Today we’d like to introduce you to Caitlyn Feddock.
Caitlyn, please share your story with us. How did you get to where you are today?
Ever since I was a young child, I had the desire to dance. When I was three years old, my mom signed me up for a combo ballet/tap class. One class a week soon turned into two, three, four classes a week as my love for dance grew. By the time I was six years old, I was competing in dance competitions in all styles of dance: jazz, tap, lyrical, and hip hop. I wanted to improve in my competition dances, so I enrolled in a ballet school to get a stronger technique. I was immediately hooked! I loved ballet and wanted to focus on this style of dance. When I was ten years old, I devoted most of my training to ballet. I started doing YAGP competitions, summer intensives in New York, San Fransisco, Seattle, Calgary, and Salt Lake City, and I performed in ballet productions such as Nutcracker, Sleeping Beauty and Swan Lake. I quickly knew I wanted to turn my passion into a career!
Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
My biggest dream growing up as a childhood ballet student was to dance the lead role of Clara in The Nutcracker. When I turned 13, it was finally my turn to dance this coveted role. As I was about to perform my debut show at the Civic Theatre, I started having excruciating abdominal/back pain and was rushed to the ER. After two days consisting of many scans, blood testing and surgeries, it was determined I had ovarian cancer. To think that I was just 13 years old, my family was completely shocked. The next month of January 2016, I began what was going to be my most difficult journey yet. I underwent chemotherapy and had many lifesaving surgeries. The worst part of this was the fact that I couldn’t dance for more than six months; it was a very difficult and challenging time in my life as I was battling for my life and still trying to maintain what I had trained my body to do for the past 11 years. You may not know, but it is so challenging taking time off of ballet training.
As a dancer, you must constantly be in the studios working on your craft. I had a huge setback in my career, as this was a pivotal year of growth and opportunities that I had missed while battling cancer. Once I was back in the studios, it was truly challenging mentally and physically. I had to walk back into ballet with no hair, deal with anxiety, and understand that I had a weak body that had completely lost all of my dance ability. It took a lot of patience getting back to where I had left off, but that drive to get strong made my passion grow stronger. I had just won a battle against cancer, so I knew I could do anything I put my mind to. That’s exactly what I did! With the grace of God watching over me giving me strength, I am happy to report I have been NED “no evidence of disease” for four years. My strong faith, family, and passion for the art form of dance helped me get through it! I’m beyond blessed to share my story as a survivor today!
What do you do, what do you specialize in, what are you known for, etc. What are you most proud of? What sets you apart from others?
At 17, I’m now a senior in high school at Classical Academy On-Line. I recently moved to Salt Lake City to pursue ballet full-time and pursue my dream of becoming a professional ballerina and dancer. I’m in the Professional Training Division at Ballet West, which is the highest division for a student my age. I train 4-6 hours a day for six days a week. I hope to get a company spot in the near future and continue exploring dance professionally. I have already performed in Ballet West ll’s “Snow White” and will be performing in Ballet West’s 75th anniversary of the “Nutcracker” this holiday season. I can’t wait!
Do you have a lesson or advice you’d like to share with young women just starting out?
The most important piece of advice I could give to a young woman just starting her career would be to follow your heart. When I was battling cancer, I could have given up and started something new. But, my heart’s desire was to be a professional ballerina. I knew that it would take hours of blood, sweat, and tears to get back to where I was, but with lots of hard work, I was able to achieve my goals. If you have a passion for something, just do it and make your dreams a reality!
Contact Info:
- Instagram: caitlynballet123
- Facebook: Caitlyn Feddock
Image Credit:
Thomas Photography, Deborah Brown Photography, Joshua Whitehead Photography
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