The DCC Organization: Coaches, Judges and Owner Group

[bigskygirl]

I wonder if she was the first choice for a mentor, or CMT went to Kelli and Judy to suggest using Melissa because she already had a CMT contract. I would love to see Michelle Key come in and teach some dance routines. Maybe have former DCCs who are dance instructors come in and work with the TC candidates who may be on the bubble.

[caligirl50]

I agree.  Michelle has a lot of fans on this board and we are the audience for the show.  She’s teaching classes at Kitty’s studio and we all see how many DCC and would be/wanna be DCC’s show up to her classes.  It would be amazing if she was brought in instead of country Zumba/Jazzercise lady from last season.  Yes she is a contributing choreographer but was never a member of the squad.  

[RazzleberryPie]

I think Melissa was chosen for national visibility - she'd done dancing with the stars, GMA, the Bachelor, etc., which made her more of a familiar name to a broader audience than even a local Dallas celeb like Natalie Woods, or a Dallas dance specific celeb like Michelle Keys. We'd have no idea who Michelle is if it weren't for this board - well, most of us wouldn't.

[tobeyoungagain]

40 minutes ago, caligirl50 said:

She did/does have an ABC contract.  CMT is owned by Paramount so not sure if she could have two contracts but maybe ABC is done.

I forgot she was contributing correspondent on Good Morning America. They sent her to cover a lot of red carpets including the Academy Awards.   She also did The Bachelor and co-hosted the first season of Bachelor in Paradise with Chris Harrison.

I still feel there are better mentors out there.

Wow interesting ... I didn't realize she was so "famous" ... I don't get it - yes, she's cute and perky but I don't really get a lot of talent from her

[tobeyoungagain]

How old is Judy?  She's older than Kelli right?  Cause Kelli be lookin' kinda fabulous!

[MrsEVH]

11 minutes ago, tobeyoungagain said:

How old is Judy?  She's older than Kelli right?  Cause Kelli be lookin' kinda fabulous!

According to Wikipedia, Judy is 58 and Kelli is 51.

[sleepyjean]

It will be interesting to see how long these women are going to hold on to these jobs. Will Judy still be the choreographer ten years from now, when she's almost 70? I can't imagine having one job from my 20s straight through to retirement. Kelli has done a great job of keeping the DCC brand relevant, and although she takes it at little too close to the edge for my personal taste (especially as relates to the whole swimsuit calendar thing), she's keeping people interested and bringing the money in, so great for her! I will be so interested to see who replaces her when she finally does retire.

[tobeyoungagain]

17 minutes ago, sleepyjean said:

It will be interesting to see how long these women are going to hold on to these jobs. Will Judy still be the choreographer ten years from now, when she's almost 70? I can't imagine having one job from my 20s straight through to retirement. Kelli has done a great job of keeping the DCC brand relevant, and although she takes it at little too close to the edge for my personal taste (especially as relates to the whole swimsuit calendar thing), she's keeping people interested and bringing the money in, so great for her! I will be so interested to see who replaces her when she finally does retire.

Good point!  Nowadays, I don't know anyone who has had the same job or even in the same field as when they were in their 20s.  Goes to show these women are one of the few lucky ones who truly found their passion in life. 

I doubt Judy will still be working when she's 70 ... her family seems well-off or at least well-to-do so my guess is she'll be enjoying retirement and all her grandbabies.  She has a lovely family so a rich life (or so I gathered)

Kelli has done a really good job keeping folks engaged - with the fan vote and the social media engagement.  She's really good at her job (no surprise).  I don't know when she will retire but it will be hard to replace her.  btw am I the only one who thinks she's super pretty and put together?  She just looks classy

[Luvdallas]

Maybe Sam will take over for Kelli!  Lol!

[sleepyjean]

I can easily see Kelli still as director at 65. I think she will have a really hard time separating herself from the job and finding someone "worthy" of the position. However, Kelli was in her 20s when she became director, and it's been a long time. The older she gets, the more distance there is between herself and the cheerleaders. She clearly does not relate/empathize much anymore. And sometimes, especially when she shows a lack of patience and in some of her scathing comments during auditions, it seems like she doesn't even like dealing with girls/women that young.

[Luvdallas]

I wish the Melissa segments were gone !!! It's a waste of time.  Melissa isn't even pretty or good with fashion and her advice is nothing new.    So she's not fun to watch!   Please change the format of the show this year.

[BritFan]

Luvdallas, agreed, I'm not a Melissa fan either. 

[tobeyoungagain]

42 minutes ago, BritFan said:

Luvdallas, agreed, I'm not a Melissa fan either. 

Ditto ... not a fan at all!  Useless, boring and vapid

[tobeyoungagain]

3 hours ago, sleepyjean said:

I can easily see Kelli still as director at 65. I think she will have a really hard time separating herself from the job and finding someone "worthy" of the position. However, Kelli was in her 20s when she became director, and it's been a long time. The older she gets, the more distance there is between herself and the cheerleaders. She clearly does not relate/empathize much anymore. And sometimes, especially when she shows a lack of patience and in some of her scathing comments during auditions, it seems like she doesn't even like dealing with girls/women that young.

She has a daughter approaching that age so she better learn lol.  I wonder if she sets the same expectations of Sam as she does these girls. After all, Sam represents "her brand" as well.  Who knows ... Kelli seems like she would be a tough mom to please but a good mom who would raise good smart and ambitious kids.

She definitely does not cut the girls any slack just because "they're young and make mistakes"

[Curly Sue]

Judy asking her grandson's advice is seriously the cutest thing ever! I vote for Cannon to replace a judge or two next year :-)

[Guest]

I think that if/when Judy retires then Michelle Keys should be the choreographer for the team.

[LadyMsJay]

1 hour ago, heatherrrrz said:

I think that if/when Judy retires then Michelle Keys should be the choreographer for the team.

I agree.

Then MAYBE Mia..but she's too sweet lol

[RazzleberryPie]

I think Judy will stay for a while then be 'choreographer emeritus' or whatever. As the grandchildren keep coming, she may want to reduce her role a bit, but stay involved. 

 

Kelli - she'll be there until they pry her out of her chair.

I vote Michelle over Mia. Everything Mia does looks the same.

[KellyAnn3]

57 minutes ago, RazzleberryPie said:

I think Judy will stay for a while then be 'choreographer emeritus' or whatever. As the grandchildren keep coming, she may want to reduce her role a bit, but stay involved. 

 

Kelli - she'll be there until they pry her out of her chair.

I vote Michelle over Mia. Everything Mia does looks the same.

I'm in the same boat with you re: Michelle and Mia.

Mia seems like a sweet girl and can dance like no one's business, but (I may be wrong about it being her work but it looks like everything else I've seen from her) the audition choreography always makes me want to claw my eyes out. Michelle's dances are actually musical and entertaining to watch, IMO.

[parrotfeathers]

I don't mind Melissa anymore, especially since her appearance is more professional.  If I were one of the TCCs, I would think of how far she has come, from a little scaredy cat girl to a confident woman, and perhaps think "I can do that too."  Sometimes I have to remember these are just kids!  In my opinion, today's 18 - 20 yr. olds are nothing like those of 20-40 years ago. 

[bigskygirl]

Kelli's daughter graduated from high school today and was the valedictorian.

[caligirl50]

Wow...that’s fantastic!!!!

[Beana8]

I'm guessing Shelly would be next in line to take Kelli's job.  I really wish they would show more of the entire team that runs the DCC.  They should make a detailed "about us" page so we could know more about everyone.  

[tobeyoungagain]

On ‎6‎/‎3‎/‎2016 at 6:48 PM, bigskygirl said:

Kelli's daughter graduated from high school today and was the valedictorian.

Super impressive!  I can see why they thought she would be able to get into an Ivy institution (I'm assuming her school is like mine - over 500 people in graduating class, to be ranked #1 in that crowd is definitely impressive!!!)

[sleepyjean]

Quote

I'm guessing Shelly would be next in line to take Kelli's job.

Bramhall? Nah, I don't really see that. Mainly because Shelly is only a few years younger than Kelli and I can't see Kelli leaving this job for a good long while. By the time she's ready to retire, Shelly will be old too. I think Kelli will want someone relatively young as a replacement, so that person will occupy the position for a long stretch. She wouldn't want someone who would only do it for 5 years and then move on.

When Kelli starts thinking about retirement, I believe she will pick a senior DCC recently retired from the team, or about to retire, and name that person Assistant Director. That person will be AD for a year or two before Kelli retires, so it's a long, seamless transition. I don't think it will be anyone we know about now, because all of those people will have presumably moved on to other things. I think she'll want someone with relatively recent experience with the organization, as opposed to going looking for Megan Fox or somebody like that, who has been out of the loop for years.

[MaryWebGirl]

55 minutes ago, sleepyjean said:

Bramhall? Nah, I don't really see that. Mainly because Shelly is only a few years younger than Kelli and I can't see Kelli leaving this job for a good long while. By the time she's ready to retire, Shelly will be old too. I think Kelli will want someone relatively young as a replacement, so that person will occupy the position for a long stretch. She wouldn't want someone who would only do it for 5 years and then move on.

When Kelli starts thinking about retirement, I believe she will pick a senior DCC recently retired from the team, or about to retire, and name that person Assistant Director. That person will be AD for a year or two before Kelli retires, so it's a long, seamless transition. I don't think it will be anyone we know about now, because all of those people will have presumably moved on to other things. I think she'll want someone with relatively recent experience with the organization, as opposed to going looking for Megan Fox or somebody like that, who has been out of the loop for years.

Maybe Brooke would come back for an opportunity like that.

[JC123]

Well Kellis 51, she's probably got maybe another 9 years? She looks incredible for 51.. She must be starting to think about her retirement/replacement, surely? 

No prizes for guessing who will replace Judy though, lol 

[parrotfeathers]

10 hours ago, MaryWebGirl said:

Maybe Brooke would come back for an opportunity like that.

Brooke always seems like she is about to start laughing uncontrollably to me.  I always loved her, especially her determination her first year.  Seems as if she has such a great demeanor but I wonder if she could be as assertive as kelly.

[LaurenBrook]

1 hour ago, parrotfeathers said:

Brooke always seems like she is about to start laughing uncontrollably to me.  I always loved her, especially her determination her first year.  Seems as if she has such a great demeanor but I wonder if she could be as assertive as kelly.

I kind of think she would be...I remember in the season where Megan and Stephanie were living with her, they were practicing in the living room for Brooke and being kind of giggly and Brooke was just like, "no, do it again, it's like this" and was pretty serious about it.  I loved her so I wish she'd be part of organization again! 

[sleepyjean]

Kelli really looked great here - 2011  or 2012.

[tobeyoungagain]

8 hours ago, JC123 said:

Well Kellis 51, she's probably got maybe another 9 years? She looks incredible for 51.. She must be starting to think about her retirement/replacement, surely? 

No prizes for guessing who will replace Judy though, lol 

Kelli totally looks great!  Part of it looks natural (like she's just got great features and is a pretty woman) and part of it is just her looking super put together and classy (DCC trait??  who knows).

I wonder if they would start grooming Jenn K. to take over one of their spots??

[RazzleberryPie]

as much as Judy's smugness irritates me, when she retires, I have a feeling the DCC is going to get a whole lot sexier/trashier - more like the infamous bikini boot 'fashion' show.

compared to other pro teams they're downright G rated, but Kelli says just steers her from being too sexy, and Kelli took over as director when the old director quit after ownership wanted them to be far 'nastier'

[JC123]

13 minutes ago, tobeyoungagain said:

Kelli totally looks great!  Part of it looks natural (like she's just got great features and is a pretty woman) and part of it is just her looking super put together and classy (DCC trait??  who knows).

I wonder if they would start grooming Jenn K. to take over one of their spots??

I was thinking Jen K too! She'd be great! 

[sleepyjean]

I doubt it. Kelli's not going anywhere anytime soon.

[JC123]

But eventually someone has too :) it's fun to speculate, right?! ?

[sleepyjean]

It will certainly be  interesting to see what does eventually happen. Kelli has turned the DCC into big business. She will need someone with a head for business, as well as the ability to successfully manage a dance team. Those are two completely different skill sets. Most of the girls who pass through the team don't have any professional business experience. Being an excellent group leader is terrific, but doesn't necessarily translate into having an aptitude or capacity for managing employees in an office, budgeting, negotiating deals, legal constraints, travel, sponsorships, sales, and on and on. (I don't think Kelli did either when she was hired, she had to learn as she went, but the DCC today isn't what it was when she took the job.) 

 

It will be a real challenge to replace her. I can't see Charlotte putting the DCC organization in the hands of someone 25 years old with a degree in dance and a resume full of part time dance teacher/server/receptionist/yoga instructor gigs.  It would not surprise me if they split her role somehow. Maybe, instead of having a director and a choreographer, they would have a combo director/choreographer and a separate business manager.

Edited June 7, 2016 by sleepyjean

[ccr5678]

The thing is after Kelli retired she worked in the Cowboys office (accounting or some sort of book keeping desk job) so the organisation trusted her. After that she became assistant director and then full time director. So it'll be someone who she can trust business wise and sort of "groom".

 

i could see potentially Brooke Sorensen as the next director. She has her own clothing line, and is a choreographer for the Dolphins. She definitely has the dance experience and leadership/business experience. I could see Jenn K as the new Judy/choreographer. She has an eye for technique and is classy/conservative. She wouldn't let the brand get trashy.

Again that's something I can envision not what will happen haha

Edited June 7, 2016 by dalgal214

[tobeyoungagain]

52 minutes ago, dalgal214 said:

The thing is after Kelli retired she worked in the Cowboys office (accounting or some sort of book keeping desk job) so the organisation trusted her. After that she became assistant director and then full time director. So it'll be someone who she can trust business wise and sort of "groom".

 

i could see potentially Brooke Sorensen as the next director. She has her own clothing line, and is a choreographer for the Dolphins. She definitely has the dance experience and leadership/business experience. I could see Jenn K as the new Judy/choreographer. She has an eye for technique and is classy/conservative. She wouldn't let the brand get trashy.

Again that's something I can envision not what will happen haha

Oh that's interesting ... I didn't know Kelli worked in the Cowboys office doing a "regular ol'" corporate job.  She does seem to have a sense for business so that's a good call!

[caligirl50]

2 hours ago, sleepyjean said:

Kelli has turned the DCC into big business.

Kelli has a degree in international marketing from TCU.   

[ccr5678]

Actually she transferred from TCU to UNT. But she does have that degree, nonetheless 

[Annmarie1111]

I remember when Kelli said in one of the episodes, believe with Ashley Pro, that she has been perceived of being one way and in fact she was the exact opposite.  I think she has a very giving heart but has to harness it because of her position.

[JC123]

59 minutes ago, Annmarie1111 said:

I remember when Kelli said in one of the episodes, believe with Ashley Pro, that she has been perceived of being one way and in fact she was the exact opposite.  I think she has a very giving heart but has to harness it because of her position.

I TOTALLY agree. In the earlier seasons (well 7 in particular) she was really looking out for Danielle, checking she had settled and found a job etc. Just one example. I do honestly think the show portrays her to be less approachable and kind than she actually is.. 

[ccr5678]

Kelli is actually pretty reasonable as a director, particularly for the caliper that they are on. She's actually pretty sweet and does care about current and former cheerleaders (including those that have been cut)

[tobeyoungagain]

Yeah no diss to Kelli ... while I do think she says some pretty not-nice / potentially harmful and hurtful comments, I don't think she's a bad person.  She is obviously extremely skilled at her job and knows what it takes to be a DCC.

[bigskygirl]

I admit I may not always agree with Kelli and Judy, I do think they have a tough job. I also could not imagine what it would be like to have Charlotte or Jerry Jones watching almost every little move you make.

[PrincessLeia]

Kelli went through a phase on the show where she was just extra bitchy and kind of ugly, as in behavior not looks. She presently seems more caring.

[Oranaiche]

I guess I just personally haven't been able to pick up on a difference in Kelli's behavior from season to season. She's always struck me as being someone who can have tough conversations when it's necessary, but still really cares about all of her employees when it comes down to it. Personally I find that really admirable because most people have a hard time finding that balance. My boss hates confrontation and wants everyone to be her best friend, so she never addresses areas of opportunity, which can get pretty frustrating when the areas of opportunity NEED to be addressed. Reality is the dance world is different from every other job, so while some of the things Kelli says may not seem nice, it's her job. Just my opinion.

[Guest]

Not sure about Kelli's dress from last night...one shoulder?

[bigskygirl]

29 minutes ago, heatherrrrz said:

Not sure about Kelli's dress from last night...one shoulder?

[tobeyoungagain]

1 hour ago, bigskygirl said:

Yeah .. not a fan.  Unfortunately at a certain age (and I just passed it), most women struggle to stay perky and alert.  Stuff be saggin' and no amount of tape or strapless bra can help save the day. She's a pretty woman but with her blessed size, she probably should be more supported