"So You Think You Can Dance" finalist Caitlin Kinney returns to the Charlotte stage next week as part of North Carolina Dance Theatre's Rising Stars Benefit Concert.

Caitlin Kinney, a former student and member of NC Dance Theatre 2, will perform two solos, including her audition piece for "So You Think You Can Dance." Her placement in the top 12 gave her the exposure she needed to launch her professional dance career in Los Angeles, where she performed recently in the "Academy Awards" show.

Kinney, originally from Maryland, is an accomplished gymnast and ballet dancer who apprenticed for two years with North Carolina Dance Theatre. For her debut on "SYTYCD," she must have winced to find herself dancing a Bollywood routine with Jason Glover, a tapper and hip hop dancer. Still, Nigel Lythgoe praised Kinney's expressiveness: “You brought it tonight. It was beautiful to see. From the moment he touched you, and you breathed, I knew this was going to be something special.” The judges noted Kinney's remarkable gymnastic ability, sustaining a handstand in an inverted second position grand plié, and then extending her legs in perfect balance before landing.

The judges didn’t mention Kinney's lovely ballet lines in the first slow, sustained lift, before the “Jai Ho” beat cranked up. It was a taste, if only a brief one, of what the judges had seen in her during the auditions--the clean classical technique she had learned at North Carolina Dance Theatre. The audience knew if she could master Bollywood in a few short rehearsals, she could do it all. "Well, maybe not hip hop," she jokes. Watch a video of Kinney in a contemporary ballet pas de deux, below.

I asked Kinney about her years at NCDT, her experiences on the show, and where her career has taken her.

How did your training at NCDT contribute to your dancing career?

When I came to NCDT I was fresh out of high school, excited, but clueless with only three years of classical ballet training under my belt and no professional experience to speak of. I was a baby!

I remember after my very first class, Mark Diamond came up to me and said, "Sit in a butterfly for me. OK so you have turnout. Why did I not see it once during class?" I was terrified! I soon came to realize that his toughness on me that first year was because he believed in me, and I improved in those first few months more that I ever could have imagined!

I really fell in love with dance in a whole new way there. I never felt that they were trying to mold us into perfectly-trained technical "cookie cutter" dancers, rather taking that technique and training and learning how to become an individual artist. I was so new to ballet that I'm not sure I realized at the time what a gift I had been given to be able to watch and eventually actually dance with those gods and goddess, as I saw them back then (and still do). I learned so much by watching them. They are artists and amazing role models. Jean-Pierre [Bonnefoux] and Patty [McBride] have created an amazing place. NCDT was/is like a family to me and I grew so much not only as a dancer, but as a person while I was there. I am forever grateful for all of their faith in me--it has given me so much confidence moving forward with my career, wherever it takes me next!

How did "SYTYCD" affect your dancing career?

"SYTYCD" of course had a pretty huge impact on my career. I got very, very lucky and was given a chance to be seen by a lot of people in a short amount of time--something that is invaluable to any dancer--there are so many of us out there and not enough jobs! So I look at it as a great spring board into the commercial dance world. It forced me out of my comfort zone in so many ways. I mean, once I had been an alien on national TV, there's little that scares me at auditions now. Well, except hip hop, of course!

What have you been doing since the show?

Since the show and tour wrapped, I've officially moved to LA and have been trying to get a new life started out here. My first job was dancing at the Oscars, which will forever be one of the highlights of my life--it was surreal!! I also danced at the TV land awards and have done quite a few charity shows, Dance for Change, Art for Life. . . . I've been auditioning like crazy and teaching on the weekends and of course enjoying the LA weather!

What are you planning to dance for the Rising Stars Benefit?

I will be doing a solo called "Winter Song." It was actually the solo I auditioned for the show with. And one other new piece which is a surprise. I couldn't be more excited (and actually really nervous) to go back and dance with my NCDT family again!

See Kinney dance with NCDT's best young talent as part of the Rising Stars Benefit Concert next Thursday, June 3, 7:30 pm at the Booth Playhouse of the Blumenthal Performing Arts Center. The theater is located at 130 North Tryon Street in Charlotte.

VIP tickets are $50/adult or $25/child and include premium performance seating and a champagne and dessert reception hosted by artistic leaders Patricia McBride and Jean-Pierre Bonnefoux. Don’t miss this exciting opportunity to meet Kinney in person. The reception is in the Booth Playhouse lobby at 6:15 before the show.

Reserved tickets are $15 for the performance only. Purchase tickets for VIP or reserved seating tickets online, or call the box office at 704-372-1000.