She’s passionate, determined and fearless, and yes, she can dance.
This past spring, 13-year old Olivia Bevilacqua received national television exposure as a contestant on the FOX show So You Think You Can Dance: The Next Generation, making it to the academy level competition in California. “It was an amazing experience,” Olivia’s mom, Charlene, says.
Olivia, who was 12 during the So You Think You Can Dance competition last spring, is an 8th grader at Merton Williams Middle School. She started dancing when she was four and now spends time seven days a week training and learning at the Odasz Dance Theater in Irondequoit where Jessica Odasz and Andrea Astuto are her instructors/trainers.
Charlene says the family decided to have Olivia audition when producers of So You Think You Can Dance decided to feature 9-13 year old dancers during this past season.
The family, including dad, Scott, and sisters Riley, 15, and Madison, 9, traveled to New York City for the initial audition, which impressed judges and resulted in a ticket to the Academy in California where Olivia vied with one hundred young dancers from around the country for a spot in the Top Ten. In the end, she did not make the final cut, but Charlene says the family was moved by the amount of interaction with the show’s judges – Nigel Lythgoe, Paula Abdul and Jason Derulo. “It was impressive that the judges spent so much time with her,” Charlene says.
Olivia’s So You Think You Can Dance routine was contemporary, but she also studies classical ballet. Performing in front of a camera was different, she explains, but she was able to adjust. “I was nervous at first,” she says, “but then I viewed it as if I was on stage and I wasn’t nervous.”
The dancing ended up being the easy part, Olivia notes, being interviewed by host Cat Deeley was a bit more intimidating. “It was such an experience for her,” Charlene says. “It helped her to learn that if she keeps working hard, she may be able to do something like that again.”
Olivia and Charlene say they were also impressed by the “outpouring of support” from the Hilton community. “People were so excited for her, everybody was just amazing,” Charlene says. Olivia also had support and guidance from her teachers and fellow students at Odasz Dance Theater.
Olivia says sister Riley’s dancing inspired her to begin dancing herself. “I wanted to be like her,” she explains.
She participates each year in Youth America Grand Prix – the world’s largest global network of dance, which promotes dance education through scholarship auditions, master classes, performances, and educational outreach and activities. The Youth America Grand Prix features ballet and contemporary styles, and last year, Olivia was in the Top 12 dancers from around the world, winning a scholarship for additional ballet studies.
“I love classical ballet and I love contemporary,” Olivia says. “They balance each other out. I want to dance professionally for a career when I get older.”
Charlene says all three of her daughters work hard to do well in school and continue their studies in dance. Right now they are preparing for the next Youth America Grand Prix regionals which will be held in Chicago early next year. The finals will be in New York City in April.
“I’m proud of how she has gone through this process,” Charlene says of Olivia’s experiences this year, “ … of how hard she has worked and that she has had these opportunities.”
