S13.E01: The Road to World Class Begins

[Vivigirl10]

16 hours ago, chabelisaywow said:

For example Maddie on Dance Moms was considered the bomb - but when push came to shove, could barely hold her releve'.

Barely a DCC episode goes by without me thinking about this exact episode!  It's the perfect example of being "trained" to be all flash but having no foundation.  Thank you for mentioning it!

I've always been confused about the expected outcome for a competition trained or pom trained dancer.  Do you think any of them ever try to pursue say, joining a recognized ballet company, only to find out that not only are they not trained at all but have developed so many bad habits that by that point, there is no undoing the damage?  Would they be able to join the Rockettes?  It seems through the popularity of competitive dance, everyone thinks their daughter is ready for a professional dance career.  And I just wonder, after all that time and money, is there anything there that they could even put to use - beyond becoming a professional cheerleader?  (I'm speaking dance-wise, of course.  I understand the takeaways of building confidence, dedication, teamwork, etc.) I hope that makes sense.    

[rl27rl]

11 hours ago, MyFavShows said:

Victoria’s face is 100 times better than Cassie’s.   Cassie was one of most butter face DCCs ever - and her speech was poor too - like she spoke like she had no class whatsoever.

I think Victoria is a much stronger candidate than Cassie in probably every aspect except for weight.

Thank you!  Someone finally said it!  Her last season, I could not get over her saying "Suck" all the time.  I would have thought that by that time of her five years on the squad, she would have learned the proper etiquette for doing an interview.

[EricaShadows]

54 minutes ago, Kiki620 said:

I've always been confused about the expected outcome for a competition trained or pom trained dancer.  Do you think any of them ever try to pursue say, joining a recognized ballet company, only to find out that not only are they not trained at all but have developed so many bad habits that by that point, there is no undoing the damage?  Would they be able to join the Rockettes?  It seems through the popularity of competitive dance, everyone thinks their daughter is ready for a professional dance career.  And I just wonder, after all that time and money, is there anything there that they could even put to use - beyond becoming a professional cheerleader?  (I'm speaking dance-wise, of course.  I understand the takeaways of building confidence, dedication, teamwork, etc.) I hope that makes sense.    

I suspect that the difference between the "flashy" dancers (the ones with all the tricks but no foundational dance) and the dancers with rock solid training (but have taken additional classes to learn different styles) is that, once the flashy dancers hit the real world of dancing, they don't last long.  They get injured or just don't get the jobs.  Most of the time, they're competing with the real dancers and come off looking bad because they can't do the things the others can and do with with clean technique.  If they're lucky, and have the patience, they'll go to a real, competent teacher who's willing to take them all the way back to basics and teach them the right way.

Edited August 7, 2018 by EricaShadows

[MyFavShows]

59 minutes ago, Kiki620 said:

Barely a DCC episode goes by without me thinking about this exact episode!  It's the perfect example of being "trained" to be all flash but having no foundation.  Thank you for mentioning it!

I've always been confused about the expected outcome for a competition trained or pom trained dancer.  Do you think any of them ever try to pursue say, joining a recognized ballet company, only to find out that not only are they not trained at all but have developed so many bad habits that by that point, there is no undoing the damage?  Would they be able to join the Rockettes?  It seems through the popularity of competitive dance, everyone thinks their daughter is ready for a professional dance career.  And I just wonder, after all that time and money, is there anything there that they could even put to use - beyond becoming a professional cheerleader?  (I'm speaking dance-wise, of course.  I understand the takeaways of building confidence, dedication, teamwork, etc.) I hope that makes sense.    

Very, very, very few girls who do competitive dance aspire to join ballet companies.   Ballet company girls usually have attended ballet focused pre-pro schools doing almost all ballet their entire lives.  Comp girls don’t do that (unless it’s an occasional class or two as opposed to the full program) cause they find it boring and know they don’t want to be ballerina from a pretty early age - they like performing in the dances you see on dance moms much better.   Comp girls usually aspire to do things like college dance teams and/or go on auditions to get professional jobs like dancing in music videos, concerts, TV, and maybe even broadway.  Some join contemporary companies, which are much different than ballet companies.   

Edited August 7, 2018 by MyFavShows

[EricaShadows]

I suspect that comp girls wouldn't last long on Broadway.  Most, if not all, of those dancers, even the ones without lines or even named parts (think "Villain number 1"; "Townsperson #3) are expected to be triple-threats and have a lot of classical training, and, when they're not on stage, they're taking dance classes, voice classes, and acting lessons.  Comp dancers might be lucky enough to get off-off-off-Broadway shows, but they likely would be among the first cut during the dance auditions for the legitimate Broadway shows.

Edited August 7, 2018 by EricaShadows

[MyFavShows]

8 minutes ago, EricaShadows said:

I suspect that comp girls wouldn't last long on Broadway.  Most, if not all, of those dancers, even the ones without lines or even named parts (think "Villain number 1"; "Townsperson #3) are expected to be triple-threats and have a lot of classical training, and, when they're not on stage, they're taking dance classes, voice classes, and acting lessons.  Comp dancers might be lucky enough to get off-off-off-Broadway shows, but they likely would be among the first cut during the dance auditions for the legitimate Broadway shows.

 

There are some really, really good comp dancers.  They aren’t all like the girls on dance moms - especially the ones who stick with it through their later high school years.   For instance, wasn’t former DCC Holly a comp dancer? - I could see her having a good shot at a broadway dance job.

Edited August 7, 2018 by MyFavShows

[Taralightner]

15 minutes ago, EricaShadows said:

I suspect that comp girls wouldn't last long on Broadway.  Most, if not all, of those dancers, even the ones without lines or even named parts (think "Villain number 1"; "Townsperson #3) are expected to be triple-threats and have a lot of classical training, and, when they're not on stage, they're taking dance classes, voice classes, and acting lessons.  Comp dancers might be lucky enough to get off-off-off-Broadway shows, but they likely would be among the first cut during the dance auditions for the legitimate Broadway shows.

It really all boils down to the dance school and teachers. Schools with lots and lots of platinum trophies (gold is no longer the highest scoring, lol) aren’t always the best schools to learn solid technique. It depends on the “trophy mill” mentality. If the win is valued above all, they might spend most of their time working on comp routines instead of actually teaching dance.

There are also some very successful comp related schools that focus on the technique and the dancer as their first priority. 

Competition can give lots of performance experience- that’s a good thing! But, if the actual dance instruction is secondary, I would want to find another school. 

There are also Ballet competitions, but they are so very different than the competition world that we are talking about here. 

[ByTor]

@Taralightner, I really love the clearly expert opinions you're providing!  As a non-dancer who likes to watch dance, it's nice to get some help regarding what I'm watching :)

[Taralightner]

23 minutes ago, ByTor said:

@Taralightner, I really love the clearly expert opinions you're providing!  As a non-dancer who likes to watch dance, it's nice to get some help regarding what I'm watching :)

? I could talk about dance for hours, so thank all of you for giving me a chance to discuss it, the show and the off topic stuff that’s fun! I learn a lot from this group as well! 

[TeacherWoman]

35 minutes ago, Taralightner said:

It really all boils down to the dance school and teachers. Schools with lots and lots of platinum trophies (gold is no longer the highest scoring, lol) aren’t always the best schools to learn solid technique. It depends on the “trophy mill” mentality. If the win is valued above all, they might spend most of their time working on comp routines instead of actually teaching dance.

There are also some very successful comp related schools that focus on the technique and the dancer as their first priority. 

Competition can give lots of performance experience- that’s a good thing! But, if the actual dance instruction is secondary, I would want to find another school. 

There are also Ballet competitions, but they are so very different than the competition world that we are talking about here. 

As a teen, my daughter changed from the dance school she had attended since preschool to one that was more focused on performing well at competition.  My best comparison is to say the first studio was like kids'rec league baseball and the one she switched to was like kids' select league baseball.  At the second one the girls were more serious about dance: didn't miss class or extra rehearsals, didn't whine and moan that ballet class was required to be on the competition squad, didn't jack around in class, etc.  My daughter was in heaven.  She excelled because everyone around her worked as hard as she did, and it pushed her to be around other good, dedicated dancers.  There was no plan for her to pursue dance as a career but if she was putting hours and hours of her week into it, she didn't want to be in a squad that didn't seem to take it seriously.

On a related note: The choreography often placed two dancers in front (modified triangle?) where my daughter and her friend danced.  Her friend went on to dance for the NBA.

 

[ByTor]

There is something that was said on this episode that I can't believe I forgot to comment on.  It is, of course, no secret that I love Brennan (Go Brennan!), and I did like Kelli basically saying she shouldn't have been cut last year.  What did get to me, though, was when Kelli said "I hope she makes the team this year."  Ummmm, Kelli, you don't have to hope, you're the one with the power to put her there!!!

[Taralightner]

1 minute ago, TeacherWoman said:

As a teen, my daughter changed from the dance school she had attended since preschool to one that was more focused on performing well at competition.  My best comparison is to say the first studio was like kids'rec league baseball and the one she switched to was like kids' select league baseball.  At the second one the girls were more serious about dance: didn't miss class or extra rehearsals, didn't whine and moan that ballet class was required to be on the competition squad, didn't jack around in class, etc.  My daughter was in heaven.  She excelled because everyone around her worked as hard as she did, and it pushed her to be around other good, dedicated dancers.  There was no plan for her to pursue dance as a career but if she was putting hours and hours of her week into it, she didn't want to be in a squad that didn't seem to take it seriously.

On a related note: The choreography often placed two dancers in front (modified triangle?) where my daughter and her friend danced.  Her friend went on to dance for the NBA.

 

Sounds like you found a great school that also excelled at comps. My earlier point was that some schools focus on comps as their primary focus, not the technique classes and the required ballet that you talked about above. 

Some schools learn what scores the highest at competition and choreograph to that instead of ALSO teaching the fundamentals in depth. (Like doing 4-5 pirouettes, but “jumping” out of them because the dancer’s balance doesn’t allow for them to stop with their leg still in passé or just gracefully land them.) 

Since you’ve been to a lot of comps, you’ve seen the routines with ONLY right outside turns, but never turns on the left side and very few inside turns. I’m sure you’ve seen lots of tricks stringed together without hardly any beautiful transitions or interesting choreo that captivates you, but not a leap or aerial including in every sequence. Does this make sense? 

It sounds like she has a ton of dedication, focus and talent. There doesn’t have to be an end game... just that experience has made her a better person for having endured the ups and downs, the pain and the plateaus in between the growth moments. 

[Jess14]

1 hour ago, Taralightner said:

There are also Ballet competitions, but they are so very different than the competition world that we are talking about here. 

Yeah, and while they’re very different, I’ve even read and heard ballet dancers complain about competitions - think dancers become too focused on nailing 90 second variations. The varying opinions on competitions are definitely interesting.

Im curious if many or any of the DCCs who have gone to college have gotten a BFA or MFA in dance. I think I remember Samantha(?) saying in an article that she came to Dallas because she didn’t get in Juliard, so I assume that’s what she was going for, but I don’t know what she ended up doing.

[hypeman]

@Taralightner I'm loving this. Please keep this educational stuff coming. I'm enjoying this much better than talking about who is pretty or who seems fake.

With that said, this is one way I would like to see the show evolve. (ADAPT OR DIE!) Actually, explaining the technique involved and show examples of the right and wrong way to do something. In other words, give better explanations than "fun to watch".

Also, what do you think of Kitty's exercises? Like the travelling one we see every year.

I always defer when someone has knowledge that I don't possess. I TRULY LOVE AND APPRECIATE AN INFORMED OPINION. Therefore, who do you think have been the strongest dancers in recent seasons and of the current vets?

ETA: This maybe the wrong thread for this post. If it is, can the mods move it to the correct thread?

Edited August 7, 2018 by hypeman
Clarity

[Spunkyyy]

6 minutes ago, Jess14 said:

Yeah, and while they’re very different, I’ve even read and heard ballet dancers complain about competitions - think dancers become too focused on nailing 90 second variations. The varying opinions on competitions are definitely interesting.

Im curious if many or any of the DCCs who have gone to college have gotten a BFA or MFA in dance. I think I remember Samantha(?) saying in an article that she came to Dallas because she didn’t get in Juliard, so I assume that’s what she was going for, but I don’t know what she ended up doing.

I want to say Savannah has a BFA in Dance from FSU.

[Taralightner]

@hypeman- good point about being off topic. I’m going to give my opinions to your above post on the non-show conversation thread. 

[sATL]

7 hours ago, Kiki620 said:

Barely a DCC episode goes by without me thinking about this exact episode!  It's the perfect example of being "trained" to be all flash but having no foundation.  Thank you for mentioning it!

I've always been confused about the expected outcome for a competition trained or pom trained dancer.  Do you think any of them ever try to pursue say, joining a recognized ballet company, only to find out that not only are they not trained at all but have developed so many bad habits that by that point, there is no undoing the damage?  Would they be able to join the Rockettes?  It seems through the popularity of competitive dance, everyone thinks their daughter is ready for a professional dance career.  And I just wonder, after all that time and money, is there anything there that they could even put to use - beyond becoming a professional cheerleader?  (I'm speaking dance-wise, of course.  I understand the takeaways of building confidence, dedication, teamwork, etc.) I hope that makes sense.    

there has been at least one DCC to also made the rockettes - Jacie Scott ( link )

{ quote from article} " ... To prepare for the Rockettes audition, I needed to go back to the basics and fine-tune my dance technique. That meant a steady schedule of ballet classes, jazz classes, contemporary classes, modern classes, and tap classes. Get my ankles loose again for tap dancing. Dust off my heeled character shoes to practice dancing in. It was a lot. ... " {end quote from article}

What I am wondering is where do you train while after or even during being a professional cheerleader? If you have already gone through college, perhap another sports team,  and need to support yourself (ie you have a day job doing something ), are there lessons/teachers outside of NYC & LA that can develop your talent ? And just how much does that cost ? Sounds like being a DCC you have reached the top.

Edited August 7, 2018 by sATL

[hypeman]

10 minutes ago, sATL said:

there has been at least one DCC to also made the rockettes - Jacie Scott ( link )

{ qoute from article} " ... To prepare for the Rockettes audition, I needed to go back to the basics and fine-tune my dance technique. That meant a steady schedule of ballet classes, jazz classes, contemporary classes, modern classes, and tap classes. Get my ankles loose again for tap dancing. Dust off my heeled character shoes to practice dancing in. It was a lot. ... " {end qoute from article"

Jacie always seemed polished and professional. I got the feeling that she was over it at the end. No sitting around trying to be point for her. I respect that she set another goal besides DCC, dance-wise.

[Christineelgene]

8 hours ago, Kiki620 said:

Barely a DCC episode goes by without me thinking about this exact episode!  It's the perfect example of being "trained" to be all flash but having no foundation.  Thank you for mentioning it!

I've always been confused about the expected outcome for a competition trained or pom trained dancer.  Do you think any of them ever try to pursue say, joining a recognized ballet company, only to find out that not only are they not trained at all but have developed so many bad habits that by that point, there is no undoing the damage?  Would they be able to join the Rockettes?  It seems through the popularity of competitive dance, everyone thinks their daughter is ready for a professional dance career.  And I just wonder, after all that time and money, is there anything there that they could even put to use - beyond becoming a professional cheerleader?  (I'm speaking dance-wise, of course.  I understand the takeaways of building confidence, dedication, teamwork, etc.) I hope that makes sense.    

Not sure if this is appropriate,  but you mentioned the Rockettes.  Jackie had writtenas article in a Dallas magazine about how she had to train for the audition.  I could not find that article, but found this one.

 

https://www.thenewsstar.com/story/life/empowerment/2017/11/22/monroe-native-dances-fame-rockette/885409001/

Just now, Christineelgene said:

 

1 minute ago, Christineelgene said:

Not sure if this is appropriate,  but you mentioned the Rockettes.  Jackie had writtenas article in a Dallas magazine about how she had to train for the audition.  I could not find that article, but found this one.

 

https://www.thenewsstar.com/story/life/empowerment/2017/11/22/monroe-native-dances-fame-rockette/885409001/

Sorry, I did not realize that someone has already posted a quote from Jacie’s Article.

[Pink-n-Green]

8 hours ago, Taralightner said:

? I could talk about dance for hours, so thank all of you for giving me a chance to discuss it, the show and the off topic stuff that’s fun! I learn a lot from this group as well! 

To me, everyone looks good because I have no dance background but, like Bytor, I love watching it.  There are a few DCC about whom I wonder if they'd be considered well trained dancers or flashy dancers.  Would you mind giving me an opinion?

Holly P., Melissa (blonde, from SMU, does something with biomedical engineering, I believe), Whitney Iselib, Jenna, Brooke Sorensen.

Anyone else with an opinion, please feel free to opine as well!  Thanks! :)

[CaseyRe]

I beg of someone to teach Kelli to walk in heels. when she got out the car at the start of the episode (cringe) and strut' toward the door, it was like watching a baby try to walk flat-footed. she cannot walk in her heels and it makes her look ridiculous. Either she needs to learn how or to wear lower heels but every year I swear it gets worse

[MyFavShows]

1 hour ago, Pink-n-Green said:

To me, everyone looks good because I have no dance background but, like Bytor, I love watching it.  There are a few DCC about whom I wonder if they'd be considered well trained dancers or flashy dancers.  Would you mind giving me an opinion?

Holly P., Melissa (blonde, from SMU, does something with biomedical engineering, I believe), Whitney Iselib, Jenna, Brooke Sorensen.

Anyone else with an opinion, please feel free to opine as well!  Thanks! :)

Of those girls you’ve listed, Holly P. Is the only one who’s dance training really impressed me.  Maybe Brooke too.   The others were just good performers IMO.   Melissa had a lot of tricks.

[CaseyRe]

I feel like I say this every year, but I'm so tired of hearing girls spout the usual guff about having wanted this since they were tiny, and quite aside from their training or dance ability, then turn up to auditions with horrific hair colour, terrible extensions that look like theyve not seen a comb in about a year, spray tans that are orange even for DCC and yet state all they've ever wanted to be is a DCC yet don't even go to auditions looking like they even tried to give an idea of the look.  I know that a good judge will be able to see the potential beneath a bad dye job, but if it's all youve ever wanted, why would you go to auditions with anything less than the best hair nad makeup you could manage that is in DCC style?

[LisaWl7TR]

On 8/5/2018 at 9:24 AM, Taralightner said:

Thanks for the screenshot! Here’s another observation about how stupid they think the viewer is. WHY have any numbers ABOVE 400, if they want us to believe that there were 400 there? Above, see 401-404 and 406 made the cut. Poor 405; “she” just didn’t stand out. 

When they enter they have several rows for them to check in. I wonder if the #'s are divided between the rows ahead of time and depending on what line you are in is what # you get. Hope that makes sense. 

ETA Oops, I see already mentioned a page back and said in a much better way than I attempted.

Edited August 8, 2018 by LisaWl7TR

[Lunacat]

1 hour ago, CaseyRe said:

I feel like I say this every year, but I'm so tired of hearing girls spout the usual guff about having wanted this since they were tiny, and quite aside from their training or dance ability, then turn up to auditions with horrific hair colour, terrible extensions that look like theyve not seen a comb in about a year, spray tans that are orange even for DCC and yet state all they've ever wanted to be is a DCC yet don't even go to auditions looking like they even tried to give an idea of the look.  I know that a good judge will be able to see the potential beneath a bad dye job, but if it's all youve ever wanted, why would you go to auditions with anything less than the best hair nad makeup you could manage that is in DCC style?

DITTO! To take it a step further, why wouldn’t you get the look AND the easy stuff in order - tip top stamina and flexibility - so that when you’re learning 30 dances in a summer, you’re not also fighting getting into your target weight or getting your kicks up? (Could have sworn it was 50 dances in years past but did I hear 30 this week?)

 

Also, unrelated, but Judy pronounce fouetté strangely (when talking about Dayton) or was that just me who rewound that clip?

[ElectricBoogaloo]

9 minutes ago, Lunacat said:

Judy pronounce fouetté strangely (when talking about Dayton) or was that just me who rewound that clip?

I know this came up on another dance forum, so I'll just leave this link here in case you want to compare the actual pronunciation to Judy's version: how to pronounce fouetté

[PhillyFan]

On 8/3/2018 at 3:54 AM, Law Mom said:

I'm not thrilled about the taekwondo girl. I'm sorry, but to spend all your time on another sport, then just walk in and expect to beat out girls who are trained dancers is just arrogant. I'm sure taekwondo keeps her fit and flexible, and she is very pretty, but it belittles the skills required to be a real dancer to think that's all there is to it.

I don’t see what’s arrogant about auditioning. If she’s better, she’ll make it. If she’s not, she won’t. She’s on another dance team so she’s not coming in completely green. 

[evasworld123]

On 8/3/2018 at 12:30 AM, NMDD43 said:

Am I seeing "timid" Emily (former TCC, super skinny, shy, quiet, "Y'all didn't make me cry, I made me cry!") at prelims or is it someone who just looks a lot like her?

I immediately thought this too but I can’t tell! Thoughts anyone?

 

Also, did anyone watch Kalyssa’s instagram live video addressing the attrition word used in this week’s episode? She kept reiterating she did indeed finish an entire season because she cheered at every game (ie throwing shade at Alexandria) but if you make show group and stop showing up at those appearances it’s not so black and white whether you finished your season. I don’t know.

 

UCLA Daphne is another entitled Gina, but I just read a post about how lovely Gina is in person so maybe these girls just don’t understand how they’re coming off on television?

 

Love Dayton. VK is bright and bold but trying very very hard in my opinion. 

[scorpio1031]

11 minutes ago, evasworld123 said:

I immediately thought this too but I can’t tell! Thoughts anyone?

 

Also, did anyone watch Kalyssa’s instagram live video addressing the attrition word used in this week’s episode? She kept reiterating she did indeed finish an entire season because she cheered at every game (ie throwing shade at Alexandria) but if you make show group and stop showing up at those appearances it’s not so black and white whether you finished your season. I don’t know.

 

UCLA Daphne is another entitled Gina, but I just read a post about how lovely Gina is in person so maybe these girls just don’t understand how they’re coming off on television?

 

Love Dayton. VK is bright and bold but trying very very hard in my opinion. 

The girls sign a contract that runs from May to May.  Kalyssa left early so she didn’t fulfill it.

If you act a certain way and no one has ever called you on it, then you might get called out by a new boss, a new teacher, the director of the DCC.  I think sometimes the people closest to you may not notice.  You’ve just always been that way.  Or maybe some see cameras and are “ready for their close up”

[CaseyRe]

3 hours ago, evasworld123 said:

I immediately thought this too but I can’t tell! Thoughts anyone?

 

Also, did anyone watch Kalyssa’s instagram live video addressing the attrition word used in this week’s episode? She kept reiterating she did indeed finish an entire season because she cheered at every game (ie throwing shade at Alexandria) but if you make show group and stop showing up at those appearances it’s not so black and white whether you finished your season. I don’t know.

 

UCLA Daphne is another entitled Gina, but I just read a post about how lovely Gina is in person so maybe these girls just don’t understand how they’re coming off on television?

 

Love Dayton. VK is bright and bold but trying very very hard in my opinion. 

Honestly, I'm unsure about VK. when they firsst interviewed her I was so put off. She seemed very loud and aggressive and just not for me in terms of personality, but her talent is very good. i think if they rein in the overloud personality a little she could be good. I wonder if some of it is that she is aware she doesn't quite fit the 'look' of a DCC so she overcompensates.  Don't get me wrong, I think she's a pretty girl, but compare her looks to that of some on the team or others auditioning and she doesn''t quite fit the 'look', and I can imagine that if this is what you've wanted since 'been out of the womb' and your mum was also a DCC, it can be difficult

[nittanyvolleyball]

Off Topic but Olivia was on the Rockettes before Jacie made it last year. She's seriously my girl crush

[Taralightner]

14 hours ago, Pink-n-Green said:

To me, everyone looks good because I have no dance background but, like Bytor, I love watching it.  There are a few DCC about whom I wonder if they'd be considered well trained dancers or flashy dancers.  Would you mind giving me an opinion?

Holly P., Melissa (blonde, from SMU, does something with biomedical engineering, I believe), Whitney Iselib, Jenna, Brooke Sorensen.

Anyone else with an opinion, please feel free to opine as well!  Thanks! :)

I think Holly and Jenna are well trained for power styles and would fit well in the LA commercial dancing styles... for things like the movie Step It Up... but, I think Holly could do other styles (and has more complete training than Jenna) professionally and more than hold her own. Both obviously have a strong performance quality. 

Melissa and Whitney- there is no denying their training and their performance quality. 

I don’t think I can speak to Brooke’s technique.  Just because I didn’t see her do much other than the DCC style.  She was a strong DCC dancer.  I like her... just can’t comment- not enough info. 

Edited August 8, 2018 by Taralightner

[lkxydhfinl ghsdv]

2 hours ago, nittanyvolleyball said:

Off Topic but Olivia was on the Rockettes before Jacie made it last year. She's seriously my girl crush

Wasn't Olivia a Rockette before she was a DCC?

[nittanyvolleyball]

11 minutes ago, Tootie said:

Wasn't Olivia a Rockette before she was a DCC?

I believe she went to NYC after DCC, started with the touring company and worked her way to company dancer with the Rockettes

[CaseyRe]

1 hour ago, Taralightner said:

I think Holly and Jenna are well trained for power styles and would fit well in the LA commercial dancing styles... for things like the movie Step It Up... but, I think Holly could do other styles (and has more complete training than Jenna) professionally and more than hold her own. Both obviously have a strong performance quality. 

Melissa and Whitney- there is no denying their training and their performance quality. 

I don’t think I can speak to Brooke’s technique.  Just because I didn’t see her do much other than the DCC style.  She was a strong DCC dancer.  I like her... just can’t comment- not enough info. 

Having seen other videos of Holly P dancing outside of DCC, she's fairly strong across a lot of different styles. Like her or loathe her (she does tend to polarize) she is a very talented dancer IMO. its just the rest of the mentality that I think was lacking. I felt that like a lot opeople that focus very hard on one thing from a young age and pour all their energy into solely that, that she was a little emotionally immature even for her age (late teens), around other emotionally immature people and that's always a recipe for disaster.  Not good at admitting her own faults, or dealing with them well. How she handled the whole debacle last year was very immature (and I snorted with amusement that she was left out of the attrition montage. no love lost there then).

[frenchtoast]

Folks, this is the episode topic and while a little bit of talk about past dancers and dancing technique is to be expected, it's starting to get past the tangent part and into the off topic part. Let's refocus back to the episode, please.

[ByTor]

56 minutes ago, CaseyRe said:

I snorted with amusement that she was left out of the attrition montage.

She shouldn't have been shown, she left but was replaced.

[CaseyRe]

26 minutes ago, ByTor said:

She shouldn't have been shown, she left but was replaced.

Weren't the others replaced? I can't remember? Doesn't an All-star normally step in? Im so surprised with Alexandria going so early thaat they didn't just call Brennan. Im not the biggest Brennan fan for no real reason but this year she looked really strong, she was grabbing attention in that costume, her figure and dance was great, her kicks looked good so I really hope she makes it this time around. I just don't want a repeat of every spot with her being a Christina-like weep fest because so many of those turned me off Christina so so much. it stopped being a success story for me and more just pathetic weeping every episode that she deserved it becausse she'd tried so many years. no you don't, nobody owes you a spot just because you've tried out five times. drove me barmy

[ByTor]

1 minute ago, CaseyRe said:

Weren't the others replaced? I can't remember? Doesn't an All-star normally step in?

Yes, you are correct, an all-star would step in, but the all-stars are already "hired" so to speak.  Milan, Alexandria, and Kalyssa were not replaced with "new-hires" when they left.

[CaseyRe]

How many known rookie spots are there going to be this year, with retirements? I know Simone, Kelsey, and Jenna.  Anyone else leaving a rookie spot open?

2 minutes ago, ByTor said:

Yes, you are correct, an all-star would step in, but the all-stars are already "hired" so to speak.  Milan, Alexandria, and Kalyssa were not replaced with "new-hires" when they left.

I know the ll-stars already know the dances etc and are meant to stay in field-shape, but when its so so early in the game (literally), I'm still surprised they don't call the last girl cut and bring her in because they weren't even in season when Alexandria left, where they? i thought she left after a pre-season event (could be wrong!)

[Lunacat]

14 hours ago, ElectricBoogaloo said:

I know this came up on another dance forum, so I'll just leave this link here in case you want to compare the actual pronunciation to Judy's version: how to pronounce fouetté

Thanks! Tomato, tomahto! (I have a gymnastics background, not dance, so was super confused, ha!)

[go4luca]

5 minutes ago, CaseyRe said:

How many known rookie spots are there going to be this year, with retirements? I know Simone, Kelsey, and Jenna.  Anyone else leaving a rookie spot open?

Didn't Kelli say 13 spots during the opening episode?  I think there are 23 returning as vets.  Correct me if I'm wrong.

Edited August 8, 2018 by go4luca

[CaseyRe]

Just now, go4luca said:

Didn't Kelli say 13 spots during the opening episode?  I think there were 23 returning as vets.  Correct me if I'm wrong.

ah thanks, I wasn't paying a huge amount of attention during parts of the episode, I will freely admit so I missed that.

[bigskygirl]

The only reason why they would have brought back a cut TC Candidate or even a cut vet who got the axe at finals is for a complete new type of story line and for ratings and drama aka bringing Kaime back because the two sisters left, and Danielle being brought back after the other judges said she should not be brought back.

[CaseyRe]

4 minutes ago, bigskygirl said:

The only reason why they would have brought back a cut TC Candidate or even a cut vet who got the axe at finals is for a complete new type of story line and for ratings and drama aka bringing Kaime back because the two sisters left, and Danielle being brought back after the other judges said she should not be brought back.

gotta chase those ratings, y'all.

anyone else's heart sink that MRS looks to be a 'mentor' again this year?

[bigskygirl]

Hopefully there will be less Mentor Melissa scene like last year. If I was one of the girls CMT sent to her for a mentoring session, I would smile and pretend to listen to her while thinking of a vet or someone like Miss Kitty I could go to for real help.

[PhoebeKelly1992]

RE: My previous comment about the editing, upon rewatching episode 1 I noticed Shelly is wearing a completely different outfit (a jumpsuit) when showing Nick Florez around at the start as opposed to the outfit she is wearing during Dayton's audition. Not that it matters at all, I just noticed these editing errors lol ?

[nittanyvolleyball]

5 minutes ago, NicoleS9954 said:

RE: My previous comment about the editing, upon rewatching episode 1 I noticed Shelly is wearing a completely different outfit (a jumpsuit) when showing Nick Florez around at the start as opposed to the outfit she is wearing during Dayton's audition. Not that it matters at all, I just noticed these editing errors lol ?

I'm pretty sure that they used footage from last year. I feel like Shelly said she didn't watch Dayton this year so that she wouldn't make her more nervous?

[Taralightner]

21 hours ago, sATL said:

there has been at least one DCC to also made the rockettes - Jacie Scott ( link )

{ quote from article} " ... To prepare for the Rockettes audition, I needed to go back to the basics and fine-tune my dance technique. That meant a steady schedule of ballet classes, jazz classes, contemporary classes, modern classes, and tap classes. Get my ankles loose again for tap dancing. Dust off my heeled character shoes to practice dancing in. It was a lot. ... " {end quote from article}

What I am wondering is where do you train while after or even during being a professional cheerleader? If you have already gone through college, perhap another sports team,  and need to support yourself (ie you have a day job doing something ), are there lessons/teachers outside of NYC & LA that can develop your talent ? And just how much does that cost ? Sounds like being a DCC you have reached the top.

There are absolutely classes in most major cities for adults.  In smaller towns, it might be harder to get classes at that level, but in Dallas? I can’t imagine it would be hard to find. Plus, these women are pretty tied into the dance community, so they know where to look. 

[CaseyRe]

1 hour ago, bigskygirl said:

Hopefully there will be less Mentor Melissa scene like last year. If I was one of the girls CMT sent to her for a mentoring session, I would smile and pretend to listen to her while thinking of a vet or someone like Miss Kitty I could go to for real help.

I always feel sorry for the girls she 'mentors'. her 'advice' seems so generic and like something out of a cliche fortune cookie, and quite honestly, unhelpful.

ETA: also, doesn't she normally go by Melissa Rycroft-Strickland on the show? I thought it strange she was intro'd as Melissa Rycroft only. or do they always call her MR? I try and block out her segments as much as possible but id swear shes normally MRS and this ep she was MR

Edited August 8, 2018 by CaseyRe