S13.E01: The Road to World Class Begins

[Law Mom]

I'm pulling for Brennan, because I think she is pretty, a good dancer, and mature. Even if I thought she wasn't good enough, if she gets cut, which is unlikely given that Kelli outright said she should have made it last year, I will not be gleeful because Brennan is a real live person and I am not a sociopath.

[MyFavShows]

On 8/4/2018 at 6:49 AM, ByTor said:

Here's what I don't get, and maybe someone who has actually danced can answer this.  So many girls say they've danced since they were 2.  What kind of dancing can a 2 year old do?  They don't even walk so great at that age.

Agreed, it sounded like "No, silly, of course I made it to the next round."

Dancing at 2 is a money maker for the studio.  The toddlers come in, run around having fun doing dance-like motions and jumping and spinning around, and they begin to learn how to stand in a formation and walk in a line.   It’s mostly a gimmick that gives the entire family (especially grandparents) a lot of “omg - look how cute she is” moments - meanwhile they are selling you dancewear, pictures, tuition, etc.  

The more financially ambitious studios will use this time to check you out to see how much of a “willing spender” you are and if you prove yourself to be a good customer they’ll start to funnel your kid into the classes that will lead to more serious (aka expensive) stuff down the line.   At least that’s how things work in the larger studios around me ;).

Your kid doesn’t really start to learn any real dancing until maybe 5 years old and it’s not uncommon for kids who don’t dance at all until age 5-6 to end up much better than those who danced starting at 2.    I’d say maybe around age 8 is when you really start to see a difference in who’s had dance training and who hasn’t - and the kids who have a serious talent for dance really start to stand out. 

[PrincessLeia]

14 minutes ago, MyFavShows said:

Dancing at 2 is a money maker for the studio.  The toddlers come in, run around having fun doing dance-like motions and jumping and spinning around, and they begin to learn how to stand in a formation and walk in a line.   It’s mostly a gimmick that gives the entire family (especially grandparents) a lot of “omg - look how cute she is” moments - meanwhile they are selling you dancewear, pictures, tuition, etc.  

The more financially ambitious studios will use this time to check you out to see how much of a “willing spender” you are and if you prove yourself to be a good customer they’ll start to funnel your kid into the classes that will lead to more serious (aka expensive) stuff down the line.   At least that’s how things work in the larger studios around me ;).

Your kid doesn’t really start to learn any real dancing until maybe 5 years old and it’s not uncommon for kids who don’t dance at all until age 5-6 to end up much better than those who danced starting at 2.    I’d say maybe around age 8 is when you really start to see a difference in who’s had dance training and who hasn’t - and the kids who have a serious talent for dance really start to stand out. 

Yep. I put my daughter in creative movement when she was 18 months because the teacher is a friend of mine.... by age 4 we were over it. She took two years off, did a DCC camp last summer and loved it, so we did jazz last year at age 6. At age 7 I can see flashes of natural talent that have nothing to do with starting early. Her teacher pulled me aside and said she needs ballet as it’s the foundation of dance. She said she thinks she could actually do something special with dance, but needs ballet. We’ll see. They haven’t pushed Company classes, thank goodness. 

[Law Mom]

It's true. Dancers need ballet. Mine hated it--she found it repetitive and boring. But she will be the first to tell you it's necessary. She can instantly tell how much ballet a dancer has had regardless of their current style. At age 7, one hour a week is all that's necessary. After age 8 or so, three hours a week is needed to be anything more than a recreational dancer.

[ElectricBoogaloo]

45 minutes ago, MyFavShows said:

Dancing at 2 is a money maker for the studio.  The toddlers come in, run around having fun doing dance-like motions and jumping and spinning around, and they begin to learn how to stand in a formation and walk in a line.   It’s mostly a gimmick that gives the entire family (especially grandparents) a lot of “omg - look how cute she is” moments - meanwhile they are selling you dancewear, pictures, tuition, etc. 

And all the recital expenses! Tickets, ads in the program so that the relatives can tell the 2 year old how much they love them, marked up costume prices, flower bouquets sold by the studio that you can pick up in the lobby, and then the performance video/DVD.

Luckily my sister went to a ballet studio that really focused on ballet training (not competitions) but also offered classes in jazz, hip hop, etc. so they weren't constantly fleecing us for competition fees, recital expenses, etc. They had one annual recital in the summer for the whole studio and then they had small free performances at the studio for the parents throughout the year (like "this Saturday, the intermediate ballet class will have a performance for the parents at 4pm" - nothing formal but just to the parents could see how their kids were progressing). The only competitive thing her studio did was Cecchetti exams. As a result, when she reached high school and joined the dance team, her technique was miles ahead of the girls who had attended the competition studio a mile away from the ballet studio.

[EricaShadows]

36 minutes ago, Law Mom said:

It's true. Dancers need ballet. Mine hated it--she found it repetitive and boring. But she will be the first to tell you it's necessary. She can instantly tell how much ballet a dancer has had regardless of their current style. At age 7, one hour a week is all that's necessary. After age 8 or so, three hours a week is needed to be anything more than a recreational dancer.

From what I understand, 1/2 hour to 45 minutes is more than enough for the 5-6 age group with 45 minutes to an hour being plenty for the 7-8 group.  That seems to be the time when they decide to be serious or not as well as when talent starts to show through.  Usually they don't need classes more than once a week  Hour-long classes are good until 12 or 13 then it goes to an hour and a half.  This is even before they go on pointe (their toes) somewhere between 10 and 12.  If they do add pointe classes, add another hour and don't forget that they have to start doing more classes during the week, maybe the regular classes twice a week with the pointe classes twice a week as well as character, pas de deux, contemporary, and any other classes required for the pre-professional girl and that's just depending on which method the girls are training in (Balanchine, Cechetti, RAD, French, Vaganova, etc.) 

If ANY girl decides she wants to dance professionally, she needs to get herself into ballet classes stat.  That is, unless she's already had years of ballet training and has branched out into other areas.  There are too many girls who go in thinking that being self-taught or that dancing at the clubs or anything is more than enough to get them through and onto whatever group they're trying to join.  Ballet is EXTREMELY important to know exactly what part of your body belongs where and exactly what it should look like when it gets there.  It's called placement, body awareness, and spatial awareness.  Another thing I noticed is that a lot of these girls do competitions, even up to the national levels.  They may be good dancers, but a lot of focus is on flexibility and tricks, not actual dancing (even in ballet competitions).  

Look up the "Jasmine Flowers" competition piece performed by the Atlanta Professional Dance Academy for a quality ballet competition piece as well as wonderfully trained dancers.

Now, back to your regularly scheduled conversation. 

Edited August 6, 2018 by EricaShadows

[sugarplum]

I don’t know. I’m a dance teacher. I teach 2-3 year olds. I keep it fun with silly songs and games, but they learn actual dancing. My 2-3 class can do/name body positions, plies, tendus, passé, chasse, arabesque, ronde de jambe, sauté, and battements. Do they do them correctly all the time? No. But they know what the movements are and execute the best they can. My 2-3 year olds do a ballet/tap combo ~20-25 minutes of each. We do 1 recital per year (no competitions). It is obviously more laid back and less strict than my older classes, but at least at our studio, they are learning fundamentals of dance technique. 

 

I also started when when I was 2. Danced through high school, minored in Dance in college, and returned home to teach in the studio I grew up in part time. My only real dance ambition was to become a Rockette. However, I never grew past 5’1”, so that dream went out the window. ? I kept and keep dancing because I loved it. I teach, because I want to instill that love of Dance into other children. 

 

ETA: I have no idea why my phone insists on capitalizing dance every time. ?‍♀️

Edited August 6, 2018 by sugarplum

[RedDelicious]

On 8/3/2018 at 9:48 PM, chabelisaywow said:

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. 

 

On 8/4/2018 at 12:17 AM, Dccfanatic said:

Yep, totally agree with you (except I don’t think Victoria is a butta face), especially the part about being turned off when Dayton told said she didn’t make it and then was all J/K. I thought it was in poor taste and I had a negative reaction when she said it.  It rubbed me the wrong way. 

I agree. Dayton came off as entitled with her little joke. She didn't appear to be well prepared which surprised me. But maybe she just expected it, which wouldn't surprise me.

[ElectricBoogaloo]

2 hours ago, EricaShadows said:

If ANY girl decides she wants to dance professionally, she needs to get herself into ballet classes stat.  That is, unless she's already had years of ballet training and has branched out into other areas.  There are too many girls who go in thinking that being self-taught or that dancing at the clubs or anything is more than enough to get them through and onto whatever group they're trying to join.  Ballet is EXTREMELY important to know exactly what part of your body belongs where and exactly what it should look like when it gets there.  It's called placement, body awareness, and spatial awareness.  Another thing I noticed is that a lot of these girls do competitions, even up to the national levels.  They may be good dancers, but a lot of focus is on flexibility and tricks, not actual dancing (even in ballet competitions).  

It's pretty obvious watching DCC auditions (even in the freestyle round) who has had any kind of dance classes vs who has a ballet background vs who has been told she's hot while dancing at clubs. My issue with the dancers at competition studios is that although they are often able to get their bodies to do the tricks, it's with poor technique which increases the likelihood of injuries. Sometimes when my sister and I watch dance shows/competitions together, we simultaneously yell "ACK!!" and cringe/flinch/cover our eyes when we see really obviously bad technique that will almost certainly end up causing an injury.

2 hours ago, sugarplum said:

I also started when when I was 2. Danced through high school, minored in Dance in college, and returned home to teach in the studio I grew up in part time. My only real dance ambition was to become a Rockette. However, I never grew past 5’1”, so that dream went out the window. ? I kept and keep dancing because I loved it. I teach, because I want to instill that love of Dance into other children.

I started when I was three or four and continued to dance through college. I was on the dance team in high school and college but I had no professional aspirations because of my height (5'2" - hello, fellow short dancer!) and my flat feet, but I just loved to dance. I totally understand some of the girl auditioning for the DCC describing their lifelong love of dance and I remember how much more intensely I felt that at, say, the age of 18, but I also think it's sad when they pin all their hopes and dreams on becoming a DCC. There are thousands of other dance opportunities out there, girls! There's no need to be so devastated because you got rejected from ONE of those many things. Keep taking dance classes and audition for something else. If you really love to dance, you will dance no matter what kind of costume/uniform you're in.

[MrsEVH]

12 hours ago, NoChtngWhenEtng said:

Did Meredith try out in the original 2 hr special or in season 1? I saw the scene with her little post-its in the bathroom and I've been a DCC fan ever since. It was like watching another world that I had no idea existed. 

Meredith auditioned in the 2 hour special (2005) but didn't make it. She came back in season 2 (2007) was featured and made the team.

[Taralightner]

9 hours ago, PrincessLeia said:

Yep. I put my daughter in creative movement when she was 18 months because the teacher is a friend of mine.... by age 4 we were over it. She took two years off, did a DCC camp last summer and loved it, so we did jazz last year at age 6. At age 7 I can see flashes of natural talent that have nothing to do with starting early. Her teacher pulled me aside and said she needs ballet as it’s the foundation of dance. She said she thinks she could actually do something special with dance, but needs ballet. We’ll see. They haven’t pushed Company classes, thank goodness. 

She NEEDS ballet- it’s the foundation of all dance (except hip hop, but most hip hop choreographers have had some ballet and use the foundational terminology). She needs it to learn and develop turn-out, feet extension, basic “movement” terminology, balance and turns just to name a few core concepts. If she’s great at it, DO NOT let her go on pointe until she’s at least 13-14 (or at her first period).  Studios push that early if they think they are going to lose a kid without putting her “up”.

[rl27rl]

20 hours ago, sleepyjean said:

I think what happens is they have a stack of numbers, 1-500. They peek outside and see how many women are waiting in line, and then they start removing numbers from the stack in chunks of 25 or 50. 76-100, 151-200, 251-300, 351-400 all go in the trash. Then they divvy up what's left of the stack between the 5 people sitting at the registration table.

By way of comparison, here is the board for 2011.

The numbers go up just above 450 and are more evenly distributed, however I do see missing chunks of 25.  76-100, 176-200, 276-300, 376-400. Not as many as this year, but there are definitely holes. They've been doing this all along.

For what it's worth, I bet this is a fairly common practice. Most teams want it to look like they had a big turnout. But the kinds of numbers the DCC attracted this year are what you see for the midwest NFL teams where the pool of talent is smaller to begin with.

And while I'm spending way too much time thinking about this, these two photos are from 2012:

This is a zoomable seating chart from AT&T stadium. The photos above appear to be from section 148. 15 rows. 23 seats per row, except for the last row, which has 21, and the candidates take up almost all of it.

This is a screen shot from this week's episode:

This year, they've moved to one of the corner sections that they can fill with a smaller group. It looks like section 144, which is wedge-shaped. The front row only has 15 seats. It looks like the women are only taking 9 rows. The 9th row looks like 23 seats. If they'd had the turnout they've had in past years, they've would've shot in a bigger section, like they have in past. But I give them credit for trying to maintain the illusion.

 

I'm wondering if this is footage that they have taken from Semi's and not Prelims . . .  we know CMT loves to EDIT!  But I could also see them trying to pull the wool over viewer eyes!

Edited August 6, 2018 by rl27rl

[MyFavShows]

5 minutes ago, rl27rl said:

I'm wondering if this is footage that they have taken from Semi's and not Prelims . . .  we know CMT loves to EDIT!  But I could also see them trying to pull the wool over viewer eyes!

Yeah - the 150-ish number we are seeing would make more sense if it was semis - 100 girls they take from prelims + the recruited girls that get to skip.  I guess we could figure it out - like do we ever see girls who are cut at prelims sitting in those stands?   What about their outfits - does what the girl is wearing in the stands ever match their semis outfit when they are doing the combo?

[sugarplum]

8 hours ago, ElectricBoogaloo said:

It's pretty obvious watching DCC auditions (even in the freestyle round) who has had any kind of dance classes vs who has a ballet background vs who has been told she's hot while dancing at clubs. My issue with the dancers at competition studios is that although they are often able to get their bodies to do the tricks, it's with poor technique which increases the likelihood of injuries. Sometimes when my sister and I watch dance shows/competitions together, we simultaneously yell "ACK!!" and cringe/flinch/cover our eyes when we see really obviously bad technique that will almost certainly end up causing an injury.

I started when I was three or four and continued to dance through college. I was on the dance team in high school and college but I had no professional aspirations because of my height (5'2" - hello, fellow short dancer!) and my flat feet, but I just loved to dance. I totally understand some of the girl auditioning for the DCC describing their lifelong love of dance and I remember how much more intensely I felt that at, say, the age of 18, but I also think it's sad when they pin all their hopes and dreams on becoming a DCC. There are thousands of other dance opportunities out there, girls! There's no need to be so devastated because you got rejected from ONE of those many things. Keep taking dance classes and audition for something else. If you really love to dance, you will dance no matter what kind of costume/uniform you're in.

Yes!!! I totally agree. I think At 18/20 I would have been over the moon to chase a dream such as the DCC (that was never on my radar, personally), and can understand the almost paralyzing feeling of rejection if you don’t make the cut. But take a few days, even a week or 2, have your pity party, and then move on! There is so much more to life!

9 hours ago, RedDelicious said:

 

I agree. Dayton came off as entitled with her little joke. She didn't appear to be well prepared which surprised me. But maybe she just expected it, which wouldn't surprise me.

I didn’t think she came off as entitled. I think she expected to make it through prelims, and I totally understand that. I, personally, would expect myself to make it through prelims. To me, semis and finals are where the rubber meets the road. If she had made the comment after finals, then I would find it a little entitled. But Dayton made it all the way to finals last year. There is no reason she would think she’s getting cut at prelims (not saying it couldn’t happen, but she would have to screw up REALLY bad). She was joking with her mom, who also expected her to make it through prelims with no issue. I see no problem with that. 

[Jesslyn]

2 hours ago, sugarplum said:

Yes!!! I totally agree. I think At 18/20 I would have been over the moon to chase a dream such as the DCC (that was never on my radar, personally), and can understand the almost paralyzing feeling of rejection if you don’t make the cut. But take a few days, even a week or 2, have your pity party, and then move on! There is so much more to life!

I didn’t think she came off as entitled. I think she expected to make it through prelims, and I totally understand that. I, personally, would expect myself to make it through prelims. To me, semis and finals are where the rubber meets the road. If she had made the comment after finals, then I would find it a little entitled. But Dayton made it all the way to finals last year. There is no reason she would think she’s getting cut at prelims (not saying it couldn’t happen, but she would have to screw up REALLY bad). She was joking with her mom, who also expected her to make it through prelims with no issue. I see no problem with that. 

Either way, as a mom, it isn’t funny in the slightest to me. 

[MonicaTx]

On 8/2/2018 at 10:31 PM, CheerGoddess said:

Still loving the subtle shade Kelli threw at kalyssa and Alexandria about them leaving the team prematurely ?

Why did they leave the team early last year?

[chabelisaywow]

Quote

There is no reason she would think she’s getting cut at prelims (not saying it couldn’t happen, but she would have to screw up REALLY bad).

I'm a low level dance mom and even I've seen tons of dancers WAY BETTER than Dayton.  Granted, maybe these caliber dancers aren't auditioning for the DCC, but I don't think with her skill level, she should feel comfortable at any stage of the audition - unless it's unspoken that she will always make the first cut, regardless. 

[Kayce]

16 minutes ago, MonicaTx said:

Why did they leave the team early last year?

Alexandria supposedly left for a "family emergency/illness" after her first pre season game performance with the team.  Kalyssa left in February I believe, to pursue "other options" in the modeling world.  

Edited August 6, 2018 by Kayce

[Taralightner]

12 hours ago, ElectricBoogaloo said:

It's pretty obvious watching DCC auditions (even in the freestyle round) who has had any kind of dance classes vs who has a ballet background vs who has been told she's hot while dancing at clubs. My issue with the dancers at competition studios is that although they are often able to get their bodies to do the tricks, it's with poor technique which increases the likelihood of injuries. Sometimes when my sister and I watch dance shows/competitions together, we simultaneously yell "ACK!!" and cringe/flinch/cover our eyes when we see really obviously bad technique that will almost certainly end up causing an injury.

Gotta love studios that value comp wins and tuition over teaching solid technique. And, the injury thing is a REAL concern. I just don’t know how some studio owners sleep at night!

 I also don’t know anything about Pom style, but some DCC hopefuls grow up with that or cheer as their focus, so they miss the technical training unless they also take ballet, tap and jazz, IMO 

[PrincessLeia]

16 hours ago, Law Mom said:

It's true. Dancers need ballet. Mine hated it--she found it repetitive and boring. But she will be the first to tell you it's necessary. She can instantly tell how much ballet a dancer has had regardless of their current style. At age 7, one hour a week is all that's necessary. After age 8 or so, three hours a week is needed to be anything more than a recreational dancer.

She’s taking ballet and jazz this year, so I think we’ll see how she feels in May! She took DCC camp this year and hip hop is her favorite, so maybe next year we’ll add in hip hop. 

 

To keep this DCC, Gina catches a lot of flak on here.... she’s a doll. She was at the DCC camp my daughter did earlier this summer and was absolutely wonderful with my daughter and played with our toddler. Loved on her, held her. I’m now a super fan.  Miranda is a doll as well. 

Edited August 6, 2018 by PrincessLeia

[dccfangirl]

On 8/5/2018 at 6:33 PM, sleepyjean said:

I think what happens is they have a stack of numbers, 1-500. They peek outside and see how many women are waiting in line, and then they start removing numbers from the stack in chunks of 25 or 50. 76-100, 151-200, 251-300, 351-400 all go in the trash. Then they divvy up what's left of the stack between the 5 people sitting at the registration table.

By way of comparison, here is the board for 2011.

The numbers go up just above 450 and are more evenly distributed, however I do see missing chunks of 25.  76-100, 176-200, 276-300, 376-400. Not as many as this year, but there are definitely holes. They've been doing this all along.

For what it's worth, I bet this is a fairly common practice. Most teams want it to look like they had a big turnout. But the kinds of numbers the DCC attracted this year are what you see for the midwest NFL teams where the pool of talent is smaller to begin with.

And while I'm spending way too much time thinking about this, these two photos are from 2012:

This is a zoomable seating chart from AT&T stadium. The photos above appear to be from section 148. 15 rows. 23 seats per row, except for the last row, which has 21, and the candidates take up almost all of it.

This is a screen shot from this week's episode:

This year, they've moved to one of the corner sections that they can fill with a smaller group. It looks like section 144, which is wedge-shaped. The front row only has 15 seats. It looks like the women are only taking 9 rows. The 9th row looks like 23 seats. If they'd had the turnout they've had in past years, they've would've shot in a bigger section, like they have in past. But I give them credit for trying to maintain the illusion.

I think they just have four/five registration points 1-100, 101-200 etc and then if only 76 girls go to the first reg point then numbers 77-100 don't get given out. 

1 hour ago, chabelisaywow said:

I'm a low level dance mom and even I've seen tons of dancers WAY BETTER than Dayton.  Granted, maybe these caliber dancers aren't auditioning for the DCC, but I don't think with her skill level, she should feel comfortable at any stage of the audition - unless it's unspoken that she will always make the first cut, regardless. 

I thought the clips of her solo were solid high quality. Not saying she's going to become a principle ballerina tomorrow but it was a LOT better than some of the other girls who have made the squad.

[ByTor]

8 minutes ago, PrincessLeia said:

To keep this DCC, Gina catches a lot of flak on here.... she’s a doll. She was at the DCC camp my daughter did earlier this summer and was absolutely wonderful with my daughter and played with our toddler. Loved on her, held her. I’m now a super fan.  Miranda is a doll as well. 

That's so nice!  Did you get to meet any others?

Edited August 6, 2018 by ByTor

[PrincessLeia]

19 minutes ago, ByTor said:

That's so nice!  Did you get to meet any others?

We met Jinelle. She’s fantastic. Very nice and articulate. Kelli Quinn, but we met her last year as well. She’s great. Tasha, she was quieter. Not as friendly as the others, but she might have a shy personality. 

[go4luca]

29 minutes ago, PrincessLeia said:

To keep this DCC, Gina catches a lot of flak on here.... she’s a doll. She was at the DCC camp my daughter did earlier this summer and was absolutely wonderful with my daughter and played with our toddler. Loved on her, held her. I’m now a super fan.  Miranda is a doll as well. 

Thank you for sharing this!  So nice to finally see something positive about Gina shared here!

[bigskygirl]

2 minutes ago, PrincessLeia said:

We met Jinelle. She’s fantastic. Very nice and articulate. Kelli Quinn, but we met her last year as well. She’s great. Tasha, she was quieter. Not as friendly as the others, but she might have a shy personality. 

Interesting about Tasha. She seems more outgoing on the show.

[PrincessLeia]

Just now, bigskygirl said:

Interesting about Tasha. She seems more outgoing on the show.

She wasn’t rude, just not as engaging. 

[ByTor]

4 minutes ago, PrincessLeia said:

4 minutes ago, bigskygirl said:

Interesting about Tasha. She seems more outgoing on the show.

She wasn’t rude, just not as engaging. 

Interesting, I imagined her to be the most engaging since she's a mom.  I do remember you saying last year that you really liked Kelli Q.

Edited August 6, 2018 by ByTor

[bigskygirl]

Maybe Tasha was having an off day or was tired since TC seems to be going on and on. I think Kelli Q. is a teacher, so she has worked a lot with kids before.

[sugarplum]

2 hours ago, chabelisaywow said:

I'm a low level dance mom and even I've seen tons of dancers WAY BETTER than Dayton.  Granted, maybe these caliber dancers aren't auditioning for the DCC, but I don't think with her skill level, she should feel comfortable at any stage of the audition - unless it's unspoken that she will always make the first cut, regardless. 

?‍♀️ To each their own. I saw nothing to indicate Dayton wasn’t talented enough to AT LEAST make it past semis. There are way better dancers than a lot of people, but that doesn’t diminish the fact that she’s talented at what she does. I haven’t seen her this year in the other rounds - perhaps she falls short there (I didn’t see anything to make me think she would though). 

[PrincessLeia]

1 hour ago, ByTor said:

Interesting, I imagined her to be the most engaging since she's a mom.  I do remember you saying last year that you really liked Kelli Q.

Well I just asked my daughter what she thought of Tasha from camp and she remembered her and said she was very nice. So obviously she’s sweet to the kids! 

[ByTor]

The way I look at it, I insult my own intelligence quite often (ummm, I watch The Bachelor LOL), so AFAIC a fib about how many people auditioned doesn't bother me :)

Just now, PrincessLeia said:

Well I just asked my daughter what she thought of Tasha from camp and she remembered her and said she was very nice. So obviously she’s sweet to the kids! 

I'm glad to hear that!  It's always nice to hear when people are nice to kids & leave them with good memories.

[Vivigirl10]

Quote

It's pretty obvious watching DCC auditions (even in the freestyle round) who has had any kind of dance classes vs who has a ballet background vs who has been told she's hot while dancing at clubs. My issue with the dancers at competition studios is that although they are often able to get their bodies to do the tricks, it's with poor technique which increases the likelihood of injuries.

Can I like your post 1,000+ times?!!  This is my issue too.  I'm a snob about competition studios, I'll admit it.  It's all about tricks and flash and no technique.  Sometimes I get so irritated with the dancing on the show that I have to remind myself....ain't nobody on here auditioning for ABT!  It's a completely different style and that's exactly what they're going for.  So I have to just settle down and enjoy :-) 

Ugh.  I was a sucker for Paris.  She won't go far in the competition, but how cool that she was featured on a t.v. show pursuing something that she had made a goal?!  Isn't that something to be proud of in and of itself?  Pretty neat to me.   

[ByTor]

2 minutes ago, Kiki620 said:

I was a sucker for Paris.  She won't go far in the competition, but how cool that she was featured on a t.v. show pursuing something that she had made a goal?!  Isn't that something to be proud of in and of itself?  Pretty neat to me. 

If she doesn't make it past semis maybe she could go for Rhythm & Blue next year.  Unless she'd no longer have interest in moving to the Dallas area.  She lives in Florida, correct?

Edited August 6, 2018 by ByTor

[Collette1104]

1 hour ago, PrincessLeia said:

To keep this DCC, Gina catches a lot of flak on here.... she’s a doll. She was at the DCC camp my daughter did earlier this summer and was absolutely wonderful with my daughter and played with our toddler. Loved on her, held her. I’m now a super fan.  Miranda is a doll as well. 

I think this is the part that is so easy for us to forget, that a huge part of the job is meeting and greeting people in real life, and that we can’t really see this on a heavily edited reality show. I think Gina came across pretty poorly on the show last season, I think Miranda is boring looking, but this is the important part that we can’t see, and it’s 75% of the job. 

[chabelisaywow]

Quote

Sometimes I get so irritated with the dancing on the show that I have to remind myself....ain't nobody on here auditioning for ABT! 

I so agree. Ballet is the foundation of dance.  Without technique - you're really just doing tricks.  For example Maddie on Dance Moms was considered the bomb - but when push came to shove, could barely hold her releve'. I shake my head when I watch the auditions and see how long it takes most of them to go into a pirouette and they end up falling out of it anyway.

Edited August 6, 2018 by chabelisaywow

[Dccfanatic]

3 hours ago, chabelisaywow said:

I'm a low level dance mom and even I've seen tons of dancers WAY BETTER than Dayton.  Granted, maybe these caliber dancers aren't auditioning for the DCC, but I don't think with her skill level, she should feel comfortable at any stage of the audition - unless it's unspoken that she will always make the first cut, regardless. 

100% agree!!!! Thank you!

[PrincessLeia]

15 minutes ago, Collette1104 said:

I think this is the part that is so easy for us to forget, that a huge part of the job is meeting and greeting people in real life, and that we can’t really see this on a heavily edited reality show. I think Gina came across pretty poorly on the show last season, I think Miranda is boring looking, but this is the important part that we can’t see, and it’s 75% of the job. 

I will say I thought Jenna acted like a total snot last year at camp. My impression of her was spot on. And Holly P seemed disinterested as well, and we saw what happened with her later in the summer. 

 

But seriously love Gina and Miranda.... you can’t fake the sweetness they showed my kids. 

[sATL]

On 8/2/2018 at 10:14 PM, MelissaMinion said:

I notice Kelli didn’t mention any girls from other countries this time.

And for the X-nbr of states that don't have a representative ( 50 -34?) - maybe the organization needs to do more marking, visit dance schools, college or pro teams, etc. Not sure they will ever have all 50 states , but maybe try to get under a dozen

On 8/2/2018 at 11:05 PM, 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 kinda the same thought about the woman who owns her own law firm... a lawyer has the time for this - esp. if you are building a practice? get stuck in court? paperwork....

On 8/3/2018 at 6:56 PM, MrsEVH said:

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.

She looks better but there was quick shot of her looking kinda bored/worried - when Kelli was making her inital welcome speech. I just hope that not what the judges saw. I have to re-watch to see if her nbr was on the board

Edited August 6, 2018 by sATL

[sATL]

On 8/3/2018 at 1:06 AM, FutureDCC said:

 

Also wanting to root for "diamond in the rough" Paris but something tells me she won't make it past semis...Agree with one poster above, something off about her.

I'm wondering why Paris didn't try out for any of the FL professional dance organizations after HS. Yes, shoot for DCC but get some experience under your belt to offset the lack of a dozen years of technical training. She seems sad,hurt - like too much went ary in her life and the weight of the world is on her back. She didn't really show too much joy or emotion.

Edited August 6, 2018 by sATL

[sATL]

On 8/5/2018 at 12:19 AM, Bent said:

 

I've always thought they "assigned" numbers via some kind of secret reasoning. To skip  73 dancers (201-128) must mean something about those applications were not what they were looking for. They didn't like their pictures, their recommendations, resume , checked the box on prior criminal record, something. 

So 73 people in groups of 5 gives them a mental break, to focus on the next set. Get a drink of water, get a new pen/pencil... etc

and what we don't know is if all that registered actually showed up. meaning it is possible that #129 wasn't there - there is more than one line at check in, in side of the bldg, right?

Scuba suit made it  - #306 ?

#126 - had a surgery scar.. I guess there was no way to cover that up? I focused on that so much I could not see her dancing.

Edited August 6, 2018 by sATL

[TeacherWoman]

1 hour ago, sATL said:

I've always thought they "assigned" numbers via some kind of secret reasoning. To skip  73 dancers (201-128) must mean something about those applications were not what they were looking for. They didn't like their pictures, their recommendations, resume , checked the box on prior criminal record, something. 

So 73 people in groups of 5 gives them a mental break, to focus on the next set. Get a drink of water, get a new pen/pencil... etc

and what we don't know is if all that registered actually showed up. meaning it is possible that #129 wasn't there - there is more than one line at check in, in side of the bldg, right?

Scuba suit made it  - #306 ?

#126 - had a surgery scar.. I guess there was no way to cover that up? I focused on that so much I could not see her dancing.

Yes, Jewel LeBlanc #306, advanced to semis.  She is Miss Grand Prairie (TX).

[parrotfeathers]

2 hours ago, sATL said:

#126 - had a surgery scar.. I guess there was no way to cover that up? I focused on that so much I could not see her dancing.

I wondered what that was.

[Rubyslippahz]

Opinions are a dime a dozen I know but in my opinion, if the faces of Cassie or Victoria were transplanted onto some non-'legacy' TCCs they'd be a possible dealbreaker.   

Not saying they are ugly at all.  Just that we've seen Kelli and the rest nitpick the facial features of MANY a girl over the years and I can't help but think it.....

[MyFavShows]

9 minutes ago, Rubyslippahz said:

Opinions are a dime a dozen I know but in my opinion, if the faces of Cassie or Victoria were transplanted onto some non-'legacy' TCCs they'd be a possible dealbreaker.   

Not saying they are ugly at all.  Just that we've seen Kelli and the rest nitpick the facial features of MANY a girl over the years and I can't help but think it.....

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.

[Taralightner]

6 hours ago, sugarplum said:

?‍♀️ To each their own. I saw nothing to indicate Dayton wasn’t talented enough to AT LEAST make it past semis. There are way better dancers than a lot of people, but that doesn’t diminish the fact that she’s talented at what she does. I haven’t seen her this year in the other rounds - perhaps she falls short there (I didn’t see anything to make me think she would though). 

And Kelli saying something about her fouettés... I rewatched. It looks to me like she pulled back into herself because she was worried about space. The dancer next to her was moving pretty close. Did you see it. What’s your opinion of those turns? 

[Rubyslippahz]

2 minutes 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.

 I see your point.  Vic has an awkward lip/gums/smile/jaw situation IMO but I concede still prettier than lipless Cassie.  Cassie was very thin and blonde and yeah I think that was about it looks wise.   And who could forget the great personality.  

I still think it's so weird that Kelli/Judy/Charlotte are judging the DCC worthiness of the daughters of their BFFs/coworkers/employees (or of course in one case- one of their own daughters).  Oh well it does make good TV I guess...

[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