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That hip hop class video with Maddie posted up thread (in the Addidas jacket) was the very first time I got a glimpse of all the "wow" folks have been talking about her all year. There were like 20 people dancing and I couldn't take my eyes off of her! On the show this season, I liked her because she seems sweet and genuine and I admire her work ethic, but I was not wowed by her looks or dancing. Maddie was one I felt earned her boots because she brought other things to the team besides looks. She did have low-ish kicks during training camp though--I just rewatched the episode where they learned the kick line and her left kick consistently was lower. This surprised me since she was a returning TCC. I'm happy to see that she's growing as a performer and that the DCC glam is rubbing off on her styling. I imagine confidence is a big factor in both regards. This seems like a case where the good girl wins, and I genuinely love that. I'm totally won over.

I'm a Packers girl at heart, but I kinda want the Cowboys to go to the Super Bowl just so we can see what the DCC get to do there (and how many of them get to do it)! That's a really cute video, and yes, Robin gets my award for being and looking like she's having (to quote Shag: The Movie) "the most fun." I agree, she'd make a great second leader and eventual group leader.

I just read the rest of the thread on Jenna's Instagram post about her leader ring. Hilariously, or sadly, Misty Duncan also commented a couple times, saying she wants the same kind of ring to commemorate their time (as group leaders, I presume). Girl was talking multiple sapphires and diamonds, and suggested that if they "all" go to the jeweler together, maybe they'll get a good deal. Insert my eye roll here. Just go buy yourself a fucking ring. No need to be cheap about it, and no need to get it en mass. Just my opinion. I found Sydney's comment nice though, saying congratulations to Jenna and the other leaders, she loves her own leader ring, and she's glad they have continued the new tradition.

I never found Sara attractive when I started watching the show back in the day. She was sweet about how she encouraged Evan to make the team, but I felt back then that she must be an amazing dancer because she didn't have the DCC look (to me). Anyway, this just confirms for me that the inside matches the outside, and that, yes, she's clinging pretty hard to her glory days in those boots. And for the record, I think Mary is far more beautiful than Sara, inside and out, and would look way more smoking than Sara without makeup too.

I like Danielle a lot--she's one of the three I voted for PBC, along with Jenna and Jessica--and I totally understand being hurt and upset about not getting PBC, but I really think social media shade about this, even in code, is tacky. That said, the emoji shade itself is clever and kind of funny. But, as such good friends, there's no good reason Danielle and Jasmine couldn't have had that exact same convo on the phone or via text. I, personally, would not want the world of social media, or more importantly my team mates, to think (know) that I think I'm better and more deserving than every single one of them, not just Jenn. It's one thing to be upset about Jenn getting PBC on top of pretty much every other honor in DCC Land. It's another thing to feel so sure that you are the most deserving member of the squad that you have no problem telling your "sisters" I'm better than you, I'm not happy for you, and I deserve these accolades more than any of y'all. Just not classy to me, and this makes me think Jenn, Jenna and Jessica are truer team players, which is something that I value highly and think is part of what getting voted as PBC is about. Other DCC may not be going over the top to congratulate Jenn publicly, and I'm sure that Jenna and Jessica in particular are feeling let down by the news, but they're not throwing shade. Danielle just lost some of her gorgeous girl next door sparkle for me. In my mind, I think that there are multiple cheerleaders every year who deserve to be chosen for Pro Bowl, so my habit has been that I don't think so much that people get robbed, just that only one can go and that person is really lucky to have the experience and the honor of being chosen by their team mates and the PTB. So, congrats to Jenn. That would be a great way to finish up a DCC career.

I'm sure that the organization or individuals within it who know the family personally have reached out or acted in other ways as well. This is the South, after all, and down here we make casseroles for folks we hardly know when tragedies or misfortunes strike. (The casserole is an example, of course, not the only way to reach out.) I'm sure this meant a lot to Michelle, and who knows, maybe in some realm, this little girl can hear the music and knows that people are praying for her and trying to lift up her and her family. Certainly, my thoughts go out to this child and to all the children in the world who are struggling for survival today in so many ways.

Maybe they only put 2-year+ vets up as eligible candidates? It definitely would be interesting to know how they weigh the votes--online vote, DCC, and Kelli and Judy. Surely they wouldn't hand this entirely over to the social media vote. I voted for Jessica, Danielle and Jenna, since I feel like PBC has been and should be a more senior vet. I'll be happy for whoever is chosen, but I agree that Orlando sounds way lame after Hawaii. As for the Cowboys Xmas party pics, I thought most everyone looked lovely. I thought Raylee's dress was very classy even though it was understated and could use a bit o' bling in the accessories department. Jessica was stunning, and she is so cute with her hot tall man. Mandy's dress looked more like a ballerina outfit than a cocktail dress. (I am a fan of hers, but not the dress, and often not the makeup, or what I sometimes think are her botox-arched eyebrows. I just think she's so pretty and talented that she doesn't need so much makeup and that she's too young to "need" botox.) Ally and Heather looked fabs in their sparkles--Heather sexied up her cute factor with that V neckline, and I think Ally is one of those ladies who gets prettier and prettier the better she learns how to do DCC-glam makeup and overall styling (Stephanie, Jinelle, and Jenn all fall in that category for me). I agree with others that Tasha looked pretty in her dress and makeup, but I thought her tan looked even more intense and ridiculous than usual. That picture looked like someone took a strange shade of brown pencil and colored only on her.

That really would be a shame if the Cowboys make it to the SB and 5 DCC get left off the field. I like the idea of rotating the rookies etc posted upthread. But if I had to guess at who would be among the 5 who wouldn't make the top 32 cut, I'd definitely say Kelsey, but I'd struggle to come up with others. Based on who was on the bubble near the end of TC, I'd think maybe Tess. She doesn't dance with the same pow as other DCC and has looked a little soft in some pics. I rooted for her in camp, and think she's gorgeous, and I hope she has stepped it up as she's made her way through her rookie season. In general, I think the non-Show Group rookies are really strong, especially Heather H, Cersten, Khalyn, and Heather O. That would be such a brutal choice for Kelli and Judy, a terrible experience for those not chosen, and possibly damaging to the team dynamics if the whole team really couldn't perform at the SB. The team definitely deserves to go to the Super Bowl this year, but anything goes during playoffs, so who knows? As for Pro Bowl, I could see Danielle or even Jessica getting PBC over Jenn if it's based on team vote. I imagine (with nothing concrete to rely on as evidence) that, even as the team may love and respect Jenn, some might get tired of her getting everything (2nd leader and lead-off at auditions in her 2nd year, tons of camera time on the show and media events, even the hottest month of the calendar when she's far from the hottest DCC, IMO) and being the prime spokeswoman so often. I kinda want Jenn to retire, not because I don't like her or think she's an amazing dancer, but because I want to see Erica or Jenna at point!

So, who all do we know is retiring this season?

I think that Holly appears to own her sexuality not only because of her flirty performance facials, but also because that young lady is seriously stacked for someone her age. She's only 19, I think, but she's got serious curves and a generous bust, and has toned up significantly since she entered camp as a rookie. She definitely appears to be comfortable in her own skin, which likely is a product of growing up dancing, where there is little modesty backstage, because her figure is so rockin', and because she clearly loves dancing and performing so much. That all reads as super sexy, along with her femme fatale red hair. But I'm not sure that owning her sexiness is quite the same as owning her sexuality. She's so young, and it's not really my business what her relationship to her sexuality is. I love Holly, and I for one think that she is a big team player. She's often been shown cheering her teammates and the TCCs on, helping and hugging rookies--Allie, Sheridan, Bethany, Heather H, Maggie. I'm sure she has some maturing to do still--what 19-year old doesn't? I do get why some people read her as overtly sexy or showboat-y, but I think she is so fabulously fierce, hard working, and incredible to watch.

Just watched Jennifer's swimsuit video, which was posted via Twitter. Somehow I found it to be the most painful of the ones I've seen. I hate to say it, but I find her the least naturally photogenic point girl since I started watching the show. Jenn is pretty in a girl-next-door kind of way, and I do still think she's one of the best dancers they've had and is a great ambassador, though, so I'm not hating here. I look forward to Erica, or Jenna, or Lacey as potential point girls down the road, though. Point girls should have that wow glam factor, I feel. I mean, these are the Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders we're talking about here.

Nailed it in one, @woodscommaelle! He's incredibly self-important. And I'm pretty sure Emma is an all star all the damn time. Definitely one of my favorite DCCs since I started watching the show 9 years ago.

In watching the squad photo deleted scene, I noticed that rookie Kelli looked prettier because her eye makeup was better in more earth tones, and her eyes were visible and didn't just look like black slits. Take makeup notes, girl! Erica looks dynamite front and center. I agree, as always, that it would be nice to see more dancing, and more of the vets. I don't mind them changing things up--showing squad photo day, when the girls see their new lockers, Meet the Team, etc--as it keeps things fresher for the DCC and viewers alike. But I agree that I'd rather see rehearsal or performances rather than Melissa or Anthony Ramos giving them a locker room pep talk (for the record, I liked him as a judge--especially when he disagreed with Charlotte @ Kaylee & the way he said, "She has a star on my paperrrrr.") They at least did a good job of showing a tiny clip of each rookie on the field at the end. But more of that, please! Love Emma, and am always happy to see her back, even if it was because someone fell on her head warming up for yoga class, which is hard for me to compute. For the poster upthread who said s/he doesn't know much about Jerry Jones but you don't think you like him much, you're very intuitive and not alone. He's pretty much the most disliked owner and manager in the NFL. They could have skipped his dumb speech and showed more dancing. But maybe they're trying to feed his ego to keep his support for the DCC and MTT. In seasons past, they have done longer opening and/or finale episodes. I'm totally behind that idea! (I support it, not saying I came up with it.) I, too, wish we get more in each season.

This was one of the best clips of Melissa working with TCCs, in my opinion. Interesting to learn that Tess was a "struggler" and "on the bubble," since she's hardly been shown or mentioned this season, aside from Kitty telling her she needs to get lower into her plies bc she's tall. I thought Megan & Melissa's feedback for Kelsey was good, and practical. You can see the persistence of Emily's pigeon toe issues when they showed her placing her left foot in slow motion for a pirouette. So incredibly turned in. If she wants to be a DCC, that young lady needs to take ballet classes like 3 times a week for the next year, just to have a shot. She seems sweet, but I've been over her from rehearsal one of her first year. I think Kyndall should have gone, too, for the reasons posted above. She might have learned something useful, and at the very least, gotten another much-needed chance to rehearse full-out and see what it takes to match up with a solid vet. Kyndall is pretty, seems sweet, and is a good dancer, but she makes lots of mistakes and is soft in a lot of her delivery. If she lost her job, I don't see having a great reason not to go.

Personally, I disliked the coffee big group meet ups (Melissa: Let's have girl talk! Blech), but I did like the couple vet-mentors-a-rookie sessions (Sunni & Angela, Brittany Schram & Ashley F) of seasons past. I always want to see more of the vets working rookies. This season, I would have loved to see Lacey, Robin, or Jenna in particular helping coach a rookie or two. It seems to me that's...part of the process of, you know, making the team--training rookies, building team dynamics, vets taking leadership roles, etc. All season I've wondered which rookies are working with which vets, and I always want to see more of the group leaders at work. What have Kelsey and Emily's leaders been telling them? What do their leaders think about their potential or strengths? I thought about this stuff a good bit while watching this last episode. Inquiring minds (or at least mine!) want to know. I agree with the poster above that I don't feel like I know much about the rookies, beyond some quick introductions in the first few episodes. Those intros, I thought, were promising in terms of what I thought was to come, but no, because there's almost no follow up, and we haven't had even the most basic intros to a few rookies. Still, I'm glad that this season hasn't become the Maddie show. Or the Tasha show, which I wondered about since they introduced her immediately.

Liked this episode ok, but this late in the game, I want to see a lot more dancing, not endless across the field sloppiness and explaining to and from celebrity. I was impressed that Kelly Pickler noticed Emily's sickled feet, but they're hard to miss. I continue to marvel at Emily's lack of body awareness, or basic awareness of technique. When she said of getting cut, "It's just my feet," I thought, Chile, you just may never get it. "Just feet" isn't a comment that a serious danger would make, and suggests to me that, no matter what she says, Emily wasn't working that hard (or maybe just ineffectively) and wasn't taking classes outside of camp to work on the most basic fundamentals of dance. Too bad she had lipstick (or something) on her tooth in what may be her final MTT scenes ever. Brennan seems likable, but just didn't have that DCC look or dance style. Sheridan seems a sweetheart and I hope she returns. I'm indifferent about Brennan returning, because I don't find her attractive. But she's got good memory, seems smart and hard working, and maybe could be gussied up a bit more with better makeup. Loved that Robin got explicit props for just being awesome. Was shocked at how big Megan looked this week. I haven't really thought she looked nearly as heavy as folks were saying here, but when I caught a glimpse of her dancing behind a rookie, I thought, woah, who is THAT? And then I realized it was Megan. ? She looks like she's gained, not lost, weight during training camp. Love Khalyn and Jessika! Was glad to hear Judy say that she was having a hard time letting go of Amy. If Kyndall can't handle the choreography and performance "wow" after two training camps...not a good look. Dear editors: I would like to get some real looks at their dancing in the final episode, please. Let me see if or how well Maggie, Heathers, Cersten, Khalyn, Selina, Tess, and Kelsey can boogie down! Enough talking and across the field entrances. Oh, maybe even a vet or two working with the girls. Would have been nice to see something from rookie week, which I don't recall seeing since season 3.

Cersten strikes me as having that certain Southern style, which is quite conservative and dated. I grew up with girls dressing just like their soccer mamas. Think Bree in Desperate Housewives, but on 12-17 year-olds. Am I right that she was the one rookie dancing the hip hop number with the vets? She definitely could hang with them. She's a very sharp and energetic performer, and I like watching her dance. Don't know how much I'd like her, though, but that's just a feeling and not based on tangibles. Rewatched the episode last night, and had to laugh about Judy sitting in Kelli's office chair while they were in there with Kitty, going over the board, and interviewing rookies. I once read Judy talking about the stool she always sits on and how much she hates it--apparently not her choice. I wish I had a clearer shot of that whole board!

Wow, just clicked on the link above for Tasha's blog, and my jaw dropped at the first entry that came up--I can't even look at another. Title of her entry: "How to Look & Feel Like a Trophy." That goal is wild, and kind of sad, to me...and her ensemble to achieve that was so freaking tacky. Yes, the girl clearly wants to look like a Barbie...from like 1992. Rhinestones on her cutoffs, enormous (ginormous, actually) bow on her purse, that lipstick she loves, and a t-shirt that reads in all caps across her fake boobs: TROPHY. Gee, I wonder what her daughter will be like when she's 16. Very deep, I'm sure. Tasha should have put "trophy" for her career, since she puts so much effort into being and looking like one.

Thanks for the info! Good for her for getting it together, if she in fact did perform well. I also remember TX Star writing that she had mistakes in every number during the meet the team event. I'm suspecting that Kelsey might be a one and done DCC. She seems to have a lot of fans, but she would have to improve a lot, I'd think, to make it back as a vet next year.

Just remembered something from the first episode, when they showed preview clips from the season: Raylee struggling to sing the national anthem. They totally cut that out of the show group auditions bit in this episode. Neil McCoy was very nice to her in that moment, I recall. Showing things in previews but not in the actual show is a peeve of mine. They've done it before on MTT. When Kelli was scolding the girls during a rehearsal with DJ as a guest choreographer a few seasons ago, and (this next one is the one I really wanted the dirt on) in season 3 or 4, Judy telling the camera that she couldn't remember being in a situation before when they considered taking a vet's uniform away so close to the season opener. My point for this episode is, bless Raylee's heart, and stop teasing us with stuff you don't show (you being the editors).

I recall that someone wrote on this forum that Kelsey sat out of some early season performances. Could those in the know please tell me why and how long she was out? Watching her on this season of MTT, it seems surprising to me that she made the team. Did they take her on and then realize she didn't have the choreography or field work down? I tried to scroll back but couldn't find the original discussion. Thanks for the deets, if anyone can offer any.

I don't think they pose auditions or training camp as totally objective processes. Kelli seems pretty clear to me that, while she sets the highest standards for everyone, she recognizes that there's a lot of subjectivity involved in picking the team. If it were objective, they wouldn't solicit so many judges' opinions at auditions or throughout training camp. I think that they do try to be supportive and give girls enough opportunities to develop and prove themselves to be DCC quality. But, I just don't see why they've been hanging on to Emily, who doesn't appear to have improved throughout this camp. Not only are her feet ugly and messy when she dances and kicks, she hunches over while kicking to try to get the height she needs. It seems to me that, if she's as hard working as she claims, her feet would be pointing when she kicks by now. She's had 3 years to work on it. Not cute. And that lyrical piece -- wow, was that fugly. Not only poor technique, but she didn't even know the dance. She's a much worse dancer than she knows, and it bugs me. Cut her already! It seems like it's clear to K and J that she doesn't have a chance, so now it just seems like stringing her along. Kelsey is gorgeous, but Judy's right: she looks like she's marking, or lost. Brennan doesn't have a DCC look to me, and as someone mentioned up thread, she does seem "intense." I'm glad Kelli Q got so many props, as she's a fabulous dancer and seems very put together. But I think her look could be improved with bangs to cover a bit of forehead, and lighter eye makeup. Her eyes just look like black patches except in closeups. I think adjusting the hair and makeup could make her look younger, and actually show how pretty she is.

Seriously frustrated with iTunes too! This is the one show that gives me grief with them. So glad to know that I can watch thru Amazon when I get home, which it looks like I'll have to do, but the viewing quality is so much better on iTunes. iTunes, why the DCC hate? Ugh! ?

Sadly, I have to wait til tonight to watch the episode, but the postings here have me so intrigued! I'm trying to imagine what went down with Allie and Amy. If it's just a dance-off, I've seen them do that before, but aside from Kitty's prep class with Hannah, I think it's been a TCC with a vet. I like Allie, maybe because she reminds me of Emma a little bit, who I loved. She's not as pretty or glamorous as Emma, but she is looking more and more like a DCC to me as she gets more skilled with her hair and makeup--both of which needed real help at the start of camp. As for who "they" are who told her to trim up, I'm pretty sure she got that message at uniform fittings. I'm positive that the heavier vets do get warnings, from Kelli as well as Kitty, but I figure that CMT is skirting the issue this season. On the one hand, I think it's important to limit body shaming in the media, and I don't really want to see dancers being embarrassed publicly, especially for their bodies. On the other hand, I do want the dirt and more insight into what goes on behind the scenes! I've always wanted a glimpse of the notes the cheerleaders get after rehearsals and games. Every DCC must get far more feedback than we see or know. Can't wait to see Show Group auditions!

I think Kelli is struggling to rework her style for her new figure. Sometimes she nails it, but I agree that this season has been more misses than hits. As for the sleeveless issue, I feel folks on the unflattering critique, but, having just returned to the South after many years away, I can imagine that she's just like, it's hot as hell here and I can't stand the thought of even a cap sleeve. Maybe I'm projecting, because that's what goes through my mind when I contemplated hiding my less-than-toned arms this summer, and where I live isn't as hot as Dallas. It's like 100+ there on the regular. ♨️ On the sleeves subject, Holly really worked her white cape dress, but I think that's a much too mature style for a teenager. That girl can werk anything, though. I want them to cut Emily already. I just can't get past her dancing. She has performance presence, but not the technique, or real dancer's awareness. I will say that, to me, her best quality appears to be her sweetness. She's been the first one to reach every TCC when they come out of the dreaded office meetings, and immediately offers support, whether they've been cut or not. Still, I'm not feeling her as a DCC, and I never have.