Stee

Caroline, Amber seem like obvious choices for two Second GLs. Daphne, Rachel A, Cici, Ashlee are my guesses for the other two open slots. but what do I know, we’re not at the practices! We just make this up based on who we like and what gets posted on social media!

Count me as another #TeamKat. She’s gorgeous, has a personality (this is missing from half the squad), someone I’d want to hang out with, and seemingly a good/popular teammate. If someone is gonna be outdanced, I feel like I could name a handful of others instead.

50 girls and cutting to 36-38. That’s 8 more girls than they normally take. And they won’t meet these new 20 Rookies until they get to Training Camp! This is going to make this seasons DCC:MTT so much more interesting (less formulaic) and the Reality TV Drama lover in me hopes there are a couple of Vet cuts. If there are 20 strong Rookies and only 6-8 open spots, those Vets on the bubble better watch their backs!! (I’m looking at you, Meredith!)

Kat was also posting on her Instagram Stories, for what it's worth - I thought her posts were thoughtful, opening up a dialogue and saying people could reach out to her if they had questions (which I interpreted as potentially some of her DCC friends). I was also worried about the risk of speaking up and DCC auditions, but the struggle between silence/risk is exactly WHY she should speak up!

By no means am I a Madeline S superfan or anything, but I really thought she was GORGEOUS. And I often feel like looks plays equally as big of a role for Kelly as dancing does (I was going to list a bunch of examples here but the list is infinitely long).

I think this is pretty spot on except I would also add Caroline to the list of 2GL. She seems like she’s a shoo in for leadership and likely Point in the future.

I’m neither here or there on a returning EOE player coming back and winning but I found it annoying when Rob said that Natalie had to play “the perfect game” and take out Tony with the fire making challenge in order to earn the win. It was awesome when Chris Underwood did it because it was flashy and really showed how hard he worked to earn the win, but I don’t think winning the final challenge and forfeiting your immunity necklace to go make fire is the only way to come back and win. If you come back from EOE, you’re back. And if you get to the end and you put up two foes to make fire against each other, that’s a pretty badass move too. Just didn’t work out for Natalie this time. Also, while I’m sad there was no reunion, I’m glad I don’t have to listen to Rob and Amber talk for the millionth time about how Survivor changed their lives. Ultimately in this season, there were other contestants with more compelling narratives but I’m sure Rob would still have taken the most air out of the room.

Both of these comments ring so true. I think Just Sam is missing out from that live audience energy, and would be one who would shine and feed off of performing (and transforming) live in front of a studio audience. She STUNNED ME in Hawaii when she had help with hair, makeup, wardrobe - I saw a true star in that moment, but haven’t felt that with anyone since they’ve been signing at home. For me that was one of the breakout moments of the season. Her rags to riches story would really shine through on live TV with screaming fans. Whereas I think someone like Jonny probably benefits from playing at home and hearing the subtle nuances of his voice. Ultimately I’m happy that they decided to continue with this season for the sake of the contestants and I do feel much closer personally to all of their stories, but I'm missing those star power moments like Carrie Underwoods Alone or Fantasias Summertime like you mentioned. Also I’m confused: how is next week the finale if we are only voting them into the top 5?

Interesting to hear about auditions and possibly some of TCC moving online by “virtual practices” Making The Team is by favorite TV show but it has become a bit formulaic and stale in its 14 seasons. The new roster of rookies keeps things entertaining, but everything else is paint by numbers. Maybe this new way of working will shake things up a bit, show us more of the behind the scenes, give different insight to the process or just change it completely. Obviously it’s a weird time in the world, and definitely not an ideal situation but I’m happy to hear they are hoping to continue with the show and maybe something interesting will come out of it.

Considering how much of a girl crush Kelli has on Meredith and how “gorgeous” they kept saying she is, they certainly don’t feature her on the DCC Instagram.

The biggest and weirdest distraction to me is where they choose to film these #DCCinMotion videos. Like, WHY the elevator lobby of this building? It seems weird (and gross!) to be dancing barefoot on this marble floor, and the actual architecture itself isn't even pretty. In the earlier videos, at least there was a pretty view and sunlight streaming in, but this time they are dancing barefoot (in basic warm up gear, no less) inside a Bank of America public waiting area. In previous seasons, their outfits would be an "Airport DON’T" If they are trying to showcase that these girls have talent in dance, they are doing them a disservice by having them dance in such odd locations. I understand they want to show off the billions of dollars they put into The Star™, but it would look better (and more legitimate) if they just stuck to the dance studio! PS- to the powers that be, if you're reading this, why not just have the girls perform their solos (or part of their solos) in the DCC training studio and post those instead? Showcase one dancer a week and you've got 36 weeks of content right there!

Just to defend Malena, maybe she just loves dancing? I’m sure a lot of these girls have spent their lives dancing and have made friends with former TCCs so maybe this is just social for her. I got the feeling from last season that her DCC dreams were done, but that doesn’t mean she can’t still take classes for fun.

I must admit, I noticed the "Me Too" background song for Taylor, but I also thought they did Malena dirty as well... when they played Sunflower by Post Malone, they used the following section: Crash at my place, baby, you're a wreck Thinkin' in a bad way, losin' your grip Screamin' at my face, baby, don't trip I could be reading too much into it, but I definitely noticed the "you're a wreck" while Malena danced in slow motion

Does everyone remember how Gina got DRAGGED on her rookie season because she was coming off as a "mean girl" and not taking the time to make friends or getting to know the other rookies on her team? And how Madeline Malloy was told to respect the seniority of her team mates, and her rank as a rookie? Seems like the same lessons could be applied to VK ... and yet, doesn't seem to apply for her. Again, not a VK hater here: just pointing out the double standard.

I know it’s still very early to speculate but based on all the info above, I’m curious to see who will be a group leader next year. Amy, Lexie, Heather are likely retiring. Who knows (and who cares) about Tess. Gina is injured but hopefully back. Alexis will probably stay? Caroline and possibly Ashlee seem like shoo-ins for second group leaders, based on how much they are featured. Daphne seems likely too, if she stays. Same with favorites Bridget and Amber. Not even going to consider VK as group leader in her second year, although I think they will highlight her ability to move around the triangle as an example of stepping up.

The irony about EarlyHairflipGate is that the TV Show taught us to notice these tiny mistakes. Kelli and Judy are the ones who ingrained the idea that an early hair flip, a late leg lift, an incorrect bodyroll, an outturned knee or pidgeon toes are reasons to be kicked off the team, or suspended from a game. Everybody makes mistakes: Victoria is just the latest of many girls who will mess up. But I think in this instance, TPTB also made a mistake moving her up to such a prominent position before she was ready. If they needed another leggy blonde, why not Daphne (A second year who was on showgroup twice!) or Erin? Or Cianna?

*VK messes up* Instagram Comments: "Who is the blonde who messed up in the front? This Message Board: "Oh wow, VK really screwed up!" Kelli and Charlotte: "Awwww, poor Victoria!!"

Early childhood lost phone case syndrome

It’s been 4 days and we don’t even have any formation reports, choreography insults, VK placement drama or speculation presented as truths! Is everyone already on thanksgiving break???

Taylor looks like a really pretty Lisa Kudrow there... or maybe I’ve been binge watching too much Friends lately?!

Miranda is a group leader and still not in the front rows. Love Ashlee and Caroline and I understand why Rachel made the front, but I feel like Group Leaders should definitely get prime spots in the Squad Photo. In general, I’m sad this season is over even if it wasn’t my favorite.. really looking forward to seeing next year and who steps up! Favorite rookies: Kat, Chandi and - surprisingly - Lily who had such a great couple of last episodes.

I watched Kat on the field anytime she was on screen, and she always looked strong, gave great facials and seemed to be *performing*. She may have struggled at first, but I think she’s become a much stronger performer as training camp has gone on. She is definitely not comparable to Meredith who hasn’t gotten better in any regard.. and I think Kat is about 50 times prettier.

“I have no words”

Lisa has only been shown as a strong “firecracker” performer so it is the biggest shock to see how none of the GL picked her. You think Lisa is a shoo-in whereas Kat seems struggling but the stickers reveal something different. And equally Meredith having the FEWEST stickers but still making it. Kelli isn’t lying when she says this is the hardest audition in entertainment - it’s so hard because you have no idea what they are looking for and the rules are subjective!

I know it’s technically her name, but I love that Jalyns Instagram username could also read as “Jalyn’s tough!” Cuz she is.