It promises to be a heck of a summer for Cornwall’s Caitlyn Acheson.
The energetic 17-year-old has transformed a love of dance and the stage into a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to rub shoulders with industry people in Los Angeles at the end of July and, if all goes well, maybe get herself noticed.
Acheson and Studio C, her Cornwall dance troupe, recently competed in Ottawa at “Kick it Up” a regional competition with performers from the capital region and Quebec.
Judges thought so much of her performance that she was awarded the “Hollywood Summer Tour” – a two-week shuffle of Los Angeles where she will learn from famed Hollywood icon Debbie Reynolds, So You Think You Can Dance performer Courtney Galiano and appear on the syndicated TV series Extra with guest celebrity host Mario Lopez.
Not bad, eh?
“Us Cornwall people didn’t think we would have a chance against people from Ottawa and Quebec,” Acheson said of her time at the Ottawa competition. “But three of us from Cornwall received scholarships to go to Los Angeles.”
Acheson has been dancing for about 10 years, and says her love of music and the theatre is beginning to pay dividends.
“I’m really excited I get to continue doing what I love,” said the Holy Trinity Second School Grade 12 student. “I really want to get noticed. Dancing is my passion and I want it to continue for a long time.”
Even if things don’t pan out the way she wants them to, Acheson said performing will remain a part of her.
“I love musical theatre,” she said. “So if I don’t make it out there as a dancer, or in music videos, I know there is a place for me on the stage somewhere.”
Acheson leaves for her two-week Hollywood odyssey July 23.
