SanDiegoGal

Did Rachel W. offer an apology for her costume? I must confess that I only pay attention to DCC in auditions/performances, so I don't know anything about this incident. I would be inclined to be more forgiving to someone who acknowledged that their actions hurt others and apologized, but again, I admit that I'm uniformed on the incident. Also, I would like to formally apologize for the incident in which I dressed up in Michael Jackson's Thriller costume for Halloween 27 years ago. I did not alter my skin tone, so I doubt that I offended anyone by attempting to LOOK like Michael Jackson, but I'm certain that I offended everyone who saw me attempt to DANCE like Michael Jackson. That was surely a sight that needed to be unseen.

Belated Introduction Post Hello Primetimers, I've posted on this forum in years past, but only been a reader/lurker throughout last season. But in the past week, I've been posting rather frequently, so I figured that I should introduce myself. I'm from San Diego, California (you probably figured that out). I work full-time as a ghostwriter (yes, that means I write content that is published under other people's names). I have watched MTT since season 1. My current favorite cheerleaders to watch are Caroline, Ashlee, Jalyn, and Chandi. My retired favorites (from recent seasons) are Lacey and Heather. My opinions are based entirely on an untrained eye with absolutely no credibility or validity outside of my personal preference. I also have no insider information and I wouldn't recognize any of the rookies if they were sitting in my living room watching the show with me. I look forward to sharing my baseless, evidence-free opinions with you throughout this season's training camp.

Amanda's next gig could be a Price is Right Showcase Showdown model and she'd still have more to offer the candidates as a mentor than Melissa. IMO.

With Amanda and Daphne leaving the team (in addition to the already-announced retirements and Victoria's departure), could this possibly be the year that JALYN finally gets a chance to shine? In her rookie year, she was one of my favorites along with Ashlee. I've always felt that something was awry the next year when Kelli booted her from Show Group. Whether or not the Victoria rumors are correct, it never felt quite right that Kelli suddenly turned cold on Jalyn. I don't expect to see her in the triangle, but I'd at least like to see her acknowledged as a quality dancer, back on Show Group, closer to the front of the triangle, and a 2nd GL.

I think you're right. Perhaps... Rachel W. is the vet who retired for vaccine reasons. Amanda is the vet who retired for "other" reasons. Injury? Unexpected life event? A Hollywood casting agent called?

If I made it to DCC Finals and then Training Camp, my social media would be on so tight of a lock down that the Pentagon would be calling me for advice. I would never risk being cut for posting something that could be construed as a "leak." Thanks for sharing. I've been very hard on Victoria in past seasons and I believe that her behavior merited criticism. With that said, I wish no hardship on any other human being and I hope that she heals mentally, physically, spiritually, and emotionally.

Perfectly said! If I want to hear pro-/anti- vaccination debates, then there are 1,000 other shows I can watch. I want to watch DCC Making the Team. Give me dancing, bios on each candidate, and observations from the guest choreographers. Just my opinion, of course.

Just today, we have learned from our insiders: 4 TCs cut so far & 2 vets stepped away. That's 6 down. Based on the premise that 45-50 candidates were taken to finals and/or training camp, that leaves us 39-44 remaining candidates. And that leaves me with three questions: 1. Who are these remaining candidates? 2. Who might we see at point and in the triangle (if Rachel W. is out)? 3. How many episodes will it take for us to get to the 4 TCs and 2 vets being eliminated? It could all happen in the first couple of episodes or Kelli could milk it for half the season.

Thanks so much for sharing this photo! I'm sad to say that this photo exemplifies my complaint that I really don't *know* the rookies. I actually had to look, then re-look, and re-look once again, to identify each person. I couldn't even remember some of their names. In earlier seasons, I would have been able to provide a full biography on every rookie. That was when the show was about content rather than soundbites.

Sadly, I feel as though we haven't gotten to know the rookies for the past few years. When Victoria auditioned her first year, and then her comeback redemption year, the show was fixated on her at the expense of showing other rookies. (For the record, this isn't a hate-on-Victoria post, rather it's a criticism of the obsessive focus on her and the consequential minimization other candidates). After the narrative shifted away from Victoria, then we moved into Covid-19 and the bubble. I really miss getting to know the rookies. The last season that I actually remember getting to know rookies was when Jalyn and Ashlee were my favorite rookies.

I guess it's time for a stronger pair of reading glasses. There is no amount of magnification on that photo that allows me to count the chairs. So, I'll go with your 51. :-)

For some reason, Melissa's role on MTT has always struck me as the back-up prom date (the person who gets called when the dream date cancels). If Kelli doesn't get enough footage from the guests she wants featured on the show, she fills-in the gaps with Melissa.

I doubt that Victoria is pregnant. I don't know if she'll have a daughter in the future. But I would bet the farm that if/when Victoria's daughter and Cassie's daughter try-out for the team, Kelli will probably still be the director and will say, "This is the most talented group we've ever had."

Why am I not surprised? They could have addressed this growing concern by: 1. Keeping Gabby, who is a far more talented dancer than Kat. 2. Allowing women with real curves and natural ethnic hairstyles on the team. 3. Diversifying their coaching staff (oh yes, I went there!). But I guess Kelli was too busy trying to rewrite history and create a narrative favoring VK that she didn't have time to appropriately address the glaring lack of diversity.

Maybe she saw the Victoria Kalina Mascara Debacle of 2018 and conducted a pre-emptive strike by purchasing gallons of waterproof, sweat-proof, tear-proof cosmetics.

It's unlikely that K & J watch every second of footage taken by the CMT team, thus seeing f*#k-gate right after it occurred. Unless there are an extra three hours in Kelli's day that the rest of us don't have, then the countless hours of footage are cut way down before she ever sees any of it as Executive Producer. There are lower level producers whose job it is to sort through footage to find interesting clips that may warrant placement in the show. So, either 1) Kelli was told about f*#k-gate, or 2) Kelli was completely unaware of f*#k-gate, but cut Julia anyway, and then later saw the f*#k-gate footage. Hmm... I may have to devise a new conspiracy theory on this one.

How many MTT viewers watch the show in spite of MRS?

Every time that I see Caroline's hair this year, I swear that Kitty Carter was in charge of the makeovers.

But it's so much more fun to discuss K & J's judgement now, especially when there is such a plethora of highly questionable decisions.

Agreed! And that is why I am updating Conspiracy Theory #812 to #813... Conspiracy Theory #813 about the DCC: 1. Lisa and Julia do not get along since their time on the Mavs because not all girls on every team want to be each other's bridesmaids. 2. Lisa attaches her lips to VK's hind parts on the first day of training camp. She's a smart cookie, and she knows who holds the power on making the team. 3. Lisa casually drops falsified intel about Julia to VK. Something about Julia giving a weather report that a "beautiful storm" is about to turn ugly. 4. VK blabs to Haley Anderson (Charlotte's daughter) because they are besties who normally drink milkshakes together, but have to chit-chat endlessly to keep VK's mouth otherwise occupied until the team is announced. 5. Haley tells Mommy Charlotte about Cruella De Ville, er Julia. 6. Charlotte directs Kelli to cut Julia. Kelli is relieved because she just doesn't know who to cut, since "this year's candidates are the strongest group that we've ever had!" 7. Kelli looks for a credible mishap to cut Julia. She can't find one. Julia's dancing is superb. So she arranges for Person X to tell Julia how much Kelli loves hearing that the DCC has propelled young women into amazing career opportunities. Julia sets aside her IQ for the moment, decides to capitalize on that information in media training, and well... Julia gets axed. 8. The entire veteran DCC population goes to IHOP to commiserate with Julia because they love her and have no idea how this happened. They wonder if a milkshake is involved. 9. Lisa privately celebrates her victory. She's accomplished a lot. Advanced Calculus, Biomedical Engineering, and dancing next to Victoria Kalina without getting an elbow to the eye. 10. DCC fans around the globe shake their heads upon hearing Julia didn't make the team. Unable to see any logic in the decision, they declare, "There are no words." Version #814 coming soon to a DCC board near you...

If Kelli & co. expect that the DCC should be the ultimate capstone to a dancer's career, then they may as well just bring all subpar dancers into training camp. The really good ones do have ambitions beyond DCC, thus making DCC a stepping stone in their career trajectory.

Let's add to that list that Brennan was VK's boot buddy and did not lose her sanity or commit a felony crime. Definitely an amazing human being!

If we had the option to select a "gag me" icon, then your post would probably have the pink outline around it, not in response to you as a poster of course, but because 25+ posters would definitely feel nauseous in response to anything with Melissa the Mentor.

Great post. For me, the argument that nepotism doesn't exist because Victoria didn't make the team last year does not hold water because Kelli clearly would have given Victoria a spot if she thought that she could get away with it. Kelli gave Victoria way more slack last year than she would have given anyone else (i.e. - not cutting her immediately after she gained more than 10 pounds in TC). Kelli still would have given Victoria a spot on the team, even with the weight gain, but once Victoria's lying was exposed, then Kelli had no choice. In other words, she really wanted to put her pseudo-daughter on the crew team at USC, despite no rowing experience, but she was being filmed for a television show, so she couldn't get away with it.

Sadly, I almost forget that Chandi is in training camp (and she's one of my favorites). It's hard to remember her when she's never featured. I'd love a Gina/Caroline/Jalyn triangle, or better yet a Gina/Bridget/Jalyn triangle. I think that B & J can hold their own with Gina at the point. But sadly, I think Jalyn's future looks grim because she dared to offer helpful advice to the Goddess of Perfection. I'm going with both. I stand by my conspiracy theory with Charlotte and we all know that Kelli needs to pick a variety of Caucasian girl hair colors to bring "diversity" to the squad. Too bad Madeline didn't gain a ton of weight, lie about going to the doctor, and blame a 5-year-vet staff member. Then she could come back next year with a guaranteed spot on the team and SG!