Kathryn McCormick wasn't always my favorite dancer on the show, but she was one of my favorite dancers to talk to. Her performance coaches would be proud of the way she has mastered the art of eye contact. She mirrors the person she is talking to, smiling when they smile, laughing when they laugh. She talked to each reporter individually and connected with each of them on a unique but consistent interpersonal level.

I believe that was her skill on the show, too; For every time Jakob looked bashfully at the floor or Russell looked excitedly towards the heavens, she looked piercingly into the camera like a vampire. "You will pick up the phone. You will vote for me."

I asked Kathryn about the tools of performance - character building, building a routine, and whether it's better to go first or last. She also told me about her Southern holiday plans.

First or last?

I've gone all over. First, last, middle, almost last. I've been all over the board. I don't think it really matters which place you go. Ending the show is an amazing feeling, but it's nice to open the show also. So either way. Any way you go.

[Laughs] The choreographers were just saying, "Okay. Try this, try this." And they were just throwing all of these random tricks at us. Russell went crazy and said, "Oh, let me try this. Put your leg up like this and try this and that." He was like, [Lots of swagger] "I can krump with her on my shoulders!" I was terrified, because I was like, "No, you can't. No you can't!"

And he was like, "You can so!" And I was like, "Okay. I will. I guess I can."

[Nods]

I have never really done any musical theater. I was in a production company growing up and we did a couple of theater productions, but I've never really.

I just try to tap into a real place and think, "Okay, if this were the storyline and this was the situation how would I act?"

I'm going back to Augusta, Georgia to be with my family. We're going to have a blast over Christmas and I can't wait to see everybody.