2019 Auditions, Finals, and Training Camp Spoilers

[ElenaFR]

1 hour ago, ByTor said:

Very true...although playing devil's advocate, on the flip side I can certainly see why people are disgusted.  They'll take weak-sauce Savannah, so why not give a WOC who's not the best a shot?

Yes!!!!!  Every year the DCC seem to keep 2-3 weak dancers and they are typically not WOC. 

[go4luca]

3 minutes ago, Pebbles116 said:

LOL I am the opposite. I tell it loud and proud. It is my true guilty pleasure and I don't even care how judged I am for it.

Lucky you!  I wish I had this luxury.  I'm a freelancer and too many work contacts in my sector of the film industry would see if I posted or said anything.  It would not help me gain employment, LOL.

[Jennv]

I loved Auto Amy, is rather watch her dance than old Voldemort Kalina any day

[HowdeeDo]

2 hours ago, BringItOn said:

There are SEVERAL mediocre dancers who are white on the DCC. Not going to out them, though. 

I will 

Christina, Jessika, Savannah, Miranda off the top of my head. 

[Katherine1904]

1 hour ago, DCC-UK said:

It seems they want a team of yes mans (or m'ams) rather than individuals. And I couldn't work alongside Rachel W every day, I have no time for some of her backwards opinions. Yes, each to their own but she's been very vocal on social media about her thoughts.

What is it your referring to with Rachel W? 

[bigskygirl]

3 minutes ago, Jennv said:

I loved Auto Amy, is rather watch her dance than old Voldemort Kalina any day

I will take Auto Amy over Voldemort Kalina for $200 Alex,

[ElenaFR]

43 minutes ago, MavisL said:

I think you touched on it quite well. And may I ride on your coattails for a moment: not only nepotism, but blatant favoritism and inequality at the expense of substance and what is right. When we talk about WOC being left out of the equation and talk about the door being held for VK, when I read between the lines, I see, "so you'll hold a spot for a blonde blue eyed legacy who treats people like shit, packs on the pounds and can't dance or use waterproof mascara, but Keyra and Auto Amy were too (insert excuse here)?".  I don't hate VK, but I completely see why people do, and the DCC and co brought all of this on themselves.

This is how I feel on the subject.

[LadyMsJay]

3 hours ago, Jennv said:

Wow Haley got the short end of the DNA stick. Either that or Haley is what Charlotte looked like before having everything done to her face.

I'm so glad someone said it.

2 hours ago, Law Mom said:

I am completely neutral on Victoria. In my opinion, she is good but not necessarily top 36 good. I believe her connections will push her from a ranking of 40-something up to 30-something and that will help her make the team. That’s how life works. She will be a perfectly fine DCC.

Was there too much Victoria on the show last season? Arguably. Was there too much Victoria discussion on the boards? Hell yes. Her name gets inserted into every conversation on every topic. “A looks sad.” “She’s probably sad because VK will make the team.” “B looks soft.” “Not as soft as VK.” “C got cut from training camp.” “TK bribed Kelli to make space for VK.” Ugh, it’s like having to scroll through 897 requests for PMs every day. We need a No VK Talk thread like the GoT No Book Talk thread.

Tell that to Kitty.

1 hour ago, KickYourNose said:

She now has to play ketchup in the rest of her life...

I literally squealed lol!

36 minutes ago, bigskygirl said:

I think Keyra was cut for being late twice, snotty attitude which pissed off TPTB and other girls and were part of the mean girl team. Auto Amy could not pick up the dances and seem a little too desperate to make the team. I think she would have been an one and done girl if she did make the squad. If Victoria did learn a lesson about last year and steps up to the plate I will gladly say I am fine with her being on the team. I guess we will see what happens and how TPTB respond to her being in TC this year.

Equally as desperate as that stiff Ashley girl..or Christina. 

[KatieC]

1 hour ago, go4luca said:

Classy and well stated exit.  Wishing you all the best Gabby and keep that bright smile of yours.  It's beautiful!

Agree. What a class act. I’m so sad she didn’t make it and will miss her big, beautiful smile. 

[ElenaFR]

35 minutes ago, bigskygirl said:

It is like sitting in heavy traffic while watching a car accident scene or eating potato chips. You know you should stop, but the temptation keeps calling you back. I consider the show my guilty pleasure train wreck.

Haha, me too. My husband says that my IQ drops when I watch. 

[loveanddcc]

3 hours ago, ThatSlaps said:

This post >>>> 

I totally agree that women from all backgrounds should be represented, but the fact is that there are several plausible reasons for the decline in diversity on DCC in recent years. You stated them perfectly. There are always the socioeconomic barriers that oftentimes affect minority populations in this country which keeps some women from getting the dance training required for DCC. Fewer WOC could be auditioning for DCC in general and this could be due to a plethora of reasons (want to be on a team with more diversity, purely coincidental, etc.) Or, it could be the fact that TPTB are not as focused on the diversity aspect as they were a few seasons ago. The point is...we don't know and the chances of anyone coming on here to confirm or deny our guesses are slim to none. 

That being said, we should also not be taking mediocre dancers just to add diversity to the squad. Trust me, I would like to see more than the "barbie" type represented on the team, but if those are the girls who are the best dancers who can perform the DCC style, then so be it. I wouldn't want them to put dancers on the squad who are going to make them look worse just because they add diversity to the squad. 

Agreed. There are talented, trained dancers of color out there, like another commenter pointed out, the DCC needs to make it a point to find and recruit them. 

[MavisL]

5 minutes ago, LadyMsJay said:

Equally as desperate as that stiff Ashley girl..or Christina. 

VK

Kaime O'Teeter

Kalli Fullerton

Megan Flaherty

Miranda....the list goes on.

[Kumquat]

10 minutes ago, loveanddcc said:

Agreed. There are talented, trained dancers of color out there, like another commenter pointed out, the DCC needs to make it a point to find and recruit them. 

Excuse me?  Why is it the DCC responsibility to recruit WOC?!  If anything they should be recruiting talented women of EVERY race.  It's not their job to bring in specific races or ethnicities. That would be discriminatory.  

[Squeek]

16 minutes ago, loveanddcc said:

Agreed. There are talented, trained dancers of color out there, like another commenter pointed out, the DCC needs to make it a point to find and recruit them. 

You're asking them to be race selective in recruiting?  There's a word for that.  Discrimination.

[adr1908]

28 minutes ago, loveanddcc said:

Agreed. There are talented, trained dancers of color out there, like another commenter pointed out, the DCC needs to make it a point to find and recruit them. 

BINGO!  The show makes it appear as though you can walk into AT&T Stadium to "chase your dream" of becoming a DCC, but the reality is most of these girls have been sourced through a network of DCC recruiters.  The head recruiter explicitly states in the attached article that she relies on her personal networks to recruit.  Until there is a diversity talent acquisition strategy, I don't expect the team demographic to change.  Here is the link to the article about the head DCC recruiter: https://www.texasmonthly.com/the-culture/shelly-roper-mccaslin-dallas-cowboys-cheerleaders-recruiter/

[Jess14]

Quick....someone notify all of the Diversity and Inclusion committees at major corporations all over the country that they’re engaged in illegal activities!  

Seriously, there are plenty of perfectly lawful ways to go about increasing diversity in your workforce. These D&I committees don’t exist to just help ppl of color either. In many cases, women (including white women) are beneficiaries. 

[PBSLover]

6 hours ago, nittanyvolleyball said:

"Mustard" up the courage. I'M DEAD.

I just looked up the past tense of muster. She spelled it correctly. Am I missing the joke?

[veronicamers]

3 hours ago, Kumquat said:

Excuse me?  Why is it the DCC responsibility to recruit WOC?!  If anything they should be recruiting talented women of EVERY race.  It's not their job to bring in specific races or ethnicities. That would be discriminatory.  

I don't know that it's their responsibility per se, but it is a value they could embrace that many, many employers have...to attract and recruit a "workforce" that is more diverse and representative. As an example: some simple outreach to dance teams at HBCUs. Maybe they do this already, I don't know. But we know they have a recruiting team/office. I'd love to know what they do to reach out to minority populations. 

Edited June 3, 2019 by veronicamers

[Pebbles116]

2 minutes ago, PBSLover said:

I just looked up the past tense of muster. She spelled it correctly. Am I missing the joke?

MUSTERED is the past tense. MUSTARD is the condiment.

[nittanyvolleyball]

2 minutes ago, PBSLover said:

I just looked up the past tense of muster. She spelled it correctly. Am I missing the joke?

it's mustered with an e, not an A like the condiment mustard

[loveanddcc]

14 minutes ago, Squeek said:

You're asking them to be race selective in recruiting?  There's a word for that.  Discrimination.

I am saying they have an unconscious bias and preference towards white dancers, and they need to make a conscious effort to change that. We all run off of unconscious programming we picked up as children... programming that tells us what beauty looks like, etc. You cannot change that (and therefore change what you pass on to your children and what you choose for the DCC) without intentional conscious effort. 

[BringItOn]

19 minutes ago, Squeek said:

You're asking them to be race selective in recruiting?  There's a word for that.  Discrimination.

On the West Coast it's called equal opportunity ... To each their own.

[aimeelou625]

22 hours ago, Pau84 said:

I do not think that Gina Campagna is a WOC. She is from Italian descent. If she is a WOC, you have to include people of Italian descent and you have to include Gina Ligi and Christina Riccelli.

If we count the WOC without excluding the 'white passing', we have now in TC 9 girls out of 45, which is 20%:

1. Alexandra Pena (latin american descent)
2. Chandi Dayle (south asian descent)
3. Kat Puryear (african american descent)
4. Kristen Dodd (latin american descent) 
5. Alanna Tarango (latin american descent)
6. Ashlee Ford (african american descent)
7. Briana Baisden (african american descent)
8. Cianna Levi (from all over the world)
9. Tess Guidry (Louisiana Cajun descent)

Thank you for the correction (don’t know why I thought she had a Hispanic heritage).  Guess I was misinformed.  Still love the confirmation, but they missed out on several ladies!  Maybe those ladies will come back stronger next year or there will maybe be more spots to fill next season.

[HowdeeDo]

Why exactly do they need recruiters for the squad anyway? Is there some perk of them getting a few Prep classes/audition fee paid for or something as enticement to tryout? Everyone knows who the DCC is especially with their TV show and all. Seems like a waste of Cowboys dollars to go around convincing girls. Don’t really care if they have 100 audition or 1000. 

[Squeek]

2 minutes ago, BringItOn said:

On the West Coast it's called equal opportunity ... To each their own.

Equal Opp is EQUAL, not recruiting a specific race.  Least it's supposed to be.

[Kumquat]

So I've lurked around the boards for a long time but I'd never joined to post until now and I'm about to be a very unpopular person I have a feeling.

VK - Someone said this already but I think she causes such a reaction in people because of how they've been treated in the past.  Her behavior, and K&J's last year was frustrating.  Let's see how she behaves this year and not judge her so harshly on her past.  However can we get someone to do her hair? Please?

Gabby - She proved with her response to being cut she's a class act.  All we do know is she was on weight warning a lot last year.  The interview issue that was posted was one vet retired late, which we know was Lauren, and another candidate was late, we now know that was Raven, leaving just the candidate and one other in that interview session.  All we have is speculation from supposed insiders that she had an interview problem.

Diversity - This is what finally made me register so I could post.  Some of the comments here have been absurd, people are taking things to such extremes it's actually gotten comical at some points.  There are a lot of reasons the squad make up has changed, the biggest one being the WHOLE field of applicants has changed and shrunk so bad.  When this started (I've watched this show since it was just a two hour special and followed them before there was a show!) there really were over 1000 applicants coming in for prelims, this year, less than 150.  Look at the candidates too, there's not nearly as diverse of a pool coming in to choose from.  I know early on the DCC had recruiters who went out to get girls for tryouts but I think they rely very heavily on the show now to bring in girls, which is a mistake because it's actually discouraged a lot of girls.  Short of going out and specifically recruiting WOC, which wouldn't be right either, or taking less qualified dancers to increase diversity, I don't see why all this blame is being put on K&J or the DCC organization.  They're working with what they have and doing a good job with it in my opinion.  It feels like we've went so far down the equal rights path with quotas and stuff that now it's almost reverse discrimination.  Yes, I know this is going to be an unpopular opinion but it's my opinion.  Take a good hard look at the squad photos from the past, many, many years there's only 1 or 2 WOC, yeah there were years where there were more and good for them but does that then make a certain number a requirement?  No.  The show has been good and bad for diversity.  Like one lady said she looked up to the WOC on the show and that was good but it's also raised the bar of talent and cut down the number of girls trying out.  Less of every color and ethnicity trying out.  Texas has always had a thing for blondes and probably always will and they've by far made up the majority of the squads over the years.  That doesn't mean there's discrimination going on or a purposeful lack of diversity.  No one outright just said it but it's been implied in several posts, which I think is a shame.

https://www.dallascowboys.com/cheerleaders/squad-photos

And before you say "Well they took (insert name here) and she's a weak, white dancer, they could have taken (whoever) who is a weak WOC dancer! Why didn't they take the WOC?"  

Unless you are a judge and at auditions you've got no idea why they took who they took and there is probably a VERY legitimate reason that is NOT based on their ethnicity!  It's only your opinion who the weaker candidate it from tiny snippets of things we see on the web.  You're not privy to everything they did or their interview or they're resume or anything else.  With very few exceptions everything here is a guess at what happened or what's going on and based on the opinions of the little that's seen.

And since it's been brought up, yes, I'm a male, and no, I'm not a racist, I'm a MOC.

[PBSLover]

1 hour ago, go4luca said:

I can't tell anyone I know.  They'd disown me in a heartbeat.

I have a DCC Pinterest page and a few of my friends have commented to me about it. I always answer, “Yeah."

[nittanyvolleyball]

2 minutes ago, Kumquat said:

Unless you are a judge and at auditions you've got no idea why they took who they took and there is probably a VERY legitimate reason that is NOT based on their ethnicity!  It's only your opinion who the weaker candidate it from tiny snippets of things we see on the web.  You're not privy to everything they did or their interview or they're resume or anything else.  With very few exceptions everything here is a guess at what happened or what's going on and based on the opinions of the little that's seen.
 

this

[PBSLover]

11 minutes ago, Pebbles116 said:

MUSTERED is the past tense. MUSTARD is the condiment.

I just re-read her post. It reads mustered.

[nittanyvolleyball]

Just now, PBSLover said:

I just re-read her post. It reads mustered.

She definitely changed it then because it was mustArd this morning

[PBSLover]

2 minutes ago, nittanyvolleyball said:

She definitely changed it then because it was mustArd this morning

Got it.

[MavisL]

It's always curious to me, I've watched it happen over years of reading your posts, but whenever this board gets going on a legitimate criticism, or a true insider shows up, or you guys even ponder the appearance of impropriety, someone invariably, mysteriously shows up to smack it to the ground. Almost like there's some reason behind it.......

[Pebbles116]

6 minutes ago, PBSLover said:

I just re-read her post. It reads mustered.

She edited it. 

[nittanyvolleyball]

I wonder if the tests for the candidates ever have grammar included on them, like do you get points off for grammar?

[scorpio1031]

I wonder if K&J read thru the social media accounts to verify that the girls are using proper spelling and grammar.  

1 minute ago, nittanyvolleyball said:

I wonder if the tests for the candidates ever have grammar included on them, like do you get points off for grammar?

Exactly

[Jess14]

9 minutes ago, Kumquat said:

Unless you are a judge and at auditions you've got no idea why they took who they took and there is probably a VERY legitimate reason that is NOT based on their ethnicity!  It's only your opinion who the weaker candidate it from tiny snippets of things we see on the web.  You're not privy to everything they did or their interview or they're resume or anything else.  With very few exceptions everything here is a guess at what happened or what's going on and based on the opinions of the little that's seen.
 

We speculate on topics all of the time on this board. The show is about who makes the team, so we will discuss the factors that go into who makes the team. I understand that any discussion that touches on race is uncomfortable for some people, but people are going to discuss it like anything else. 

[Squeek]

24 minutes ago, Kumquat said:

Unless you are a judge and at auditions you've got no idea why they took who they took and there is probably a VERY legitimate reason that is NOT based on their ethnicity!  It's only your opinion who the weaker candidate it from tiny snippets of things we see on the web.  You're not privy to everything they did or their interview or they're resume or anything else.  With very few exceptions everything here is a guess at what happened or what's going on and based on the opinions of the little that's seen.

This has been an issue really bad this season.  Things being stated as facts and being taken at face value when in fact they're guesses based on a photo or nothing at all.

[mahjong mary]

Hi,

I'm a newbie here. What happened with Malena? Did she make it to training camp? Thanks

[veronicamers]

1 minute ago, mahjong mary said:

Hi,

I'm a newbie here. What happened with Malena? Did she make it to training camp? Thanks

She did not.

[Squeek]

1 minute ago, mahjong mary said:

Hi,

I'm a newbie here. What happened with Malena? Did she make it to training camp? Thanks

No she didn't make it back to TC.

[KickYourNose]

2 hours ago, go4luca said:

Speaking of Marshall, that convo re: VK continued on his IG and thought he handled it quite well.

Can someone with IG snapshot it?? And Khalyn's comment re: lack of WOC? I refuse to give Facebook or its subsidiaries any more of my time or attention, which means I miss the tea!

[go4luca]

7 minutes ago, KickYourNose said:

Can someone with IG snapshot it?? And Khalyn's comment re: lack of WOC? I refuse to give Facebook or its subsidiaries any more of my time or attention, which means I miss the tea!

I'll let someone else get you the other comments as it will take a few screen grabs to get it all.  But here's Khalyn's comment you requested.

Edited June 3, 2019 by go4luca

[nittanyvolleyball]

after his first response, the poster says "I certainly hope she has learned from how she behaved last year. However I am still disappointed about the obvious nepotism that occurred last year and will most likely occur again this year. I also fixed your hashtag for you. Livingart must have been a typo. #howdoes thekoolaidtaste"

Marshall: "ok Diane, I don't know why you feel personally attacked by the fact I support the maturity, and personal/artistic growth in these girls. But I call it like I see it. If you feel differently, you have a right to you're own opinions, but your remarks are becoming quite petty, and beneath the standards of someone who feels they have a right to judge others. Trust me I know, I'm literally a judge. #takeaseat"

[KickYourNose]

1 hour ago, Kumquat said:

Excuse me?  Why is it the DCC responsibility to recruit WOC?!  If anything they should be recruiting talented women of EVERY race.  It's not their job to bring in specific races or ethnicities. That would be discriminatory.  

We'r already know from Shelly that they DO recruit within the dancing community. I think the point is simply to ensure that ALL different kinds of communities are reached - take a good look at the places they recruit FROM.  Are THEY diverse? If not, are there any local dance communities that are primarily for WOC that they are overlooking? You don't have to be guilty of CO-mmission in order to be guilty of O-mission. I hope this makes sense...

[TUOwl84]

5 hours ago, 5678Pixie said:

victoriaakalina

I love you so much my beautiful sis 💕 looking forward to spending the summer with you!

haleyanderson93

@victoriaakalina love you!!! 

Victoria calls her sis so Charlotte probably thinks of her as her daughter.

Ashley kissing up in her comment.

ashleyahancock

Had so much fun!!! Love ya can’t wait to see you soon 🤗💕

🤮

[Drogo]

Getting a little testy in here; posts have been removed, warnings have been handed out. 

We're all adults and we're going to act like it.  This is not that serious.  

[pizzaandcatsrlife]

7 minutes ago, TUOwl84 said:

🤮

Agree.  Haley is annoying too.  They all kiss her ass

[KickYourNose]

9 minutes ago, nittanyvolleyball said:

after his first response, the poster says "I certainly hope she has learned from how she behaved last year. However I am still disappointed about the obvious nepotism that occurred last year and will most likely occur again this year. I also fixed your hashtag for you. Livingart must have been a typo. #howdoes thekoolaidtaste"

Marshall: "ok Diane, I don't know why you feel personally attacked by the fact I support the maturity, and personal/artistic growth in these girls. But I call it like I see it. If you feel differently, you have a right to you're own opinions, but your remarks are becoming quite petty, and beneath the standards of someone who feels they have a right to judge others. Trust me I know, I'm literally a judge. #takeaseat"

I love Marshall. And finding out that he's a foster dad is the icing on the cake!! I'd love to hear now about his journey. 

[go4luca]

18 minutes ago, KickYourNose said:

I love Marshall. And finding out that he's a foster dad is the icing on the cake!! I'd love to hear now about his journey. 

He keeps it very private, especially for the child.  I love that he shows that level of respect the responsibility of being a foster parent entails.

Edited June 3, 2019 by go4luca
missing a word

[Pau84]

If Taylor Pedersen @tay_pedersen makes the team, Rachel Wyatt @rachelyukiwyatt will no longer be the orange one!

Why do they do it? They're both beautiful without any makeup!