S13.E01: The Road to World Class Begins

[bigskygirl]

They had to show Cassie's wedding to make a point about how well the girls get along and life long friendships. Kelli was really trying to convince us 400 showed up at auditions. Take a look at the scene where she was talking to the girls. No way in heck 400 girls were there unless they were hiding in the bushes and trees outside. I like Madi. I think they move Paris on to Semi-Finals because of her sob story and not because of her power (sorry CMT and Kelli.) Victoria was shoved down our throats a little too much. I chuckle at the one girl who said she likes the smell of old tires or something close to it. I wish they would do Prelims and Semi-Finals in one episode and do two Finals episodes instead.

[rl27rl]

Was the Cassie montage really necessary?  There are so many other montages they could have done.  Still all these years later and they are still pushing her.  Why??

[CheerGoddess]

At the beginning when Kelli was talking to all the judges before prelims started, she stated that she received 400 applications. I never heard her say 400 showed up, and they probably numbered the girls as the applications came in. So they may have received around 400 applications, but then only a fraction of them showed up. 

 

Please correct me if I’m wrong and if Kelli said anywhere that there were 400 physically there for prelims! I just never heard her say it. 

Edited August 3, 2018 by CheerGoddess

[Hanz]

Finally happy to find a place to discuss Making the team, as no one I know watches it! 

Really liked Daphne and Meredith.. man those eyes she is gorgeous. I really liked the girl from the Jets too but can't remember her name..M something?  I didn't mind Victoria she seemed to show a lot more passion for it then Dayton. Dayton looks stronger this year she just doesn't strike me as DCC and last year I was so glad they didn't put her through as she was not as good as the others. Like others said she doesn't seem like she really wants it. 

So glad Brennan is back if this isn't her year then when will it ever be! That girl would do anything to be in and the fact she got cut when Christina didn't last year was frustrating. Maddie looked much better this year hope she does well coming back. Sad to read on here that Robin and Maggie arent returning..Robin was one of my favourite vets. 

Re: how many there were I definitely thought when they are all crowding around the whiteboard that's not 400 people..too small of a crowd! 

Now to the next episode and watch as there will that one girl who doesn't have good kicks and maybe 'they'll improve', goes through to training camp anyway and eventually kicked off due to her kicks. Every year. Taryn was last years one and I really liked her. Brianas kicks too but there were other things going against her (Side note glad she didn't re-audition this year..I want to see her pop up in like 2 or 3 years and just kill it!) 

[GBPackersfan]

Just watched, here are my thoughts: 

LIKES: 

VK: I think she is STUNNING, love her figure, and she was fantastic in the dance, I didn't realize it was her until a bit later on. I'm totally rooting for her

Madeline: I liked her last year, she seems better this year. 

Nick as a judge!!!! He KNOWS what he is talking about and he seems very personable and down to earth. 

MRS hair...love it. Love it. LOVE IT!

Phil. I would love to see 100x more Phil. My favorite Phil moment was when Jackie Bob brought him out for her solo. He is GREAT! #TeamPhil

DISLIKES:

The sob stories. I seriously do not care one whit about girls who never make it to training camp. (I didn't care much for Paris either. I wanted to like her but it just didn't work for me)

Charlotte's pants. There are no words for the ugliness of these things.

The DCC Video Blog. I've HATED those in the past. HATED. Despised! I think it was Season 9 they used them and YUCK. YUCK. YUCK. Make them go away!

Brennan. I don't like her, I don't enjoy watching her dance, I find her whiney. And as I have said many times on this board, her face looks like she is smelling a fart and gosh darn if she didn't have that face on during her solo! 

I generally don't care for the prelims anyhow, this was no different. I'll be excited for the finals. 

[MyFavShows]

11 hours ago, CheerGoddess said:

She left before all of her duties were filled as a DCC, and Kelli referenced her and Alexandria leaving and saying that other girls could’ve had their spots. 

Do we know WHY Kalyssa left?  Alexandria left to care for a family member who was sick, right?

Edit - Nevermind - saw other answer.

Edited August 3, 2018 by MyFavShows

[MyFavShows]

11 hours ago, EricaShadows said:

I feel for you.  There are times when I REALLY miss cable, then I think of all the times Comcast raided my checking account and am glad I don't (besides, I still wouldn't be able to watch the episodes online because CMT and Comcast don't have an agreement).  

As for Kalyssa, she split in February of this year (I think) to pursue other avenues, mainly nude, nearly nude, and nude-with-a-towel modeling.  At least, that seems to be the majority of her "modeling" career right now.

Sorry I missed this before asking about Kalyssa above.   So she finished out all the games and left in February?   So when you leave in February, what all duties do you miss?  Like when are they officially done?

[MrsEVH]

Thoughts/observations: 

I'm surprised Kelli didn't elaborate more about the 2 rookies that left. Seems like she feels guilty about cutting Brennan.

Does Paris have an accent or speech impediment?  Another single mom sob story.

I don't get what's so great about Meredith.

Madi- Now I know why she has trouble making TC; not a lot of dance experience.  She was cut by the DSIG last year (someone posted she was recovering from a car accident so that might be why).

A lot of girls from CA and NY/NJ audition

Victoria is annoying and IMHO her mother isn't/wasn't that pretty as a DCC

Jalyn- If Charlotte and Kelli don't her hair color it can be changed during makeovers. Marshall said it about Milan's hair color when Charlotte criticized it..

Diamond (one of bad dancers)- She was a Jets Flight Crew cheerleader in 2014 and is featured in a youtube video about it. 

  

Edited August 3, 2018 by MrsEVH

[scorpio1031]

5 minutes ago, MyFavShows said:

Sorry I missed this before asking about Kalyssa above.   So she finished out all the games and left in February?   So when you leave in February, what all duties do you miss?  Like when are they officially done?

They sign a contract thru May, and she was on show group as well.

[GBPackersfan]

6 minutes ago, MyFavShows said:

Sorry I missed this before asking about Kalyssa above.   So she finished out all the games and left in February?   So when you leave in February, what all duties do you miss?  Like when are they officially done?

I believe they are under contract until the end of April, beginning of May or so. There are a bunch of appearances year round too. There is a RUMOR that she was booked for an appearance and didn't show also. 

[ByTor]

34 minutes ago, MyFavShows said:

Sorry I missed this before asking about Kalyssa above.   So she finished out all the games and left in February?   So when you leave in February, what all duties do you miss?  Like when are they officially done?

She also missed out on the pinky ring.

[EricaShadows]

Finally watched the episode so here are my thoughts so far:

Victoria was a better dancer than I thought, at least in freestyle.  I'll wait to see how she does in later rounds to see if she really changes my mind.  It did seem that they thought we might forget about her if the show went more than 10 minutes or so without mentioning her.  Again, I'll wait to see if that stops in later episodes.  She could be a Cassie (tougher on her then the rest, but not really, but not shown any more than any of the other spotlighted girls) or a Morgan/Breelan, where she's focused on almost to the exclusion of other girls, rookie candidates or not, in Training Camp.

Too much Tina.  Part of my annoyance with Victoria stems from her mom being shoved down our throats as much as, if not more so, than Victoria was.

I liked Dayton's comment at the end when she talked to her mom.  Dayton said that she told her mom that her number wasn't there, her mom gave her an "Are you crazy" look, and Dayton told her "Just Kidding".  I wasn't a fan of her using "I was like" and "She was like", but that's seems to be the way she talks in casual conversation.  It may drive me nuts (especially hearing it from people in their late 20's and up), but I can tolerate it.  She doesn't seem as nervous this year, but, after the board reveal and her number being up there, she's probably feeling relieved and coming down from both the nerves and excitement.  

I think Paris doesn't speak as well as she could and needs to focus on taking some speech classes to work on cleaning up her accent, diction, and clarity of speech.  She seems to have some of the accent that I've heard from African-American girls who've grown up in, and gotten out of (but not long out of) the poorer neighborhoods.  She also needs to do something about that hair (as does the girl in the yellow-and-black "scuba suit") as it doesn't suit her.  Something that doesn't involve hair dyes or chemical straighteners or bad weaves made worse,  Go to a GOOD hairstylist and get it sorted out stat.

There will always girls who think that they're better dancers then they really are or have a better figure than they really do or figure this is the only way they'll ever be on national television.  There are also the girls who wear the wrong outfits, but most of those are eliminated this first round because they can't just. can't. dance.  The best dancers also seem to be the ones that can follow directions, have researched the organization they're auditioning for and come prepared.  I haven't been a trained dancer in years (if I ever was), but I still read the articles that have tips for auditioning (which include tips on how to dress appropriately, yet individually, for auditions and researching what the company wants the dancers to wear for auditions).  If these girls are serious about returning next year, then they'd better fix their diet, fix their overall look, take dance classes, etc.  However, most will never be seen at auditions again.  The ones that are, but haven't fixed things, likely won't be returning for a third round, and the ones that fixed things?  They'll have improved enough to at least be worthy of a second look and maybe move on to semis. 

I may have more later as I watch the episode again at some point.

[Kayce]

I didn't mind the Victoria/Tina piece.  Victoria was actually quite enjoyable to listen to.  Dayton and Shelly will always be my fave daughter/mom duo though :) 

[Taralightner]

14 hours ago, TobyBelle said:

Everything went by so fast. I'm glad they recapped some of the re-auditioners...I really want to to root for them now. By the way, did the girl from UCLA make it at the end? They all looked alike. 

It’s in the spoiler thread if you want to peek. 

14 hours ago, Harrythecat said:

Definitely felt a shift in the catty comments tonight.   Lots of eye rolls, but less starkly 

I noticed that, too! 

[RazzleberryPie]

23 hours ago, hypeman said:

Jenna's dad is a  choreographer (pretty successful, if I remember correctly), so she knows the path she headed down.  You are only young once.  Follow your path, no matter how unconventional.

Pretty sure he works some kind of IT job now, but he definitely was very successful and I’m sure still has some good connections. He’s worked with network TV and says he taught Michael Jackson the moonwalk. 

[Taralightner]

15 hours ago, Teresa said:

I talked to Nicole Bulcher at Bar Method tonight after a class, and she said that it was difficult enough to sustain full-time employment when she was on the squad (but she did!) and since then, it seems every year, they require more and more of the girls' time and commitment. My guess is this is why we are seeing fewer girls going for 5 years and more and more girls quitting like last year mid-season. It's going to become damn near impossible if they don't treat them like full-time employees at some point. KaShara is an instructor at Bar Method too, but she has so little time to teach, that she's only there once in a while.  

I’m SOOOO jealous!!! 

[tanyak]

15 hours ago, Harrythecat said:

Definitely felt a shift in the catty comments tonight.   Lots of eye rolls, but less starkly 

I agree. I was also happy to see that when they cut to the "Bad audition" segment, they showed girls who just couldn't dance and not girls who were super pudgy, or too "old" or considered unattractive. That always seemed really unnecessary to me. 

I don't follow the show outside of this thread, so is this the list of everyone who left/was dismissed from last year?

Alexandra 
Kalyssa
Milan
Holly
Emily

Edited August 3, 2018 by tanyak

[MyFavShows]

2 hours ago, GBPackersfan said:

 

Brennan. I don't like her, I don't enjoy watching her dance, I find her whiney. And as I have said many times on this board, her face looks like she is smelling a fart and gosh darn if she didn't have that face on during her solo! 

 

I can’t stand watching Brennan either.  Her facials are the worst I have ever seen, and she is not attractive facially at all.   She seems like she has crossed eyes too.   Her figure is too frail and skinny and not pleasant to look at.  That overload of slow mo shots of her dancing were painful, just painful!, to watch - I was literally cringing and if I watch again I will fast forward.  I can’t believe so many people on here like her and want her to make the squad?  She is much worse than Christina (who’s personality I don’t like but at least she’s okay to look at).   And I don’t care if Kalyssa and Alexandria quit, Brennan still shouldn’t have made last years squad, Taryn and Celinda were probably the next most deserving if they wanted to have more girls - or just have a smaller squad.

[Taralightner]

14 hours ago, Jesslyn said:

Unlike Melissa, I really dislike the showing of the “bad” girls. 

The only one I enjoyed was: “My name is Tara; for memory sake, my name is Tara.”

If anyone is curious as to why that made me chuckle, take a peek at my username. My name IS Tara. Just so that you don’t forget, my name is Tara. Lol. 

[MyFavShows]

My comments on the episode.

So I’ve been raving about her in the spoiler thread, but now that I’ve seen her on the show, I must admit that VK did look a little heavy in the middle to me.  She’s got a beautiful face and seems to have really prepared and wants DCC, but she needs to work on her midsection some.  It seems like she recognizes it’s an issue, so hopefully she’ll put in the work - but if she’s 18 w/ that tummy, it’s probsbly going to be a perpetual struggle for her during her DCC career (if she makes the squad).  You got to take the good w/ the bad when it comes to your genes though - shes obviously been blessed w/ a pretty face and a nice figure (long legs, good proportions outside of her belly), and if that’s not extensions (nowadays you always have to wonder ;)), beautiful thick hair.

I really like Madeline of the returners - the longer hair makes her look more mature and her dancing looks good to me.  I hope she makes the squad.  She’s is very pretty.

Brennan - see comments above - can’t stand her.

Paris needs to work on her belly if she expects serious consideration.  C’mon girl - you have seen the uniform, right?   Like her story though and she seems like an okay dancer for starting late.

Jayln does not have the DCC look - if she makes TC on her dancing (which seems pretty good), the makeover will be crucial.

Miss America girl is beautiful.  The girl from UCLA was cute too but seemed a little full of herself.

Melissa’s hair looked cute.  She didn’t bother me as much as before.

Oh and re: Dayton, I agree with others who have said she just doesn’t seem like she wants it very much.  She looked a little better this year than last, but VK seems like she wants it WAY more and has prepared as such.  Shelly was looking really pretty in the episode, btw :).

Edited August 3, 2018 by MyFavShows

[woodscommaelle]

Ugh don't say you're world class and then show all of the shitty dancers. Doesn't add up.

[Taralightner]

4 hours ago, bigskygirl said:

I wish they would do Prelims and Semi-Finals in one episode and do two Finals episodes instead.

Me, too! I wish we would have 15 mins of prelims, 45 of semi-finals and a full episode (maybe another if they would show substantial time on solos and interviews) of finals. They could cut almost 20 mins of current format if they would eliminate most/all of the fluff and puff. I don’t need/want to see them doing their hair-talking about how big it needs to be (especially when make-overs show that DCC hair is NOT “big”); I don’t need to see them trying to pin their numbers, putting on mascara or talking about their sequined/rhinestoned bra top and dance shorts. They also could cut a substantial amount of time with the “back stories.”  Do we really need CMT to go to UCLA to show that she has friends? Do we really need “receipts” of that?? Sorry for the long rant... I guess half of this could be “cut” as well. Lol 

Edited August 3, 2018 by Taralightner
I actually DID cut some of it. Lol

[nittanyvolleyball]

Literally half this episode should have been left on the cutting room floor. I don't need to hear about the sob stories or their dance background followed by a trip to UCLA. I would appreciate a short intro on the girls and that's that. Focus MORE on the dancing and less on the fluff content.

[PrincessLeia]

I haven’t finished the episode but I just had to post about Paris from Florida. What an incredible young lady. This is a young lady who has truly struggled... growing up in a gang/drug infested neighborhood full of poverty and violence. Losing her mother at 13. Truly working at bettering her life and the life of her young daughter. 

[hypeman]

Just now, nittanyvolleyball said:

Literally half this episode should have been left on the cutting room floor. I don't need to hear about the sob stories or their dance background followed by a trip to UCLA. I would appreciate a short intro on the girls and that's that. Focus MORE on the dancing and less on the fluff content.

I think they view the problem with that as you would actually be able to form an opinion about who was better, and not just take their word for it.

From what I've heard plenty of ladies have crappy solos and stay on the team, while others are dismissed for weak solos.  If we saw all the solos, those cover stories wouldn't fly,

Just my conspiracy theory. 

[PrincessLeia]

Just heard Charlotte’s snarky comment about Paris. “Mhhhh, I don’t know about her.” Or something similar. Then cut to her gushing over the perfect blondes. I really don’t like Charlotte. At all. 

[nittanyvolleyball]

2 minutes ago, hypeman said:

I think they view the problem with that as you would actually be able to form an opinion about who was better, and not just take their word for it.

From what I've heard plenty of ladies have crappy solos and stay on the team, while others are dismissed for weak solos.  If we saw all the solos, those cover stories wouldn't fly,

Just my conspiracy theory. 

You're absolutely right, when I think about it that's the reason I could see them coming up with. They want the average viewer to relate to the girls, and don't want to cater to the obsessers like us lol

[Kayce]

5 minutes ago, PrincessLeia said:

Just heard Charlotte’s snarky comment about Paris. “Mhhhh, I don’t know about her.” Or something similar. Then cut to her gushing over the perfect blondes. I really don’t like Charlotte. At all. 

Same!  I do not like her input.

[MyFavShows]

48 minutes ago, PrincessLeia said:

Just heard Charlotte’s snarky comment about Paris. “Mhhhh, I don’t know about her.” Or something similar. Then cut to her gushing over the perfect blondes. I really don’t like Charlotte. At all. 

Yeah - Charlotte didn’t seem very likeable at all in that footage.   I remember it. 

[MrsEVH]

2 hours ago, tanyak said:

I agree. I was also happy to see that when they cut to the "Bad audition" segment, they showed girls who just couldn't dance and not girls who were super pudgy, or too "old" or considered unattractive. That always seemed really unnecessary to me. 

I don't follow the show outside of this thread, so is this the list of everyone who left/was dismissed from last year?

Alexandra 
Kalyssa
Milan
Holly
Emily

Whose Emily?  Did you mean Erica?

[tanyak]

30 minutes ago, MrsEVH said:

Whose Emily?  Did you mean Erica?

Yes, Erica. Sorry.

[PBSLover]

14 hours ago, Mamamakesminis said:

Maybe the “attrition” that Kelly mentioned is due to the larger time commitments that the impose on the DCC. 

Back in the day, they used to have Jay workouts before practice. I have no idea if it was mandatory but in 2006, Natalie Woods said that they would start the Jay workouts with a two mile run, then do his workout and then attend practice. Unless I’m getting all this wrong, that is A LOT of time and energy to devote to a part time job. But I digress. I thought the squad was told how much time was required. And of course, show group requires even more time.

To not even finish out the year when you are a rookie or even in your second season is kind of slap in the face. 

[mmm]

18 hours ago, Loves2Dance said:

Why isn't Kitty on the panel?

Bec she trains alot of the girls who audition. It wouldn't be fair. 

[PBSLover]

5 hours ago, GBPackersfan said:

Charlotte's pants. There are no words for the ugliness of these things.

I actually thought Charlotte looked great for once.  I loved the jacket and pants. I thought she looked sophisticated, like she should always look.

I have a lot of respect for Charlotte.  She’s an impressive woman.  She just dresses too young many times.

[mmm]

I have to say, I really like Victoria. She appears to have a personality which is almost a non existing trait in most of the girls who audition for DCC. 

P.S that shows executive producer who knows what they are doing and is not kelli.  

Edited August 3, 2018 by mmm

[PBSLover]

3 hours ago, MyFavShows said:

I can’t stand watching Brennan either.  Her facials are the worst I have ever seen, and she is not attractive facially at all.   She seems like she has crossed eyes too.   Her figure is too frail and skinny and not pleasant to look at.  That overload of slow mo shots of her dancing were painful, just painful!, to watch - I was literally cringing and if I watch again I will fast forward.  I can’t believe so many people on here like her and want her to make the squad?  She is much worse than Christina (who’s personality I don’t like but at least she’s okay to look at).   And I don’t care if Kalyssa and Alexandria quit, Brennan still shouldn’t have made last years squad, Taryn and Celinda were probably the next most deserving if they wanted to have more girls - or just have a smaller squad.

Brennan needs to:

- Dye her hair a darker color. The blonde isn’t working for her.

- Get a spray tan. A good one. And keep it up.

- Stop wearing red audition outfits and dark pink lipstick. It clashed.

- Better eye make-up might help as well. Whatever she is doing is too harsh. Or maybe her eyebrows are too dark?  I need to look again. 

 

**Side bar: I hate dark pink lipstick more than I can say. Only a handful of women/men really look good in it. For some reason I think it looks cheap even if it expensive lipstick. Stupid, I know.

2 hours ago, PrincessLeia said:

I haven’t finished the episode but I just had to post about Paris from Florida. What an incredible young lady. This is a young lady who has truly struggled... growing up in a gang/drug infested neighborhood full of poverty and violence. Losing her mother at 13. Truly working at bettering her life and the life of her young daughter. 

This is not the first time she has auditioned. I recognized her from the past and she was shown in the bad dancer montage they do. She has lost weight and studied up. I’m rooting for her!

[PBSLover]

Last comment then I’ll go away: I love whoever paused the show and counted how many girls were in the stands. 135 is way different than 400. Not cool.

[Stee]

3 hours ago, PrincessLeia said:

I haven’t finished the episode but I just had to post about Paris from Florida. What an incredible young lady. This is a young lady who has truly struggled... growing up in a gang/drug infested neighborhood full of poverty and violence. Losing her mother at 13. Truly working at bettering her life and the life of her young daughter. 

I loved the profile on Paris followed by Daphne from UCLA who said she went through a dark time for a couple months when she didn’t make the dance team!  And then going on about wanting to stand on her own.  

One girl grew up in a terrible neighborhood with a tragic family story, and the other didn’t make the dance team her first time trying out. What a difference in the difficulties in their lives!  I know it wasn’t intentional but it really undercut how incredibly privileged the UCLA girl’s life has been.  Maybe this is why people are responding poorly to her.

Note to producers: you don’t have to show how everyone has had to overcome difficulty - especially when a girl has lived a life of (extreme) privilege. But overall I like the profiles of specific girls and where they come from, because it really informs their journeys.

I actually really appreciated Victoria’s profile. She just owned that she loved dance, had many opportunities but wanted to dance for the DCC. None of that sobstory “I’m dancing for my dead dog” nonsense. 

Edited August 3, 2018 by Stee

[PrincessLeia]

2 hours ago, MyFavShows said:

Yeah - Charlotte didn’t seem very likeable at all in that footage.   I remember it. 

that comment truly offended me. Charlotte just seemed to turn her nose up and look down on the black girl from the dangerous neighborhood . It may be incredibly un-PC for a white girl from Texas to post this, but it just really stood out to me and made me so angry. Then you follow it with the stupid story of the blonde kappa kappa gamma whose dark time wasn’t making the UCLA dance team the first time. I mean, GTF outta here. 

Edited August 3, 2018 by PrincessLeia

[EvergreenLove]

41 minutes ago, PBSLover said:

Last comment then I’ll go away: I love whoever paused the show and counted how many girls were in the stands. 135 is way different than 400. Not cool.

I did this as well.  I remember us chatting about the number of ladies trying out has decreased over the years, with speculation that DCC: MTT was driving some away from auditions.  Most definitely NOT 400 in those stands, but it confused me when they were writing the numbers on that "traditional white board" <groan> and the numbers went up to 400.  Do they assign numbers based on received audition packets, or do they assign them when they show up at prelims?

And correct me if I'm wrong, but I swear I saw a gentlemen in the sea of ladies sitting in the stands while Kelly was speaking to them.  I was waiting for a focus on him, but nothing.

[MrsEVH]

Are Jalyn and Malena ( Jets cheerleaders) close friends (or will be portrayed) like Tara & Savannah and Danielle & Jasmine?

IMO former Titans cheerleader Brianna looks better this year. Hope she makes it.

[RollTheHardSix]

I'm overseas so I can't watch real-time. I am also unspoiled.

 

Paris:

• I like her. She seems like a fighter.
• She desperately needs a makeover - her hair is terrible, looks like a bad wig. I assume she can afford no better.  
• All that said I don't think she'll make it because she's not the DCC girl-next-door. There's so much going against her (background - dance and life, look, kid). Right now though, I'd want her to make it anway, against all odds.

Brennan:

• I don't have a problem with her, she seems like a nice girl who works hard and tries hard.
• Her facial expressions still seem way over the top and unnatural while dancing. She's not the only one but it's very noticable with her. It always looks like she's trying hard, not like a natural flow. I think I remember that from previous seasons as well.... hasn't changed. 

Dayton:

• if they'd never mentioned her legacy status, I'd be happier. 
• She does not stand out to me at all, same as last year. That's ok to me in first auditions, but they are making her stand out which leaves a negative impression rather than a positive one warranted by any performance of hers.

 

Victoria:

• I don't really have an opinion on her at this point.

[RedbirdNelly]

[full disclosure: I watch this show as a guilty pleasure and do not closely follow or root for anyone]

I have zero dance background and also am not the "puff and fluff" type. So, I find the process interesting. I wish they showed more of the process--even puff and fluff preparations--and less filler. I'm curious about how this works so I don't want to waste time (a) seeing the judges stand on the field looking up at a video that basically shows footage of people dancing we've seen before; new judge isn't an idiot; no one needs that; or (b) seeing the judges walk and people clap. I would like more footage of actual try-outs. Less background on people and no need for sob stories.

I also don't like watching the really bad tryouts. I'm fine showing me people who are not good enough, but they need to be legitimate contenders. People who appear to be doing it as a joke or to get a second on television do not interest me at all.

I don't have an opinion on Victoria's dancing but her mentioning her mom struggling with her weight just bummed me out. Maybe mom and daughter have a perfectly healthy view on that topic, but the fact she just brings that up, suggests otherwise to me.

[M1977G]

I didn't realize Paris had auditioned before and had improved so much! That's awesome. I'm interested to see how she does picking up choreography quickly at semis. I actually think that, despite the editing attempt (the edit literally prompted us to look at her thru a chain link fence that signifies the "other side of the tracks"), she doesn't have a sob story. Unlike Tasha, there was no, "people said my life was over" because she had a baby. Yes, she choked up talking about losing her mom, but that's totally human. I choke up talking about losing my mom at that age, too. More striking to me are her positive attitude, backup dance gigs for Cardi B (without technical training!), her desire to inspire young women and girls to dream big no matter what, and owning her own business. Those things just don't scream sob story to me. I also liked her spunk and style and thought that, under the unflattering hair, she is pretty. I don't think there's anything wrong with the way she speaks. And I wasn't surprised that Charlotte likes the skinny blondes (including Ice Angels Maddie who has limited training) more than Paris. Charlotte definitely has a Eurocentric beauty standard and most non-white girls she approves have to come close to it to win her over, it seems. 

Guess I had more feelings about that than I realized! Overall, a fun episode and I'm happy the season is back. Phil rocks the house. Yes, Charlotte's pants are ugly and made her look like a circus person on stilts. Judy's botox has raised her forehead line noticeably and I don't love it. 

Spoiler

I'm so curious to find out why beautiful dancer Meredith doesn't make training camp! At least, she's not on the cheat sheet someone on here made with everyone's pictures and names. She is gorgeous and what little dancing I saw was lovely. 

Favorite ladies seen this episode for me are Daphne, Gabby, Meredith, Dayton, reauditioning Maddie, and Paris. 

[Victoria Kiki]

15 hours ago, 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.

Exactly! I would never expect to take up a martial art for a year or two and become a any degree in anything. Dance is hard and she is competing against people who have danced at pro levels, elite and college team levels. Let’s not be delusional. ??‍♀️ Nice try but no, we already had a Katherine Dunn (pretty and sweet but not the best dancer). 

[PBSLover]

I’m back. Sorry, I thought I was done but I forgot one thing: THE MUSIC WAS HORRIBLE. Again. Yes, they played Avicii (big fan) but I’ve been singing Call Me Maybe all damn day. They can’t pay for good songs for the tv airings?

[Jess14]

3 hours ago, PBSLover said:

Last comment then I’ll go away: I love whoever paused the show and counted how many girls were in the stands. 135 is way different than 400. Not cool.

Right. And its so unnecessary. If they're embarrassed that more girls aren't trying out, then they should just decline from providing a number in the first place. Don't lie, especially when it's obvious that there aren't 400 girls there. 

5 hours ago, PrincessLeia said:

Just heard Charlotte’s snarky comment about Paris. “Mhhhh, I don’t know about her.” Or something similar. Then cut to her gushing over the perfect blondes. I really don’t like Charlotte. At all. 

Yeah, agreed. Especially because I think it was right after Kelli said that Paris's story won her over. Personally, I don't think Paris has the technique to be on the team based on what was shown, but Charlotte's comment just seemed so snotty (not that she doesn't always come off like a snob). 

21 hours ago, Stee said:

I thought this part was strange - it looked more like Victoria’s lack of spatial awareness made her dance into someone’s pirouettes.  Not the other way around. 

Exactly, Victoria seemed like she was in that girl's space, not the other way around. 

20 hours ago, Jesslyn said:

Unlike Melissa, I really dislike the showing of the “bad” girls. 

That is always my least favorite section of the episode. They should just be happy that they got a few more bodies in the seats. No need to embarrass the ones who truly are clueless and may not realize how bad they are, and no need to provide attention to the girls who only showed up to get a 5 second cameo in the prelims episode. 

There was something about the UCLA girl that didn't really rub me the right way. I'll reserve judgment until I see more of her.

Victoria didn't bother me at all. Nothing from this episode made me dislike her, but I thought Kelli's gushing about her seemed to be a bit much. She looked fine, but she's not the second coming. I hope they won't try and prop her up all season.  

[CheerGoddess]

2 hours ago, 123DCCWoooo said:

I did this as well.  I remember us chatting about the number of ladies trying out has decreased over the years, with speculation that DCC: MTT was driving some away from auditions.  Most definitely NOT 400 in those stands, but it confused me when they were writing the numbers on that "traditional white board" <groan> and the numbers went up to 400.  Do they assign numbers based on received audition packets, or do they assign them when they show up at prelims?

And correct me if I'm wrong, but I swear I saw a gentlemen in the sea of ladies sitting in the stands while Kelly was speaking to them.  I was waiting for a focus on him, but nothing.

My guess would be that they assign the numbers whenever they receive the applications. So perhaps there were 400 applications, but then only 135 showed up. However, I find it hard to believe that only that many would show up out of 400 and that probably even fewer applied than that. 

Maybe they are intentionally assigning the numbers that way to make it seem like there are that many girls there. Too bad we have eyes!!!

[chabelisaywow]

Regarding the two legacies - Victoria can dance, butta her face - it's the over bite or something.

Dayton may have danced in a studio since she was small - but she has no technique. 

Her Mom hanging around and dancing along is very helicopterish/unprofessional, also very annoying. 

I was turned off when Dayton told her Mom she didn't make the board, she said it in a way that made it seem that could NEVER happen. 

I started watching last season when I caught an episode while channel surfing - then I binge watched.

Brianna? The young girl from New Jersey, Kelli's fascination with her seriously irked me.  She also had no technique, no personality, and they let her pass week after week. What cracked me up about her was that she mentioned auditioning for the Rockettes, but she couldn't kick. 

[Megan]

Jerk ass opinion, but since these girls really only seem to care about physical appearances..

Victoria is 18? If you told me she was 35, I'd been like okay, but she looks a bit old for her age.