Making the Team: Test Drive
Week seven is what I call the "Test Drive" week. The summer training camp candidates got to experience a photo shoot in the DCC uniform and make their first USO visit. The photo session helped remove any doubts on my part of whether a DCC candidate had sparkle or not.
Jordyn Ketchum's makeover rocked! I was so excited to see her transformation on film. Kelsi really came to life in the photo session. She entered training camp a bit of a tomboy and surprised me on camera. If you haven't noticed, say hello to her dimples. Kelsi's photos were more difficult to edit down to final choices. Some models only land a few good-to-great shots. In Kelsi's case, I liked every single image -- which made the choices even harder when I was editing hundreds. Kaitlin reminded me of Christie Brinkley on camera. Crystal looked like Paula Abdul. Whitney photographed with a mature quality. She was definitely more comfortable taking pictures than speaking in public.
When you watch the full body shots, you will quickly realize what we mean when we say a "lean torso" is a requirement for the DCC uniform. Thank goodness Erica had made strides in her project lean, and she showed improvement in her photo session. She has a really beautiful curvy shape and I knew she could do it.
You can see the excitement on the faces of the rookies as they get to test drive a DCC uniform. I enjoyed Alyssa's enthusiasm. For the first time she seemed very genuine. Maybe she was more relaxed in the photo shoot than rehearsals, just because it was so much fun and dreamlike.
It's always telling to see which DCC are stiff and uncomfortable in front of the camera and which ones are confident. Sometimes I have to reassure them they look great and encourage them to pose as if they are dancing, to get fluid and captivating shots out of them. The camera makes some feel really insecure. Jordan Chanley was a little nervous in front of me and in front of the camera. I tried to give her a quick body language 101. I wish the girls weren't so scared of me in this environment. I tried to help them get their best shot out of the day.
At this stage of training camp, my expectation of a rookie candidate is that they start looking, acting and dancing like a veteran cheerleader.
I challenged Justine (a group leader who is a dance studio instructor) with the task of working on Melissa's style and delivery. Her style of dance just seemed immature in delivery, but I thought she had potential. She just needed to wake up her body with the music. Justine has such a nice sense of style and musicality that she was the perfect tutor. Melissa is a very cute girl with a potential for appeal, and I wanted to see more of her. I think she will grow more confident and sexy with time.
Although a large part of our selection process and training camp seems cosmetic in nature, the community service visits can be just as telling about whether a candidate is right for this role. I enjoy providing the girls with the opportunity to develop their souls as well as developing their DCC look. Watching new girls like Kaitlin and Stefani display genuine outreach and emotion for the troops during their first USO airport visit was heartwarming for me. When someone as young as they are gains a deeper appreciation for our armed forces and their sacrifices, our community becomes a better place with them in it. This quality, the spirit of DCC, is just as important to me in the long run, as the look of the DCC.
Of course, the final portion of this week included evaluation and training in the DCC dance studio. We needed to see who was performing well enough to be on the team. We had rookies dance side by side with veterans to see who looked convincing and who looked out of place. At this point, we had passed the developmental phase and needed to focus on team members who were ready for game day.
The disappointment is hard for the candidates to take and equally hard for me to present. Sometimes their reaction is a reflection of character, and in the case of Sunni, she gave it her all and accepted our choice gracefully. You can tell she was a team player, and she exhibited one of our key DCC principles to be just as enthusiastic about the success of others as you are your own.
Cheers,
Kelli
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Shotgun says:
I have to say that I always had–less than gentlemanly like–thoughts about cheerleaders.
That was until I was stationed “down-range” and had a visit from the Denver Bronco’s cheerleaders.
It was a really cool presentation. What a great morale booster in the middle of a dark time…the girls that do these USO tours are real heros, and are more valuable than they may realize.
I hope God is with the girls attempting to “make” it…
Katie says:
I love you Dallac Cowboys Cheerleaders
Mary says:
I’m confused. I watched the episode where they cut Erica for being “too fat”. But thankfully she was there to do the uniform photos. But seriously…didn’t they cut her?? Or was that just for t.v.? She’s a gorgeous girl and my favorite cheerleader thus far. I think she has the best body on the team and they were capitol C, Crazy for cutting her.
Jen says:
It’s good to see a show about the sport of cheerleading. Too bad the hostesses have to resort to demeaning and scarring these young ladies’ self estem. Making comments like: [you are] “too bottom heavy” for the team. or “your twirls are off” speaks more about them than the contestants. Nothing against the sport but this is cheerleading not brain surgery. I hope some these girls don’t allow this one experience to define who they will eventually become.
Tami says:
Erica was not cut for being “too fat”. She wasn’t cut at all. It was just brought to her attention that it was noticed by the judges that she had gained a little weight. She was simply given a reality check to the fact that just because you are a veteran, don’t let your guard down. You are not safe from elimination.
Sherrie says:
I am a devout fan from beautiful Hot-lanta! However, I must complain this week. I was VERY disappointed to see you cut Sunni Cranfield. She seemed like the model DCC, being so poised, beautiful and a great dancer & athlete. Seems like a few candidates were chosen with less attributes than Sunni displayed. I just don’t get it, but in all fairness, we viewers out here in TV-land can’t see everything ya’ll see. Which brings me to another bone of contention…why can’t the show have more dancing (especially at games) and be extended to an hour?? We don’t get to see anything AFTER they make the squad. Not everyone can attend a Cowboys home game. Keep on cheering!
Tammy says:
I love the show this year. I was wondering what happened to my favorite Cheerleaders, Natalie Woods and Melissa Rycroft. Did they reaudition this year? Best of luck to all the rookie DCCs.
Cristi says:
I think this show is very disturbing. I watched the one episode where a girl was cut becuase she was too curvy. I’m sorry but no wonder why so many young girls out there are becoming anorexic. The excuse they used was because she wouldn’t fit well into the uniforms. She was beautiful and talented and they dropped her because of her body. I feel sorry for the young girls watching this show and hope they do not look up to these people as role models because they aren’t.
dcc fan says:
Wow! another Great season! the best show on tv! can’t wait for season 4 (Their better be one!)…Kelli your a Dream maker and a Heartbreaker that’s for shure. But thats why their ” Often immitated never equaled ” Keep up the good work! In the age of “girls gone wild” I can’t tell you how great it is to see that Good girls can still be rewared for being Good! They are truely “Americas Sweethearts”
Jeani says:
I hope that the cheerleaders can differentiate between there/their/they’re and use proper punctuation than some of the posts from their fans.
dcc fan says:
me two…
alan says:
i really liked this episode
davenycity says:
great blog thank you