kalibean

Working in VK's favor is also her social media engagement and following for the show - she has a very, very invested fan base. If I remember correctly, she's in the top five for followers of cheerleaders on Instagram. I don't FB so no idea what impact that might have. If she's reasonably in shape, she'll be back on the squad if she wants to be there. That's the tricky thing...this is a marketing arm of the Dallas Cowboys, and the show's popularity really enhances the revenue. So the most popular "characters" on the show has more importance than if it was purely just a dance team.

I think with the popularity of VRBO and Air B&B, many go that route until they’ve made the squad officially, or if they decide to stay no matter what, then sign the lease. Or they stay with the host families, especially the young ones. There’s also a good amount of short term rentals in DFW, and a lot of corporate apartments in Plano and Frisco, where The Star is located. Valley Ranch had a zillion bland apartments serving the same purpose back in the day too.

Maybe she wanted to prove to herself that she could come back from the injury, strong as ever…knock out a great last year and now can call it good. The Alex Smith. lol.

I think Katy had a ton of credibility as someone who can help judge show group - sure, she might have had a bias towards Jinelle, but she also had really good information from being in the weeds of scheduling and the day to day in office stuff. Kitty is an awesome judge for dance and overall appearance, but Katy and Shelly both are going to know some of the things that might help decide one way or another if looks/dance ability are about the same between two candidates. I really like Angela, but short of the novelty of her being Australian, I think she was just an average DCC. Which is totally OKAY. Even an average DCC totally kills it in so many ways. But average isn't usually going to get you show group. You either need to have an outstanding personality, outstanding dance skills and preferably you'll have both. Or be a special flower with a large social media following, but that's neither here nor there.

That was the moment I was thinking of too - Angela might not be good at developing her own choreography or might not have had the money to hire it out. But if she’s killer in the DCC style, especially if she’s had good years as a DCC, should be weighted less IMO. They can’t be terrible, of course, but if Judy and Kelli can’t tell the difference between bad choreography and bad dancers then bless their hearts. Lol. It’s like, how many candidates have we seen earn a Barbie and get cut in training camp? Strong dance in the solo should indicate an ability to develop, but some can’t get there fast enough. And then you have Erin that worked hard and came back strong.

I think you have to be a tremendous standout to come into auditions without any prior knowledge. But I also don't think that the show hides that one bit - almost every season there's a bit about Judy, Charlotte and Kelli going through the profile sheets with head counts, etc. to make sure they don't "miss anyone." They also frequently make references to reputation. I can think of a handful of examples where they were surprised at someone's performance at auditions, as they were well known from the "dance community" but didn't perform up to that level. I think those people often get a pass into round two so they can be scrutinized closer. You also have to consider how vast the DCC network is - so many former DCC coach other teams, or are a friend of a friend. The dance community is a small world. Also, lots of people aren't great at freestyle, but do well at choreo...same goes for those who aren't great at a solo, but do a fantastic job at choreo in the final round. I think that's a question of resources - if you have the bucks and time, you can have choreography done for you for both freestyle and a solo, and there are a million prep classes too. In that way, I don't think it's different than most jobs - you can apply blindly and if you're an amazing candidate, you'll get noticed. But a reference will get you to the top of the stack that much faster.

Plus traveling to Europe (or anywhere internationally) right now can be a little tricky with having to have a negative test within X amount of hours of landing, etc. So while I know I would move heaven and earth to get to go, there might just be a certain number of people who can sign up for the risk of having a hard time getting back in as well. You've got to have a super flexible schedule right now for international travel. Or be able to fully WFH from anywhere. (And yay, good on Lily!)

I would assume because of her injury, Gina is in strong communication with a medical team, and hopefully being at a healthy weight is part of her treatment. Getting enough healthy nutrition is a big part of healing the same way not being too overweight would be. She reminds me of Kylie Shea, the ballerina, in that she can dip very low to the eye in her weight. So many excellent and amazing dancers are still underweight and causing permanent damage to their bodies while killing it on stage, and I sincerely hope this isn't the hope with Gina. The long term impact is probably not worth the short lived shine. I hesitate to put too many words or thoughts out there about it, because I honestly think any words from social media will do more harm than good. If she is struggling, she has doctors, managers and friends around here to hopefully give support if she needs it.

Seems more likely that she's taking a social media time out, and that the one with an underscore at the end is a spam/copycat account. There are also some fan accounts out there. I get that we're our own level of weird talking about these ladies we see on tv, but the spammers/spoofers truly are an odd bunch of folk.

I can't get over how pretty Ashley is - I hope she comes back and comes back STRONG! And congrats to her for graduating from FIU in late December too. All things looking up. https://www.instagram.com/p/CYABh3RFaCV/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link

I liked Kat too, but she was very, very slim and Kelli doesn't seem to prefer that figure in the shorts. As much as she picks on the gals who get weight warning, she tends to go for the dancers who are curvier and thicker (but still buff, mostly) for prime positions. Kashara, Rachel W, Jenn A, Maddie, etc. in recent years. And she was in awe of Dayton's figure in the uniform too.

I thought perhaps because the dress was so oversized on Kat, the cut outs might have shown some side boob or under boob particularly when she was sitting. The placement of the cut outs was odd. I love Judy's dress, personally. It's just a lovely ladies who lunch dress with an interesting collar configuration. That said, it's not like there's any consistency in dress code!

Oooh, great kicks!! And I am loving the size diversity I'm seeing in those pics...they look like they're having so much fun too.

Was this also part of the “I suspect it’s nutrition” side note that Kelli made to Judy? I loved the “some wine” at MFF tho, cracked me up. I know I’ve said this elsewhere but the early 20’s are tough as your metabolism changes and you’re navigating a full schedule and a social life and happy hours, etc. Most of us have been there! Even those that maintain weight still might slip in good nutrition, etc. 90% of weight is lost in the kitchen, and the gym is to make it all look good. I had a dietician tell me once that diet determines how you look with clothes on, and working out is for how you look with clothes off. Lol.

I think one of the biggest causes of weight gain for ANY of these ladies is figuring out how to manage a healthy diet on terrible schedules, plus booze. Especially in camp, they're likely working out more than usual, which makes them hungrier, and then you're making new friends and want to go to happy hour and restaurants and allll the fun things. DCC shorts plus alcohol bloat, I feel like it's less on weight than it is overall appearance in the shorts. Some hide it well (Paige) and some show every extra ounce (blonde Hannah) and it just super sucks. But the human body is kind of a jerk that way. I really wish they spent more time on the importance of meal prep for a busy schedule and great nutrition. There are so many good tools for this, and while we've gotten a few things about cooking lately, could be much better.

Excellent job maintaining engagement in the off season. Well done!

And like, drum sticks are tasty. I get where she's going with a fuller thigh and a smaller lower leg, but still. So tacky. Why does Kelli feel like she has to crack herself up at someone else's expense? It's gross. I remember that episode, and it's a really good dance note. MRS has a good one every once in a while! I can't think of the source, but I'm pretty sure I've read a handful of things about deep-seeded issues about how the curvier shape of many black and Latina women is a problem for dance squads like this, because it's a more "womanly" figure and goes to a sexy place quickly. It's been said the same for teenage girls being judged as women more quickly than they should be too, which I know happens for women of all shapes, sizes and races if they develop a large chest as a tween or early teen, etc. So I think that line of thought is garbage, of course, but some people have to be carried along into this century where girls are girls no matter their cup or hip size. So personally I think there's some body diversity that Kelly hadn't come to terms with back then, but maybe she's getting better about it when you see women like Sydney on the squad, or Kristin with a fuller hip and thigh. Which is weird, because I think Kelli herself has a preference for the women who flirt with weight warnings like Kashara or Jenn Am, that have the "plusher" but still skinny figure. Versus someone who is very lean, non existent booty, etc.

Disclaimer that I haven't listened to the podcast, but based on the many other times Vivian has been featured on media about the DCC: I have a lot of empathy for Vivian, because I've lost and gained the same 50 pounds at least a dozen times in my life...it's very, very easy to get fully self absorbed in your appearance. It's hard to shake it, and I'm aware of how I look most of the time. And that's with being much older and years of therapy under my belt. But FOR THE LOVE, she did not hear a damn thing TPTB told her about her performance that wasn't about her look. And I see where it was easy to focus there, because then she wouldn't have to focus on personality issues or dance style. Her first year there was just as much talk about her dancing and memory as there was her figure. And then her second year, her figure was CRAZY AMAZING but she had completely bought into her popularity and couldn't take her eyes away from the mirror. And by then I think her head wasn't on straight either, in a way more obvious way than the first year. I still have to fast forward through "lucid dreams" on any repeat watching. Was Kelly an asshole? Absolutely. The drumstick comment was not okay in any shape or fashion. That would have been enough for me to walk away from the organization entirely when I watched the episode air. But I think for Vivian's own health, she's got to let this go. It's been 10 years, maybe longer?

I have a few friends that do part time CPA work, so mayyyyybe could still swing it depending on what type accounting work she ends up doing. It's such a broad area! Two of my part timers seem to have normal time on evenings and weekends, but others are totally gone four months a year. Probably a million times easier to just decline SG but volunteer for a ton of appearances to stay in good favor.

I don't think any of these three more recent rookies were slam dunks, though. Victoria was the closest, but shot herself in the foot with weight gain, clunkiness and personality. Dayton has technical skills, but struggled with power pom, accountability and her personality didn't shine through IMO. Not everyone needs to be Kat (bc OMG) but she didn't show exceptional friendliness or approachability that would be needed for appearances. MS also struggled with power pom. I think any of the three would have been fine on the squad, but definitely fill a slot from 30-36 like the stragglers that end up on the team every year because TPTB like them for whatever reason.

1 - there were links in the forum to his TikTok/insta stories trying to drag up trouble and some of the other nonsense going on, maybe someone else can link or you can just search. He posted fake texts allegedly from Marissa talking trash about DCC, etc. Her personal social media accounts are 1000% less obnoxious now that they've broken up too, thankfully. 2 - Michelle's husband is active military, so I believe she just moved with him when he was stationed elsewhere. I believe they were in Hawaii for quite a while, tho maybe I'm mixing things up. She has a small child, so might be focused on SAHM.

I'm tickled pink for Lexie. She's another Nicole Bulcher for me...gorgeous, amazing for calendar, super sweet on appearances, and amazing all around despite not being point. Seems like a great candidate for Pro Bowl. I love Gina too, and I think both will be All-Stars next year if Lexie isn't starting a family.

Cersten Bradley - her Instagram bio says that she’s a fourth year medical student based in Las Vegas. So she’s getting close!

Lisa is bilingual and has a career in STEM, in addition to teaching dance and prioritizing her fitness. Her personal style may not be my cup of tea, but she checks a lot of boxes. She’s still recovering from surgery and is back to teaching dance classes, so she’s likely still in strong dancing shape or will get there by auditions. She seems like someone who sets a goal and busts her tail to achieve it, so as long as TPTB want her back and she still wants it, I think she’d be good to go. She reminds me a lot of a good friend who didn’t like having any idle time in her schedule https://www.instagram.com/tv/CXNHNfOIIqN/?utm_medium=copy_link

James on the Eagles is an absolute sweetheart too. I follow him on instagram and his smile shines so bright. YESSS about Erica and the Broncos uniforms! I don't mind the DCC ones, but I'm always glad when they get to do something a little different, like at Christmas. The light up ones for the show at The Star are super fun.