Lawson enjoyed support of family, town

MOSES LAKE - Caitlynn Lawson's journey on "So You Think You Can Dance?" has come to an end, but the Moses Lake teen is grateful to have made it so far in the dance competition.

"It's bittersweet, but I'm mostly just happy to have gotten the opportunity to have gotten this far. I was worried about making top 20, let alone top six."

As she slowly established herself, claiming a spot as one of the show's top 3 female contestants, Lawson drew support from many sources, including her parents and her hometown.

"My parents mean everything to me," she said. "I wouldn't be her and have the confidence to even audition for the show without them."

Lawson's father asked her to make the top six so he could see her dance live in the competition one last time. He was working out of the country during most of Lawson's time on the show. Lawson wasn't sure she'd be able to make it that far.

"It was really funny just because I thought that sounded so out of reach and to actually be here and to do what he told me to do, it was really amazing," she said.

It helped having her family in the audience to support her when she was cut from the show, said Lawson.

"I can't even describe how happy it made me to have them sitting there and be so proud of me and see how far that I've come and that I've accomplished all the goals that I set out to do," she said.

Lawson's friends kept her appraised of her hometown's support through Facebook. They sent her photos showing business signs around town brandishing her name, she said.

"The support that I've gotten from back home has just been absolutely amazing and has really just meant so much to me," she said. "It was so inspiring to know that I have so many people behind me. It's my hometown and I miss it and I love everyone there and I'm just so happy that they were all so supportive and so happy for me. And being on that stage knowing that I have my whole town behind me and ... that's my roots and the people who ... are there supporting me. And it was just an amazing feeling to know that you have so many people behind you. I can't be more thankful for the response from the whole town."

Though she's no longer a contestant on the show, Lawson said she's made lasting friendships with her fellow contestants and she won't be leaving them anytime soon.

Lawson and the show's top 10 dancers embark on a 32-city tour starting in September.

After that, Lawson plans to make use of the opportunities the show has given her.

"After tour, I actually already have an apartment set up down here and everything, so I'm planning on moving down here," she said.

Lawson said she wants to pursue several interests, including singing, acting and dancing.

"I just want to basically go to any audition I can and I just want to try to do as much as possible," she said, adding she'd like to stay involved with "So You Think You Dance" as well, maybe coming back as an all-star in future seasons.

Lawson was eliminated based on viewer votes, but there's no point in speculating whether things would have been different if the judges had made the call instead of the viewers, she said.

"The thing that we all always say is just that you can't expect anything out of the show and even out of the judges," she said. "Everyone here is so, so amazing and it's just such a privilege to even be here ... I don't know if it would have been different or not but it doesn't matter. I'm so happy for how far I've come and making it this far and I'm so, so excited for the four that are in it and they're all part of my personal family and I can't wait to watch them do amazing next week."