By LYNETTE ZILIO

Katie Ann Martinez, 14, jumps across the stage as part of her Punteo pointe routine at the Headliners national dance competition in New Jersey.
Katie Ann Martinez had six-pack abs when she was 4. She was so toned that her dance teachers were convinced her mom made her lift weights.

“I don’t think she ever had baby fat,” said Patricia Penenori, Katie’s ballet teacher and the owner of Patricia Penenori Dance Center, 6840 Bird Road.

Katie did not lift weights, but she quickly developed the strength needed to be a good dancer.

The 14-year-old graduate of St. Theresa Catholic School in Coral Gables and soon-to-be freshman at New World School of the Arts in downtown Miami was named the 2009 teen dancer of the year at a national competition this summer in New Jersey.

It was Katie’s third national competition in three years but the first time she won the coveted top spot in the title division.

“At first, I couldn’t believe I won because I never thought they’d call my name,” Katie said.

Her Spanish contemporary pointe piece, Punteo, won her the top prize and has carried her far in this year’s regional competitions. She had been practicing the routine with her choreographer, Penenori, since last summer.

“She’s a go-getter,” Penenori said. “You give her something and you know she’s going to do it. Her work ethic is fabulous for a girl that young.”

Katie has been dancing with Penenori for the past 10 years, taking weekly ballet classes and participating in private coaching.
“I love working with her,” she said. “To me the hours go by.”

After winning first place in the title division at three regional competitions earlier this year, Katie competed nationally at the Headliners competition in New Jersey.

There, she beat 11 competitors to win the title division, earning a trophy, crown and $500.

She and five other dancers were also selected to be represented by McDonald Selznick Associates, a talent agency that represents choreographers and dancers.

Katie’s mother, Ana Martinez, and her daughter danced around the house all the time when she was little. Today, she spends 12 hours a week dancing.

“Her talent came from God,” Martinez said. “He didn’t bless me or my husband with dance talent.”

When Katie turns 18, she has plans to try out for So You Think You Can Dance, the popular Fox reality show. Her family and Season Five’s winner, Jeanine Mason, are close.

“Katie gets her passion for dance from Jeanine,” Martinez said.
lzilio@MiamiHerald.com