the "dance for your life" solo required of competitors who receive the fewest viewer votes.
"Honestly, I didn’t think there was any way Jason and I weren’t going to be in the bottom three," she says, referring to her partner, Jason Glover. "We’ve been hanging on by our teeth. When I found out we were safe, I was just flabbergasted."
Kinney, who studied at Baltimore School for the Arts and trained as a classical ballerina, wrapped up an intense day of practicing by chatting about the ups and downs of the competition thus far, and her future plans.
Q: None of the dance styles you’ve assigned so far play to your strengths. Has that been hard?
A: It has been frustrating. I’d love to have a chance to dance something more lyrical. Of course, we don’t choose what dance styles we’ve been given, or what we wear. I’ll be honest, I was a little jealous when Melissa [Sandvig] got to dance a pas de deux in toe shoes last week. At the same time, the harder you work, the greater your rewards. I’d rather get a style that plays to our strengths later in the competition.
Q: What would you like to do professionally after the show ends?
A: That’s a darn good question. Most of my training is in ballet, but I don’t have a traditional body for classical ballet. I’m not stick thin, and I have a very muscular build. I’m happy now with the way my body is, but boy, it takes a long time for any woman to be able to say that. I’m not quite sure yet in what style as a dancer I fit best. That’s why I auditioned for So You Think You Can Dance. Never again will I have the opportunity to learn all these different styles compressed into one summer.
Q: When I talked to your sister Megan last week, she said you guys used to talk about running a joint studio/health clinic.
A: Yeah, when we were kids. Megan and I were going to run a studio where people could study dancing and acting, and Erin [their eldest sister], who is now studying neuropathic medicine, would run a health clinic next door. I honestly think that’s one of my long-term goals, but it’s down the road. I don’t want to open a studio before I have knowledge to impart.
Q: Was it hard for you when Megan didn’t make the cut? [Megan Kinney, 19, auditioned separately for the reality dance competition and made it to the final round in Las Vegas before being tossed out.]
A: We both knew that whether we got cut on the first round or later on, one of us would get sent home, and the other would go on. We had a long talk about it before we went out to Las Vegas. Megs is so unbelievably talented, I really thought she would be the one to advance. When she was cut, we both high-tailed it out of the room so we could avoid the cameras. Her leaving was the worst part of the competition for me.
Q: How is your hip feeling these days? [After a potentially career-ending injury, Kinney’s right hip was surgically rebuilt two years ago.]
A: It’s really wonderful. I’ve been so blessed, because I ended up having even more flexibility than I had before my injury. But, getting injured was really tough. When I was told I might not dance again, I just stayed in bed for two weeks and read books. One of the favorite things my mother ever said to me is: "The true definition of faith is to sit in the unknown and be OK with it." I thought about that a lot. And, when I did come back to dance, I had a new sense of gratefulness.
Photo by Kelsey McNeal/FOX
Comments
She's a real class act. Go, Caitlin!
Posted by: Dahlink | July 7, 2009 6:29 AM
Caitlin, you are a MAGICAL dancer, and the incredible power your body has is a huge boon, whatever people say. I really wish we had something like Japan's Takarazuka Revue because with your charisma and strength, you'd be a million percent perfect for those dazzling dance revues. I wish America could see outside their little box and realize how special a dancer you really are, and how lucky we are to have you. Good luck--I, at least, will be voting like crazy for you!!
Posted by: Cy | July 8, 2009 7:23 PM