Moses Lake teen shows she can dance

MOSES LAKE - In June, friends and family of Moses Lake resident Caitlynn Lawson packed into the sports lounge at Papa's Casino to watch the teenage dancer on TV.

They were waiting to see if Lawson would make it as one of the top 20 dancers on the FOX TV program, "So You Think You Can Dance?"

Not only did Lawson make the top 20, she was one of the show's top 6 dancers.

"This is the proudest day of my life," said Caitlynn's mother, Vickie, when Lawson made the top 20. "When she was 10 years old, she watched the show for the first time and said, 'I'm going to be on that show someday.' And I said, 'Yeah, you are, Caitlynn, just practice as hard as you can. You can do anything you want.' And now she's on the show. My husband, her brother and I are so proud of her."

Lori Baker, one of the directors at Today's Generation, said Caitlynn has danced with the group for all eleven years the studio has been open.

"I never worked with anyone that worked as hard as Caitlynn has," she said. "It felt amazing," Lawson said of making the show's top 20. "I was really shocked and excited, because really, there were so many amazing dancers here. I was really surprised that I actually made it. I dreamed about making it for so long, since season two. It was really surreal. I think it was probably the happiest moment of my life so far."

Lawson began dancing when she was three. She honed her craft in Moses Lake, dancing at Today's Generation dance studio and the Ballet Academy of Moses Lake.

Lawson used the word "starstruck" more than once to describe working with the show's choreographers and judges.

"I look up to all these choreographers and dancers so much, because I've watched them on TV," she said. "The first time I stood in front of the judges I was kind of in shock and just didn't know if I would be able to talk or anything. I kind of just stood up on stage and smiled, because I was so excited to actually be there. They're amazing. They give such great advice and their opinion matters so much to me."

Lawson was eliminated from the show in August.

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