EricaShadows

I think Show Group is normally around 16. I don't know why Kelli allowed it (except to show off Victoria) because she doesn't normally do that. There was one other time that Kelli did so. Normally, Show Group rookies perform for the first time at Friends and Family night. If Show Group is needed before the team is officially announced, it is the veterans who perform.

I fully expect Kat to audition again for a veteran spot and get cut at Finals. When (if) she does, look for that pissed-off "Oh no, you did NOT just cut one of your best performers" (in her mind) look. Methinks she's gotten a little arrogant after making it on the squad when she shouldn't have. I would be MORE surprised if she made it back on the squad rather than if she was a one-and-done.

It will likely be at the end-of-year banquet and it's almost a given that Victoria will get ROTY. Any other girl will be a slap in the face to Victoria, Tina and Kelli and will likely not be tolerated, even if that girl gets EVERY vote but Victoria's and Kelli's. Judy will likely be forced into giving hers to Victoria. If I remember correctly, the rumor was that Judy was never sold on Victoria but pressured into always choosing her/siding with her because of the Cassie situation. Didn't someone say that Kelli and Judy also get a vote/have veto power? However, I'm agreeing with you here in that, even if the girls choose someone else (and it will likely be a near-unanimous vote for anyone BUT Victoria if Kelli doesn't force them into choosing Victoria), Kelli will likely choose to exercise the veto power and make Victoria ROTY. If she does, the optics will be VERY bad, but that hasn't stopped her in the past. I, for one, would love to hear if that happens and who the top vote-getters were. As previously mentioned, I also wouldn't be surprised if Kelli forces the girls to choose Victoria so she can say that Victoria's teammates absolutely adore her, that she's SUCH a good teammate, and all sorts of other things as a way to slink around the bad optics of her overriding the votes and just giving it to Victoria. Me too. Obviously. :P

The majority of last year's rookies can leave and I wouldn't miss them at all. I think only Chandi, Amanda and Kelcey should stay but we all know that Victoria will be staying until she can no longer dance or has a career-ending injury (which I would not wish on anyone, even her). I didn't think that. It seemed to me that Kelli was dead set on keeping Victoria through to the bitter end and had planned on putting her on the squad despite everything Victoria had done. Why she cut Victoria on what SHOULD have been the last night of Training Camp with two cuts still to make, I don't know. Given that it was the last night of Training Camp and Kelli still hadn't made the last four cuts that she knew she needed to makes me lend credence to the theory that Kelli had petitioned Charlotte to expand the team to 40 and had only heard that day/afternoon that the squad had to be at 36. Given that Victoria was number 39 means that Kelli knew she didn't have enough other girls to cut to keep Victoria on the squad that year as the majority of the other girls were too strong. The only retirement announcement I'm interested in is Victoria's and we know that it's not going to happen this year or for the foreseeable future.

If I remember correctly, Shelby seemed to expect that, when she told Kelli that she quit, Kelli would then offer to "help" her get another one and seemed shocked that Kelli didn't say a word about doing so. I think I remember Shelby almost eyeing Kelli hopefully, almost expectantly waiting to hear that Kelli would help her get a job. From what I saw on the show (and in her social media), Shelby seemed to expect a spot on the squad she was pretty. Am I wrong in thinking she was bitter af about being cut?

I like the fact that they're highlighting people OTHER than Victoria AND that these are girls who we haven't seen in other DCC In Motion videos. At least, for the most part. I love that Brennan, Chandi, Alexis, Savannah and Daphne are all there, though Savannah isn't my favorite person on the squad. Of this group, only Savannah is not on my favorites list. She draws my eyes for all the wrong reasons. The others are PDG (pretty d*mn good). However, I'll be watching for another one of these videos that either stars Victoria in another solo performance or with her in another small group that highlights/features her because she (and her mum) can't stand when other girls take the spotlight and don't give Victoria her chance to shine. *hork*

If I remember correctly, Victoria gained weight (at least 11 pounds though it could have been as much as 15) during her first Training Camp. She was supposed to work with Jinelle to help manage and/or lose said weight. During that time, Victoria claimed to have a medical condition related to her thyroid that made her gain weight. Jinelle supposedly made an appointment with someone (possibly a nutritionist and/or dietician) to work on the weight. Victoria evidently blew off the appointment and lied to Jinelle about it multiple times via text. Victoria has also claimed on social media that she has a thyroid condition and that she didn't like the way the medicine made her feel. However, she also said that the nutritionist prescribed her that medication which is, as far as I know, not possible since nutritionists aren't allowed to prescribe medication because they aren't allowed to do due to they aren't licensed for that. Neither are dieticians.

Um, that isn't a dream. It's a nightmare and one that I've had a few times. The only other thing I had added was that it was the only calendar available other than the sideline calendar

I had my black-eyed peas, cornbread and fried okra for dinner. Have it every year just like we did in the South, though I live in the North now.

Wait, what? I knew about Bridget, but do we know for certain that 5 people have confirmed they are retiring? I know about Heather and Amy and it's all but confirmed that Lexie is, but I thought there were only rumors about the others. Who are the 5 confirmed to be leaving?

I don't like the fact that Victoria gets to be in a THIRD video when others (especially many of the veterans) haven't been in ANY videos. The fact that she's the only other girl to get a solo video makes it even more obvious that they're favoring her over many of the other girls on the squad. I wouldn't mind it so much if she had actual talent above and beyond the other girls and was approaching Gina and Holly P. level of dancing (heck, even the level of Amanda and the second year vets), but she doesn't get height on her leaps and jumps, she's not clean, she doesn't quite finish her lines and extensions, and doesn't have grace or elegance in her dancing. Frankly, go to any high school (and some colleges) and you'll find thousands of girls like her. Go to other colleges or other dance hot-spots and you'll find girls who put her to shame. In fact, all they had to do was show the unedited tapes of semi-finals and it would have been obvious that she was out-danced and out-performed by a LOT of the girls there, enough that she shouldn't have made it out of the second round of auditions.

If I said what I thought about the "War of the Insiders", I'd be in TROUBLE, so I'm keeping my mouth shut on it. I'm more interested to know what TPTB are saying about Victoria's mistakes, ones I don't remember her making while in Gina's spot. Her timing, her falling off balance, and her coming up early SHOULDN'T have happened when she's been performing that same routine for months now. Yes, she was in a new spot, but, if she's as good as Kelli and Tina are telling us she is, that shouldn't have phased her and she would have been perfect with just a few rehearsals on the day of and that's if Kelli and Judy waited until the absolute last moment to finalize the formations. I doubt they would have and likely would have been thinking about the NEXT game as soon as the Thanksgiving Day game was over. I wouldn't be surprised if they ran rehearsals for the new spots as soon as the next practice. I wonder who the blonde is who was reacting to Victoria's mistakes. We've already got The Other Shelley and Judy. Any other guesses because I'm all out.

While I'm all for raising awareness towards how society (via media and other avenues) views the "ideal" woman's body vs. how a woman views her own body and all forms of body image issues that come up (eating disorders, body dysmorphia, and the pressure to be thin (often thinner than is healthy for that specific individual), I just think it's highly ironic that THIS is the cause Victoria chose to champion when she has issues telling the truth about her own weight struggles and their causes (which doesn't seem to reflect the very things she's talking about). HOWEVER, despite my well-known antipathy towards Victoria, I do appreciate that she's bringing attention to the situation and that there's not only the outside pressure to be thin, but that there's often a mental-health aspect to it. The hypocrisy of the situation is stunning. Unless Kelli and Judy and their entire leadership team is ready to STOP telling girls they are too heavy for the uniform (which is already small and just seems to get smaller) and that two girls with VASTLY different body types must weight the same because they're the same height and TRULY focus on nutrition, diet, and fitness as well as making sure the girls are the right weight for their height and body type, then I'm not going to believe the leadership is truly behind the cause. However, I do appreciate that SOMEONE is bringing attention to the cause and possible causes even if I doubt her honesty and actions. I can't even say that her cause is entirely all about her because she probably knows people (and not even the someone on the team) that has had issues with body image and how it relates to the media and/or mental health issues. I don't know if it's ENTIRELY about herself, though the fact that her weight and the double standards from last season probably factored into it. However, despite the many "causes" or "explanations" she gives for her OWN weight troubles (none of which seem to be due to her own choices), I do applaud that she chose the cause. See above. I don't see Kelli and Co. actually DOING anything about their own expectations for the girls because they don't see anything wrong with how they treat the girls in terms of their weight, health (mental or physical), or anything else. The girls are all interchangeable (except for Victoria) and if one succumbs to an issue just get another one to take her place. If we saw some long-term, realistic and sustainable change from the leadership team about how they push the girls (and, if what we've heard is true, actually pushing them into eating disorders and other unhealthy habits), THEN I'll believe that they actually learned something, but I doubt it. No, the girls didn't make it about them, they made it about something that impacted someone close to them which is different. Some people would call that semantics, but I don't. Victoria is the ONLY one who chose something that has directly impacted HER. Even Bridget, with the animal cruelty, chose something that impacted another living being who then touched her life. However, I do applaud her for choosing something that impacts SO many people, both men and women, and bring awareness to the harm that it can do to people. Some people may say that this board has had some impact on the health and wellness of these young women, but who has a bigger impact on them? Kelli, Judy, Kitty and the whole leadership team who hold these girls to nearly unrealistic expectations of weight and body image FAR beyond whatever we could do. Kelli's push to make girls at 22/23 stay the same weight they were at 18 is ridiculous. What's also ridiculous is her insistence that girls with vastly different body shapes (which she often talks about in uniform fittings) must be the same weight as other girls on the team who are her height. If even I, who can only fall back on high school and college biology, anatomy/physiology, and nutrition classes from years ago (and Kelli is even further away from those classes then I unless she either self-studies or consults with medical personnel) can see the problems with that while Kelli can't (or won't), then she is willfully blind to the damage she's creating with these girls. She did take a lot of heat on social media and, no, Kelli did not cause that. Victoria did. Victoria was supposedly groomed for this her entire life, knew the so-called standards she would be held to and ignored them by either stuffing her face or ignoring what the doctors (either medical or nutritionists) told her to do. Even if she claims she didn't like what the thyroid medicine did to her (and yes, she admitted to that), then she should have gone to her primary care doctor (as nutritionists and/or dieticians can't prescribe medicines as far as I know) and gotten a referral to someone who could help her get the right medicine in the right dosage over a period of time. Kelli tried to help her as much as she could, albeit in the wrong way, and tried to support her. However, Kelli is also the one who is the ringleader for the unhealthy, unrealistic standards for weight she imposes on the girls. I don't wish any of the body issues and disorders on any of the girls. That is some scary stuff and can cause all sorts of problems. It's also a lot of hard work to overcome and will likely be with them their entire lives if they have to deal with it. I hope that, if ANY of the girls have such issues, that they go to a reputable, reliable person who can help them work through the root causes, help them get away from some of the pressures that can trigger some of the episodes, and frankly, just get away from the DCC. See above. We've heard too many horror stories about the pressure placed on the girls to stay thin no matter how they get that way. Proper diet and nutrition? Plenty of sleep? Plenty of water? Hah! None of that matters. We've heard of girls starving themselves, doing certain drugs, and ridiculous diets to lose pounds they didn't have to lose just because Kelli thinks they look too soft when they're not. Victoria should have remained in her assigned spot (maybe even moved up a row) and move the veterans around to fill in spots. Instead, she gets not one, but two prime spots because of who she knows, not what she can do. I totally agree. Victoria's cause is the only one that she has personally experienced to some degree while the causes the others have championed happened to others and impacts them second-hand. It can certainly read as selfish, but I do really appreciate her choice and the attention it will bring. This is one time that her notoriety, and the scrutiny she's under, will actually do someone other than herself some good because it will bring attention to a worthwhile cause. It might cause someone to actually admit the truth to themselves and to not only get the help they need, but put the work in to make things better for themselves. See above. See above.

Sheesh. I step away for a moment (life and all that sort of stuff) and all heck breaks loose. I would have LOVED to jump in and say some things, but won't because a) mods have declared a cease-and-desist on the discussion; b) I don't want to get in trouble for starting everything up again; and c) even if I didn't get in trouble for continuing the discussion, there is a distinct possibility I could have gotten in trouble for some of the things I WOULD have said, so maybe it was a good thing I came late to the party. As for the causes we've see the girls choose for the "My Cause, My Boots" this year, so far I'm impressed. I'm just waiting to see what Victoria's chosen. I'm also waiting to see how well these girls can represent themselves and the causes.

The way I remember hearing it was when Cassie had mono, Kelli and Judy made every excuse in the book for her poor dancing due to mono and people called them out for it, especially after K & J essentially told Melissa mono wasn’t a good enough excuse for poor dancing. I think Melissa actually confirmed they apologized. This was back when Kelli actually cared about her reputation and that of the DCC. I still think she wouldn’t have apologized if she hadn’t been called out by the public about it.