13-Year-Old Dancer’s Inspirational Message About Bullying on ‘SYTYCD’

On the season premiere of So You Think You Can Dance: The Next Generation, Ava Cota auditioned for a chance to join the Academy. At 13, Cota stands at 5-foot-10, far taller than the other dancers, who likely don’t break 5 feet. She explained, “Definitely being tall as a dancer makes a lot of things a lot more difficult than they would be if I was short.” Cota added, “I really want to show America that no matter what you look like, you can do anything if you put your mind to it and if you work hard.”

She gave a beautiful lyrical performance that impressed the judges. Jason Derulo called her “limitless.” While sharing the inspiration for the routine, Cota broke down into tears. She said, “I’ve been kicked off a team because I was too tall. And … I’ve been attacked a lot on social media. It’s hard because they were also saying that I was too thin. And they were saying that my mom wasn’t feeding me.”

The young dancer was selected to move forward on the show. After winning the slot, she said, “I think this really just shows people that I can do this. You know, I’m tall, I’m against the odds, but I can do this! Like, this is awesome.”

So You Think You Can Dance: The Next Generation airs Mondays at 8 p.m. on Fox.

Watch Dancing With the Stars crown the show’s first deaf winner:

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