Grandma Moses

I miss the days when we had background stories instead of sob stories. Or that the "sob" stories weren't always about someone's death or addiction. Remember Abigail Klein, how she wanted to go to the prom even though it was held the same weekend as DCC auditions? She ended up doing both, though calling it an early night at the prom so she could brush up on football facts, and of course we all know she kicked azz at DCC auditions. She made sure she had a balanced life--that was the story. Ahh, the good ol' days! Speaking of rolling around on the floor during dances, is anyone else sick and tired of lyrical/contemporary? They're all doing the same damn moves which is so damned unmoving. @PicnicLife77 I agree re: Amber. I don't get her appeal either!

I am really disappointed that they cut Kylie. Not because I think she's ready, because she's not. But I think she can get there. She has a beautiful fresh look about her, a true natural beauty, and a great little figure. Just what the team desperately needs right now. Why couldn't they cut Megan or Jensen, neither of whom I could pick out in a crowd? Total blenders.

Her rookie year I predicted Lexie would be point and was the girl to watch. I don't know why she hasn't made point yet, but it has surprised me, her "always the bridesmaid, never the bride" status. I groaned when I saw Maddie featured in this episode. But I thought the message she shared with the girls about not making it the first try, and subsequent growth, was a strong one and an important message for them to hear. Kylie and Kelee are still my favorites this season so far. Can you imagine if Kylie had Lea's dancing strength? The girl would be unstoppable.

Cailey, oh my gosh, yes. My heart goes out to her. Class act. I hope she can gain some physical healing, maybe through a chiropractor or naturopath. She has so much going for her and I'd love to see her try out again. The shoulder to cry on is a new role for DCC MTT. Who is this person, Megan is her name? I adore the idea of the girls having someone compassionate to walk with them for a few minutes after getting cut. That's a great point regarding the mirrors in the rehearsal studio. Now that they're on the field, there's no need for Judy to say, "Ok, face the back," and realize half the girls don't know the routines. Regarding mental health, I've been meaning to comment on it this whole season. Especially with Kylie's visit with Kelli and Judy (that was last week, right?). I think anxiety has become a huge issue for these young women and I don't remember that being a thing at all to the girls back in 2005-2009. Maybe it's the CMT edit from those years, but I doubt it. I think this issue has become so much worse and I suspect the main reason is social media. So toxic. I'm a big Madeline S. fan, although I liked her better two years ago. She seemed more of an individual then, more herself. Now it's almost as if she wants it so bad, she has sacrificed some of that intelligent, independent mindset that complimented her drop dead gorgeousness. Now I get the feeling she's like, "Oh, the choreographer liked me!" and "Kelli and Judy know I really want this." Honey, they should want you. You're that good. ITA! And Prime Video was quick this past week. I'm just late to the game posting on this episode. So I'm mostly quoting others at this point! I noticed that too, not up to Kelli's usual standard of glamour. She looks a little less Dallas and a little more Fort Worth. Yes, bring on the makeovers, please! I want to see Lea's look match her dancing ability. She's growing on me each week.

Yeah, they all do. Who was it on this board that mentioned Caroline and said these ladies are starting to look like washed up housewives? LOL. Not only that, but these procedures make women all look the same. Can we please see what each of these women look like as individuals? It's taken me awhile to comment on this episode. Amazon doesn't upload the episodes until the following TUESDAY. I'm so glad they did a backstory on Kelee! I really like her. What a class act. She comes across as genuine rather than melodramatic, like some of these girls do with their sob stories. I was curious about Kelee before and wanting to know more; now I'm officially a fan. I love her look. Her dark skin is lovely! I like her figure, too. She's what the Commodores would have adoringly referred to as a Brick House ("lady's stacked, that's a fact, ain't holdin' nothing back"). Healthy and gorgeous!

If they do, TPTB had better be prepared to be open to a pro-life response. Plenty of people--CMT and Cowboys fans alike--are strongly opposed to killing unborn babies.

You know what I like about this season? They're actually showing the dances, almost in full. Such an improvement over those seasons where there all we got were over-edited 2 or 3 counts at a time, with those gosh awful "whoosh!" sound effects with a random kick or hair flip. Kylie is a cutie cutie! Fresh and adorable. She might need more punch in her dancing. But seriously, she could do Neutrogena commercials. I loved the interaction between Kleine and Natalie Woods Stanyer. They both have bubbly, funny personalities. Natalie seems generous and nurturing toward the girls she hosts. Oh my gosh, the look on Haley Anderson's face when the TCCs heading into the office were so excited to talk with Kelli and Judy. Haley's expression was like, "Uh huh..." Haley's whisper: "Kelli wants to see you in her office." AHHH! Ok, Ashlinn might be growing on me a bit. Her dancing in this episode was spot on. She's so much stronger than last year. Tori is really strong this year too. I wonder if the TCCs are going to be doing media training this season. I hope so. It's an important part of the job. Erin, oh dear. Struggle bus. I really liked Brittany Perry-Russell as a guest choreographer. I enjoyed her teaching style and was impressed with the feedback she gave to the girls and later about the girls during the meeting upstairs with Kelli and Judy. Christina's pretty. She has a soft, flowy look. Hope she can start getting the dances! Maybe it was the editing, but I didn't care for Marissa's facial expressions. She needs to soften that up. I like Kelee's look as well as her dancing. Strong and glamorous, very classic. I didn't disagree with any of those 4 cuts. Side note: Madisyn looks like a Nordic princess.

I get that, but then they didn't show much of the audition videos either. Whereas last year they seemed to show each girl's audition video, which was nice to see. This year, they skipped over much of that and it felt cheap and manufactured to me. A few people have mentioned Gina's weight. She's very lean but I think she looks good and strong. Armani looks to me like she has gained weight, and Jada too--although I think Jada was so lanky she can get away with it. You know who I'd like to learn more about? Kelee. She seems like a no-nonsense person, very down to earth. And from the short snippet they showed of her solo, a strong dancer as well. I'm not a huge Daphne fan, and in conversation she seems a little too polished and rehearsed, but I felt genuinely bad for her regarding her injury. I admit, it was really hard to watch! I kept thinking, any minute now, it'll be like Catherine O'Hara in Best in Show.

This new format really pisses me off. Instead of a whole episode on prelims, one on semi-finals, and one on finals, we get 5 minutes of each on episode 1. Part of the enjoyment of the show for me was the process: who gets past prelims, who makes it into training camp. I loved watching the girls at semifinals learn the routine on the spot and then have to perform it an hour later for the judges. It feels contrived and I feel robbed of the experience. What, they didn't have time to show prelims, semifinals, and finals, but they can do entire segments on Ashlinn's abusive high school boyfriend and "all the love" KayDianna has for herself? <eyeroll> I'll give KayDianna a pass, though, because I really like her look. Her eyes sparkle, her smile lights up the room, and I like the way she communicates on camera. I don't care for Ashlinn's look at all. Ok, Maddie has retired. Can we move on? SERIOUSLY. CMT could've done a quick flash clip of Maddie while Melissa asks Judy, "Now that Maddie has retired, who are you thinking of for point?" But no. More wasted time. Loved the 57-year-old twins. And the 64-year-old who could do the splits?! Brava. Even though the judge's showcase was a poor substitute for finals, I enjoyed seeing some of the girls' routines. The color of Ava's costume was gorgeous, and from what they showed, her solo looked breathtaking. Would've loved to see more of Dani's solo. She was my fave from S15. Claire is incredible. But we all know that. Loved Caroline's toe point and her overall technique. I really hope she gets point this year. Wished we could've seen more of Rebecca and Jordann's solos. And Lea's, so maybe we could see what all the fuss is about. Because I don't get her look. Speaking of looks, what's with the half up-half down Duggar hairdo? Is that really in style right now? I prefer Sweet Chandi over Sultry Chandi. I know the girl needed a little more pop to her. But if Sweet Chandi incorporated a bit of Sassy Chandi she'd be as big of a rock star as Jenna was. So good to see Madeline S. back in training camp! She looks beautiful as ever. Oh, and @HitItHarder..BAM--your handle made me laugh out loud. I love how we both have Kitty Carter usernames! Speaking of, I miss Kitty Carter. Where is she?

1. Abigail Klein 2. Jordan Coleman 3. Katy (Fink) Cherry 4. Natalie Woods 5. Jordyn Ketchum

Yep. "Tonight, on this week's episode of Maskerpiece Theatre..."

Caroline posted her full solo on Instagram. 😀 I would love to see more of these! She did a great job interpreting “Purple Rain,” and even from the rafters you can see her wonderful technique and toe point: https://www.instagram.com/tv/CJrDspIljj_/?igshid=y26027e2vsq

Somehow I missed this post. (Just getting caught up after the holidays!). I agree with a lot of what's in here. I think Jada is the new Mia. Once Jada gets a little pop in her style, there'll be no stopping her. It struck me immediately when she went over to a distressed Alora-Rose, encouraging her to breathe, making sure she was ok, that Jada is group leader material. You've got a born leader when someone in training camp can get out of whatever they're feeling and go be an encouragement to someone else who's in need. I wish they'd shown more of her solo this week! From the 3 seconds they showed us, it looked elegant and fluid.

Wrong. The Cowboys organization has always supported the military.

Yay, me too! I missed Kitty Carter's hilarious commentary and hope we get to hear more.