America's Sweethearts: Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders (2024) s01e02 Episode Script

1
-[single beat echoes]
-[ethereal choral vocalizing]
[vocalizations fade]
-[tense music playing]
-[hushed chatter]
[Kelli] We have 21
that have perfect scores.
-That's awesome.
-Wow.
And then are we hanging on
to our vets we love?
[Charlotte] I think you've decided.
This is gonna be hard.
[Kelli] She has been
such a rock star dancer.
It's hard to cut a veteran.
[Charlotte] Yeah.
[tense music continues]
-Good?
-Mm-hmm.
[Charlotte] Okay.
[Charlotte] Good evening, ladies.
When we call out your name and number,
if you will come join us on the field.
Please welcome
from Weehawken, New Jersey,
number 45, Kelly V.
[cheering]
[tense music playing]
Welcome to training camp,
number 25, Reece.
[cheering]
Oh my gosh! [indistinct]
[Kelli] Welcome to training camp,
number 26, Kaylin.
Number 36, Charly.
[cheering]
Welcome back, number 9, KayDianna.
[cheering]
Number 1, Kelcey.
[cheering]
[murmurs indistinctly]
[Kelli] Also welcome back
number 49, Victoria, from Coppell, Texas.
[cheering]
She's gonna fall down those steps
if anybody is.
Please welcome number 30, Darian.
[cheering]
[cheerleader] Yes, Darian!
[Kelli] Welcome back,
from Round Rock, Texas,
number 54, Madeline.
[cheering]
[Kelli] Number 41, Anisha.
[cheering]
Last Last one.
Twenty eight. Columbia.
Mm.
Ladies, we have one more name
to invite into training camp.
And on behalf of our entire organization,
we thank you
for participating in this audition,
and we applaud your talent
and your expertise.
Thank you very much.
[music intensifies]
[Kelli] Our last person
invited into the 2023 training camp
from Columbia, Missouri,
number 28, Anna Kate.
[cheering]
[solemn music playing]
[Kelli] Congratulations, ladies.
All of you on the field,
congratulations and good night.
[Judy] The hardest thing about our job
is having to cut veterans.
But when it comes down to it,
and the scores are added up,
if those veterans aren't
at the right place,
then they will get cut.
[Kelli] The best-case scenario is that
your veterans are the top scorers,
as they should be.
And then
You know, in this case, they weren't,
and it's disappointing for everybody.
You're all looking right here.
One, two, three, three, four, five.
Everybody looking this way.
[camera shutter snapping]
[Kelcey] We're angry, and we're emotional,
and mad, and sad
for our friends
that are sitting on the other side
and having to get their stuff
and go home for the last time.
[Brooke] This has been a hard day, y'all.
I'm not gonna lie to you.
There's a squad that has been broken up,
and then there's a new squad here.
I encourage you veterans
You're veterans for a reason, okay?
I understand it hurts.
I had people cut when I cheered.
But you have a bunch of new faces in here
that are looking up to y'all.
They're looking to y'all to be strong,
to be leaders,
to teach them
what the sisterhood is all about.
So use what you're feeling
to bring this team together.
[cheerleader] It was a good run.
-[chatter]
-[sobbing]
[Kelcey] I apologize if we're not
in the best of spirits tonight.
Like, I don't want this to take away from
this amazing moment in your guys' lives,
that you get to come to training camp.
We're so proud of you.
But obviously,
this is a really hard moment for us.
[solemn music playing]
[women sobbing]
It's okay. It's okay.
[overlapping wails]
We love you so much.
[sobbing]
[tearfully] I'm okay. I'm okay.
I love you guys so much.
I wouldn't have given it up for the world,
like anything.
[sniffles] I wouldn't have
changed anything.
You're so incredible.
["Vill du Låna en Man"
by Anni-Frid Lyngstad playing]
[Brooke] New girls,
not quite rookies just yet.
You're in training camp.
You're training camp candidates.
If anybody asks, you're not
a Dallas Cowboys Cheerleader yet.
You gotta earn that status.
You gotta earn the boots, earn the poms,
and you're going to do that
over the next few weeks.
That's all I'm gonna say about that.
If y'all can start passing these around,
we're gonna talk about your first meeting
and/or your first rehearsal.
Can you believe?
No time. No rest for the weary, girls.
["Vill du Låna en Man" continues]
[song echoes, fades]
[grand, dramatic music playing]
[music fades]
[Kelly] Could I do a grande iced
shaken espresso with almond milk,
two pumps of sugar-free vanilla,
one scoop of vanilla bean powder,
and one packet of stevia?
-Sorry.
-[barista] No, you're good.
-This is such a long order.
-[Charly] I wanna see yours. What is it?
Apparently, it's like 60 calories.
Wait, I get
the sugar-free vanilla syrup too normally.
Okay, that's I've seen it on
-Did you find that on TikTok?
-Yeah, it was on TikTok.
I'm gonna get
a tall Strawberry Açaí Refresher.
And that is it.
-I got the Strawberry Açaí yesterday.
-Was it good?
-Yes, it's so good.
-I've never
That's so funny.
-She's not a big Starbucks girl.
-Yeah, I'm not a big Starbucks girl. I
I'm not really cultured in that area.
-Taste test.
-What do you think?
-Good, right? I know.
-It's good.
-This is very smooth.
-[Kelly] Okay.
-I like it.
-[Charly laughs]
That's my go-to drink.
Maybe by the end of this,
we'll turn you into a coffee lover.
-Yes.
-Totally.
Baby steps. Tall steps.
-[gentle piano music playing]
-[humming softly]
-Oh my God! This is so pretty.
-I know, right?
-Are you serious?
-So pretty.
[Reece] So, um, I'm staying
at the Gaylord Texan,
which is the most beautiful hotel
I've ever seen.
Just here in this temporary home,
but it is a beautiful home,
so I am not complaining.
[Kelly] One, two, three, four,
five, six, seven, eight.
One, two, three, four,
five, six, seven, eight.
[vocalizing rhythmically]
six, seven, eight.
A one, two, three, four
[Charly] Double, yes!
[Kelly] eight. One, two, three
-[Reece] Kelly is from New Jersey.
-[Charly] A good one!
[Reece] Becca is from Mississippi,
and Charly is from California.
Which is so cool to me,
because I have never been to California.
I have only been to New Jersey once.
[laughter]
[Kelly] It's so crazy, guys.
The Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders,
even in Jersey, are such a big
And that is so far from Texas.
Like, since I was little,
I was like, "That's what I wanna do."
Kelly was so looking forward
to coming to the South
because we have plastic bags.
In New Jersey, she has to carry everything
with a paper bag or just with her items.
I have plastic bags in my room,
and I'm like,
"I need to take these back home."
I could sell that for money in Jersey.
-So funny.
-That is so funny.
Learning little things like that
have been so funny and just so awesome,
because we are all in this together.
We are all in the same boat.
And we can just kind of laugh
and go through this process together,
because we're all rookies at this.
We don't really know what to expect.
-I'm so excited to get all glammed up.
-I know.
-Our first, like, official thing.
-I know!
[Reece] They all offer something different
which I think is so cool and unique.
You kind of can feed off of each other
with that.
[Kelly] I'm excited
to see everyone's dresses.
[Charly] Send what you're wearing.
-Yes.
-'Cause I can't wait to see it.
-[Reece] Y'all, I'm so excited.
-[Kelly] I know!
[Reece exclaims]
[gentle, airy instrumentals playing]
So we're gonna do what we normally do.
We're gonna line up
on either one of those doors.
So if we can go by decade,
and let's have our '70s out here.
Let's do '80s. Let's do '90s.
My '00s and my '10s.
I can't believe it! Wow!
You stay there.
-And where's my '70s?
-Right here.
Okay, that's Cindy.
Guide off of Kat, please.
Straight line. Set
Y'all figure They'll figure it out.
-[interviewer] What is this?
-What is this?
[bright, upbeat music playing]
[Brooke]
We call it the welcome clap-in line.
It's very similar to a player intro line
at a football game.
So the alumni, we have kind of taken that
to this level
to welcome
our new training camp candidates
to their very first meeting.
-Yay!
-Great job, girls.
-We're so proud of y'all.
-So proud!
[woman] Good luck!
[Brooke] At this meeting,
the training camp candidates will learn
what to expect over the next few weeks
in training camp.
[alumna] Good luck. We love you so much.
You're gonna do amazing!
All right, love y'all now.
See you girls. [puckering lips]
Y'all, look at me and wave.
-[Tina] What time's the reservation?
-[Suzy] 7:15. We need to go now.
[Tina] It's already 7:35.
They've cancelled us.
[Suzy] No, they haven't. They haven't.
[Kelli] Are they all in?
Hello!
[women] Hi!
Welcome to the official classroom
of the Dallas Cowboys Football Club.
And welcome to training camp.
[cheering]
So there's 44 in the room.
Facts are our team is 36.
Everybody, at this point,
is in the game at the same starting line.
We will be announcing the final team
by July 19.
So for those of you that are jobless,
and homeless, and relocating,
if you make it through July 19,
you'll have clarity about your future.
Tomorrow, we will start getting to see you
as dancers with our choreography
in our studio.
My advice to you is to bring your best
every minute you get here,
but don't overanalyze our expressions.
Um
Well, you may not get much from me
'cause I got Botox.
[laughter]
But [laughs]
If I could
Judy will frown at you.
[laughter]
[soft jazz music playing]
Be dressed and ready at 7:00,
because we always start promptly at 7:00.
We should be finished by ten o'clock
every night. That's our goal.
No food or drink in the studio,
but of course, you may bring dinner in,
because I know some of you
are running in from work,
and you have to have something to eat
before rehearsal.
[alumna] Tina, Tina, get in.
I'm always the giant amongst y'all.
And I'm always the brunette.
How are you?
-Hi.
-How are you?
-Livin' the dream, sister.
-You look beautiful.
-Thank you.
-Beautiful!
-Thank you. How are you?
-Good to see you.
I know. It feels weird
being on the other side. I'm like, "Okay."
I saw Judy, and I was like,
"Go, Anna Kate,"
and she smiled so big.
I'm like, "I love you."
-You're the sweetest sister ever.
-Aw.
She's awesome.
Her and Victoria would have so much fun.
-Victoria will take care of her.
-Yeah, she would. She will.
[Kelli] So I would like to have you guys
introduce yourselves.
Anisha.
Hi, everyone. My name is Anisha.
I'm originally
from Porter Ranch, California.
I am currently an orthodontist.
It's been fun.
And something fun I did today,
or I guess not so fun.
But I was trying to take a bracket
off of a tooth,
and I accidentally extracted the tooth.
[all exclaim]
But it was a baby tooth, so we're good.
There's another permanent tooth coming,
so we're solid. So, yeah, it's okay.
[scattered applause]
I just recently graduated
from Texas Christian University
with a degree in finance.
And I will begin my job in August
with 49 Financial
as an investment advisor representative.
Um, so today,
what I did was study all day.
So I read three chapters
and took about three tests
to get my license. Yeah.
I got my animal science degree
and continue to work
as a veterinary technician.
Currently, I'm actually
a fitness instructor as well.
So that has been fun.
I do not like coffee, so I never know
what to order or what to get,
but I tried a Strawberry Açaí
for the first time, so
My job is not always so glamorous,
so I'll spare you a lot of details.
But today one of the things I did
was changed a trach tube.
Um, it's something she breathes out of,
a little hole in her neck.
I have to change that every few days
to make sure she can breathe well.
That's one thing I did today. Yes.
I'm from Coppell, Texas.
And I'm currently a fitness instructor,
a dance instructor,
and a student at the ballet
at the Joffrey Ballet School.
-[crowd chattering]
-[Tina] I would like a margarita, please.
[waiter] The Mambo Taxi
or a margarita on the rocks?
-Just regular.
-You like the Mambo Taxi.
You know what actually?
I want a Skinny Margarita.
-Okay.
-On ice.
I got you.
You still drink Skinny Margaritas?
-I have to.
-Lord, no.
-You're not a mama.
-No, not yet.
I gotta watch it.
And I live with Victoria.
-She's tiny, but she works out a lot.
-She does.
She's healthy.
She does, but I mean,
she doesn't think she is.
She looks like a million bucks.
I'm like, "Girl"
Because one year,
it's, "You're too heavy."
-The next year is, "You're too thin."
-I know. It's a hard world. Like
-I had hip surgery in April.
-Yes.
Obviously, I gained
a little weight after that.
I really went through a few weeks
where I was like,
"I don't like what I look like."
-You look great.
-Thank you.
-Guess what? It's Barbie time.
-[crowd] Aw!
-You want blonde or brunette?
-[Judy] I'll help.
[Kelli] You pick.
-I'll take a brunette, maybe.
-Brunette? Okay.
-Thank you so much. Thank you.
-Barbie.
[applause, cheering]
I wanted one more second with the hug.
Yay.
[dreamy, gentle music playing]
Does everybody know Madeline's mama
was a cheerleader too?
And Victoria.
Both of whose moms shared a locker room
with me.
-Congratulations.
-Thank you.
[applause, cheers]
[Kelcey] It's really exciting and awesome
to make it into training camp.
But there's still a lot of cuts
to be made.
And we never know
when cuts are gonna happen.
Not knowing if you're gonna get
to the finish line,
and get the trophy, get the uniform
is really scary.
I mean, you put your whole life on hold
to come here.
So it's it's a lot of pressure.
[music fades]
[bright, sprightly orchestral music
playing]
Well, let's hope
today's word is "purpose."
It is. It's just gonna have to be.
[chatter]
I just want to, like, start it.
[Anna Kate] I'm anxious.
How are you?
You look cute. How are you?
You look cute too.
-Thanks.
-Really cute outfit.
Where'd you get that?
You look cute too. You look cute too.
-Where'd you get the outfit?
-Ladies, come on in!
Oh. Oh. Oh.
All right.
Welcome to your first rehearsal.
[cheering]
I wanna remind you tonight
that we are here to choose our team.
Cheat word at the board.
We know you're great dancers,
or you wouldn't be in this room.
So we really wanna encourage you
to start showing us your personality,
your authentic personality
and also your dancer's personality,
who you are as a showman.
I've seen,
especially rookies under pressure,
kind of crawl in their heads
and freak themselves out,
and we don't get to see
who you really are.
So I wanna encourage you
to show us your personality.
-Okay?
-Yes, ma'am.
[cheering, applause]
[McKenzie] Five, six, seven,
down on eight.
Step out, one, look, two, three, four.
Pick, five, six, seven, eight.
[Judy] Are they getting faster as they go?
Kaylin, you're right here,
so you're gonna get a lot of me tonight.
I watched you a lot.
And you chopped off the moment
I just told you about.
-Hesitate on it.
-What was the last move?
[Kelli] McKenzie, help her on that passé.
[McKenzie] You just went for salsa.
Seven, eight. One
Stay higher longer.
Boom. Up. Relevé. Can you get higher?
[Kelli] Once someone makes it
into training camp,
they first start learning
all of our game choreography,
which is about 50 routines.
It's just It's a lot.
If I was a 19-year-old rookie,
this would scare me.
Does this make you nervous, being in here?
-Just a little, but it's okay.
-[laughter]
-[Judy] So are y'all ready for kicks?
-[all] Yes, ma'am.
[bright, slightly whimsical music playing]
[Judy] Regardless of what kind
of background they've come from,
I think the biggest challenge
a lot of them have is our kickline.
[Kelli] Precision is a must.
Exactness is a must.
Formations are a part
of our effectiveness.
When they all come together,
they need to dance like one person.
Darian, sorry,
but your kicks need to be higher.
A blonde with a not-pointed left foot.
Madeline, almost looks
like a stamina thing.
[Madeline] Yes, ma'am.
[Judy] When you hook up in a line,
and you've got the weight
of 35 other girls next to you,
and you all have to kick in unison,
sometimes the best dancer
just doesn't get it.
[Kelli] Anisha, you look
honestly, in the kick category, untrained.
But you have beautiful, long legs,
so there's potential.
The reality is we're famous for kicks,
so it's a must.
[all] Yes, ma'am.
-Rookie candidates, forward.
-[Kelcey] Rookie candidates, come forward.
We'll split into rookies and vets
on this part.
We're all gonna go one, tap on two.
Rookies are gonna wait.
Vets are gonna go three
[Kelcey] This year,
I'm the only returning first leader.
The other three retired.
Hair flip on seven, eight.
[Kelcey] The first leader is basically
one of our head captains.
Taking a world-class organization
and making sure
that we are delivering every year.
[Judy] Watch Kelcey when she's teaching.
She uses her curves a lot
and makes the step look sexier.
Kelcey I depend on so much.
She's a star.
[Kelli] You can already see
Kelcey starting to take a leadership role.
We can see, through the years,
who people start following,
and it's not always necessarily
the best dancer.
We try to pick the best people leaders.
And we want a leader
that the girls respect.
[Victoria] Group leaders,
they kinda go by seniority.
So you'll see more
of a fourth year up there.
Fifth year, definitely.
Would I want it? Yes.
[Judy] Having great chemistry on our team
is really important.
They can all be great dancers,
but they all have to get along also.
That's, I think, the biggest part
in having a successful team.
But sometimes, someone just might not have
the personality
that gets along
with the rest of the girls.
For Victoria to be put
in a group leader position,
she has to connect more
with her teammates.
[Victoria] I wanted to ask
just what y'all think of me.
You know you're talented.
You know you're beautiful.
In a broad stroke,
I don't think you had the same stamina
as 18, 19-year-old Victoria.
-Really?
-[Kelli] Mm-hmm.
Okay.
-Just strength. I mean, we're used to
-Yeah.
you could leap and go to heaven and back.
-Even in the kicks. I would say stamina.
-Okay.
-If you're working on that, great.
-Yes.
Let's make sure you have enough fuel
and enough energy.
[Victoria] Okay.
-[interviewer] You grew up with Kelli.
-Yes. Mm-hmm.
Besides my mom,
Kelli was the first person that held me.
There's just a different obstacle
that you're having to maneuver around
with me being a part of DCC.
[gentle, tense music playing]
When I walked into the audition,
seeing her, like, have
that professional front was like
[gasps] took me a second to get used to.
[Kelli] She is not at her trimmest state.
[Victoria] We were weighing in,
like, every week.
Sometimes, it would be at 11:00 p.m.
You did have some judges say
they wanted you to tone up your tummy.
[Victoria] I didn't know
how to handle that.
And I just want to always show them
that I am
either better than they last saw me
or the best.
I want them to think,
"Damn, that's Victoria."
May I ask if there's a possibility
of seeing me in a different role?
[Kelli] Like having a formal leadership
role and title? Is that what you're
Yes. As a
[cell phone vibrating]
Sorry. I have too many people trying
to interrupt our peace of mind, don't I?
I appreciate that you are always
a very helpful spirit.
So I would say keep that
as a natural space that you're good at.
[Victoria] Mm-hmm.
You know, I don't know.
She's very hard to read, to me.
-All right. You feel good?
-[Victoria] I feel good.
-Good. You sure?
-[Victoria] Yes, I'm positive.
-Okay.
-[Kelli] Okay.
-Noted.
-Okay.
-Thank you.
-Bye.
[Kelli] I just don't see Victoria as
-18-year-old Victoria.
-[Kelli] Yes. And that's not fair.
-You've known her all her life.
-I know.
-With the big bow on her head.
-True.
I remember this season
there were times where I thought
she was not the young,
physically strongest dancer
she used to be.
-She seemed tired.
-I didn't feel that this year.
But the year before,
she definitely had a stamina problem.
That's when she was
getting healthy again.
-As long as she's fueling herself
-[Judy] Mm-hmm.
'cause there was a time
where I think she probably wasn't.
[soft, thoughtful music playing]
[music fades]
[birds chirping]
-[woman] Dr. Anisha? I'm ready for you.
-[Anisha] Yes. Ready? Okay.
Hello! Are you excited?
I'm excited for you. All right.
-How are we feeling about your teeth?
-It's okay.
Is there anything you don't like about it
before we plan to take it off?
-[woman] Everything's good.
-No? All right!
What'd you do this weekend? Anything fun?
Open as wide as you can.
There we go. Good job.
-You're doing great. Almost done, okay?
-[girl] Okay.
[gentle music playing]
[Anisha] If I have five minutes
between patients,
I'll try to run one or two routines.
Some people have a full day off
and are able to practice the whole day,
and I'm thinking,
"I don't have the most practice time,
so I just use what I can."
Yeah, it's rough but worth it.
Okay, yeah, let's go ahead
and do an 18 NiTi.
I'm obviously getting older.
I'm probably not gonna have
this opportunity in a few years.
So I'd rather live life to the fullest
and try to take advantage
of every hour I have in a day.
Home stretch.
When I was in dental school,
I was on the Golden State Warriors.
Warriors is very hip-hop.
And it's on a court,
so the things we do on there is different
from what you'd do on a football field.
DCC is very up on your toes,
and it's very technical,
whereas my background is different
in terms of my dance training.
It's harder for me
to implement that immediately.
I have to think about
all those things as I'm dancing,
whereas another dancer
who's trained in that,
it just might come naturally.
I'm gonna check on this patient
real quick.
[upbeat percussive music playing]
Nope, that was a bad one.
[laughs]
That was a bad one too.
Technique and ballet
are pretty much the base of dance.
Then from technique,
you can go into style,
and genre, and everything.
I've been doing ballet
since I was two years old.
Ballet is a great base to have
because it just teaches you
how to stand on both feet,
like, turns, and jumps,
the way you stretch your legs,
and the way that you point your feet,
all things that have a right answer.
There's a right and wrong to technique,
and that's what I like to strive,
to always get the right.
[instructor on video] And seven, and
[interviewer] If you're
a Dallas Cowboys cheerleader,
what style of dance is that?
I don't know if I would put it in a genre
because I feel like it's its own style.
[instructor] eight. We go one
[Charly] Pom, game day.
Sassy, mature style.
[laughs] I don't know.
Something like that.
I've never done anything like it before,
so I don't know what to compare it to.
I feel like
that's the hardest part for me.
Since I'm in a hotel,
and this is my whole
my whole life right now
is centered around this audition,
it just makes me think a lot about
what if the outcome isn't what I want?
Which is very possible, but
Yeah. I just get in my head sometimes.
[laughs]
["Yeah!" by Usher playing]
Next thing I knew
She was all up on me, screaming ♪
-Yeah ♪
-Yeah, yeah ♪
[song fades]
[Reece] I've experienced
so many different auditions,
but this one is definitely the hardest.
I'm in a new state.
I am away from family and from friends.
Now, granted I am making a ton of friends
through this process.
But every day is an audition.
And you're trying to continue
to showcase your best
but also try not to get in your head.
It is challenging.
[interviewer] Tell me about your fiancé.
How did you meet him?
Yes! So, my fiancé's name is Will,
and we met in college.
He's from Alabama.
And, um, we actually met at an Ala
Whoa! That was so country!
Please cut that out. That was not funny.
Do not put that in there.
So Will and I met
at, um, the University of Alabama,
and I was cheering
at, um, a basketball game.
And Will is the biggest
Alabama basketball fan I have ever met.
[man] Yeah! Yeah! Let's go!
Ever.
He saw me,
and we connected through social media.
And he was in a freshman Bible study
with the church I attended at the time.
Just seeing his social media too,
I was like,
"Okay, well, I'll give it a try."
But I had never dated anyone before.
I was scared of boys.
I didn't have time for boys.
I was scared. I didn't know what to do.
Now we are getting married,
which is crazy.
The first boy I met
is now gonna be my husband.
It's a lot, being engaged,
and him just kind of waiting
for what my life
could potentially look like.
But wherever the Lord takes me,
wherever the Lord takes him,
we're gonna be together,
whatever that might look like.
So he is prepared to come to Texas,
or Florida, wherever we are.
[tender, sentimental music playing]
[music fades]
[music playing faintly in distance]
[woman] It's always my IT bands
that get really sore.
-[woman 2] On the side?
-[woman 1] I have tight IT bands.
My hamstrings are way more flexible
than my IT bands.
[woman 2] Interesting.
What do you need your IT bands for?
I guess when we kick to the side.
And kicking like this in front of my nose,
I'm not used to that.
-Does that hurt?
-A little bit.
[Kelli] We have 44 ladies now
that are in official training camp.
And eventually,
our perfect geometric team is 36.
That's what we put on the field.
-Hopefully, we'll make it through tonight.
-Thanks.
Does anybody, Judy, want to remember
who is bottom tier coming out of finals?
Anisha.
Charly.
Reece.
Anna Kate.
After tomorrow night, rookie night only,
we go into uniform fittings,
and I don't want to take anybody
into uniform fittings unnecessarily
'cause it's too heartbreaking.
[woman] Real quick. Anybody not get
a fitting time on Saturday morning?
I mean Yeah, Saturday.
Good. Everybody's available
for Monday's makeover?
[tense music playing]
[Kelli] Training camp is a place
where we get to see them
in our real performance elements,
nightly rehearsals.
They start learning multiple genres
and styles of routines.
I'm looking at appearances.
Of course, we have our uniform fitting
and our makeovers.
We make cuts throughout training camp
really at any step along the way.
We make those decisions
when it seems like we've seen enough
and have evaluated them thoroughly.
Five, six, seven, eight.
It goes one by one, even two by two ♪
Everybody in the room
Come on, show me how you move, hey! ♪
One more time like that.
It goes one by one, even two by two ♪
Everybody in the room
Come on, show me how to move ♪
Hey! ♪
That's what I'm talking about. Let's go!
[Kelli] We have great choreographers
from all over the country
that come in and do guest routines
and master classes,
and they're in the same industry.
They're casting for music videos.
They're casting for tour dancers.
They have an expertise that we respect.
So I always love to hear their opinion
of who did you notice, and tell us why.
Mr. DJ, won't you turn the music up? ♪
All the girls on the dance floor
Wanting some more ♪
Come, Mr ♪
Arms up. Dancehall.
Mr. DJ, come pon the replay ♪
Five, back, and up, lasso.
Hey.
Still wanting some more ♪
Wipe, wipe.
[vocalizes]
[bright ambient music playing]
[Evan] Anna Kate,
you have an infectious energy.
I feel like you walk around,
and people automatically look at you.
Kaylin, don't get in your head.
-It's okay.
-I do get in my head. Thank you.
[Evan] Charly, make sure
you're dancing in the beat.
Don't try to outperform the music.
Let the music perform within you.
Darian, make sure
that you're finishing your movements.
You never know who's watching
or not watching. You know what I mean?
-Yes, sir.
-Great job.
I don't know why, when I look at you,
I think, "Disney princess."
But when you dance,
it's like a whole different person.
It's something that really makes me
want to know more about you.
That performance quality, to me,
is affecting this entire group.
Don't let that fade.
-Anisha, right?
-Yes.
-Your aura is beautiful. It's so great.
-Thank you.
Let it out.
We're like,
"You can be very fun to watch."
[crowd cheering]
[woman] Yeah!
Victoria right here stood out to me.
Right? Victoria? Yes.
[cheering]
[Evan] Yes.
I just love her energy.
And she took time off, yeah?
[Kelli] Mm-hmm.
[Evan] And then these four
are not on my radar right now.
-Kaylin
-[Kelli] Kaylin, Kennedy.
-[Evan] Uh-huh.
-[Kelli] Becca
[Evan and Kelli] Becca and Charly.
[Kelli] Evaluations kind of
happen every night.
I'm gonna have you put 36 stickers
on 36 people that make your team.
It kinda comes down to the sticker.
'Cause I have people pick their top 36.
I believe in my system.
I've designed this system
so that we have performance excellence
and performance development.
We'll watch them,
routine by routine by routine.
And the strugglers who might struggle,
it might just be simply
we're moving too fast.
It might be
that the others have more training.
And these first initial cuts
will definitely be
those that don't have the flexibility
to do what we know
they have to be able to do,
which are the high kicks.
[Kelcey] four, five, six,
seven, eight. One
[music fades]
["Texas (When I Die)" playing]
When I die, I may not go to heaven ♪
I don't know if they let cowboys in ♪
If they don't, just let me
Go to Texas, boy ♪
'Cause Texas is as close ♪
-Kaylin, they wanna see you in the office.
-[song stops]
Oh. Okay.
[Kelcey] And seven
Kelli and Judy wanna see you
in the office.
[Kelcey] This comes down.
It doesn't break down.
Yeah. Yeah.
Yes.
-[Kelli] How are ya?
-Good, really good.
-How are you guys?
-[Judy] Good.
[Kelli] Sorry to pull you out of practice.
-How are you feeling?
-I'm feeling good.
That last one's a little
Getting it still in my head, but
Your notes I just want Some words
I wanna read some words to you,
and you remember these forever.
"Powerful, fierce."
The word that we've written 100 times
is you are "adorable."
-Thank you.
-[Kelli] You really, really are.
Um
-Here's our concern.
-[Kaylin] Yes.
It's your kicks and your flexibility,
and your flexibility and your kicks,
and your kicks and your flexibility.
Yes, ma'am.
[Kelli] We'll be making cuts throughout
this very rapid next set of weeks,
and that's where we are.
-Yes, ma'am.
-[Kelli] Um
You're not in our top 36,
and it is in the category of high kicks.
-Our experience
-Mm-hmm.
is that
there won't be enough time for your kicks
to be game-ready for our show.
[Darian] I believe
I can get there for you all.
[Kelli] We We don't know that yet
after three days of training camp,
to be honest with you.
We don't think
you'll be ready for this team.
-I know I can do it. I know I can.
-I think you can do it. I don't think
I don't think you can do it this year.
[dramatic music playing]
[Kelli] But you should leave here knowing
that all the judges thought
you were beautiful.
There's this kick and split part
of the job
that needs to also happen.
I understand. [sniffles] Yes, ma'am.
[Darian] I held my tears this entire time.
-[Judy] It's okay.
-Yeah.
-Thank you, though.
-[Judy] We get it.
This is the worst part of our job,
the very worst.
-Hi, Michele.
-Hi, honey.
Come on.
[somber music playing]
It's okay.
We did it.
[sniffling]
I love you.
One of my roles is Mama Bear to my cubs.
I will go down with you
'cause I don't want you to go by yourself.
-Thank you.
-Okay, hon.
-Yeah, thank you, Michele.
-Of course.
-Thank you.
-Of course.
[Michele] When a young lady is cut,
I make sure they never leave on their own.
I will wait with her.
Because it's just It's that devastating.
[Kelcey] Our first game
is a lot earlier this year,
and our training camp started a lot later.
So we don't have a lot of time to nitpick.
Bye, everybody.
[women] Bye!
[Kelcey] They have to put in the work
to look clean
and come ready and prepared
to look like a vet.
I'm so sad. I wish you had more time,
because I know you would've
-Yeah.
-But we'd love to see you back next year.
-You're so sweet.
-So grateful. I love you guys.
[Kelcey] You're something special.
We'd love to see you back.
-Ready?
-[Kaylin] Yes, girl.
Bye, ladies. Have a good night.
Bye, you guys. Love you!
-[woman] We love you!
-Love you guys. Bye!
Oh man.
But Anisha, you're so talented.
You can do this.
-[Anisha] I'm barely surviving.
-No, girl, you can do it.
I believe in you, seriously.
And I'm not just saying that.
Like, you have it.
You really do have it.
Do it for the brown girls.
Yes! That's what I was saying.
Yes, girl, represent!
Oh my gosh.
-You got it?
-Yeah.
Okay. [laughs]
[woman] What time
is your uniform tomorrow?
I'm at 12:40, so I won't see you guys.
-Well, then
-Well, good luck, girls.
See you. Love you. Drive safe.
-See you sometime.
-We'll drive together on Monday.
[traffic humming]
[birds chirping]
[Tina] Did you eat lunch?
Good old watermelon.
Yum, yum. Yummy.
The meal of a DCC.
[giggles]
Victoria, where would you like to eat?
-[Victoria] Mom, I'll eat in there.
-Okay.
[gentle, thoughtful music playing]
[Victoria] My first year, before my cut,
I was called in four or five times.
And one was about my weight.
One was about
not being professional enough
and not communicative enough.
I feel like we're at a point
where you really need to take
a real mature approach to this as a job.
I did go to a few nutritionists,
but I think I was
not embarrassed at the time,
but unwilling to accept the help.
Let me know your opinions
on this little top that I got.
Ooh! I like it. I like all the colors.
[Victoria] Everyone, everyone in the world
has accepted curves more,
and not having to be,
okay, abs toned, no jiggle.
But it was just
a whole different situation
five, six years ago.
Ew!
[music playing in video]
[Tina] Ew what?
[Victoria] I am appalled at myself.
I look disgusting.
You don't look disgusting ever.
-Yes, I do.
-No, you don't.
[Victoria] My shorts look
three sizes too small.
[Tina] Where?
-It's pinching into my belly rolls.
-They're loose and baggy.
It is
-Okay, that's too critical. I'm sorry.
-No.
If you zoomed in on any of the other girls
at this angle,
you're gonna get the same stuff.
[announcer] the Dallas Cowboys.
[Victoria] There's no way to hide it,
like anything.
It's like so mentally challenging
to keep that physique up.
Whether it's healthy habits, bad habits,
it's hard.
You don't get a new uniform.
Once you're fitted for that uniform,
that size is the size that you get.
You don't get to go up. If you go up
they're like, "Why does this not fit you?"
A lot of girls think
if you strength train or weight train,
you're gonna bulk up,
and nobody wants to bulk up on the team,
because you wanna fit in your shorts
that are pretty small.
I think it's harder for girls
not to even just
not wanna starve themselves.
I know when I look in the uniform,
I'm always like,
"I need to lose at least three pounds."
[gentle, dramatic music playing]
[music brightens]
[Kelli] Oh my God.
This is history. [giggles]
We've recovered a pair of old shorts.
Let's call it 1980-something,
and then, now this is current.
Everybody says we've changed them.
All we've done is sparkle them.
The people that keep telling me
I've made the uniforms smaller,
here's your proof in the pudding.
When you look at the Dallas Cowboys
Cheerleaders' uniform,
it's instantly recognizable.
There's no doubt when you see someone
in that white uniform
with the blue stars, the fringe,
the blue blouse, the tie,
that's who they are.
[grand, sweeping orchestral music playing]
[music fades]
Reece, are you ready?
[Reece] Yes, ma'am. Just one second.
[woman laughing]
-[woman] Need help with anything?
-Do you need help?
-[Reece] Um
-[laughter]
Uh-oh.
[Kelli] The uniform is beautiful,
and it's also very form-fitting,
and it's definitely not one-size-fits-all.
[whimsical music playing]
[Kelli] Reece.
But confidence,
their own internal confidence,
can make them appear better
in the uniform.
[assistant] These shorts fit like a glove.
[Caroline] The uniform is literally part
of the audition process.
[Kelli] Becca, in person,
looks too scrawny
and I want to see
if the uniform fattens her up.
[Caroline] You try it on,
and you're trying to speak with Kelli.
You're wanting her
to fall in love with you, to be like,
"This girl should be on the squad."
You're also hoping that the shorts fit you
in the right way they're supposed to fit.
-Hi.
-[Kelli] Here's Camille.
I knew this would pop on her.
[woman] Yes! You look great.
Come on down, girl.
[Caroline] The nerves are a mix because,
one, you have to stand in front of Kelli
and try to keep a conversation going.
That is terrifying.
What's your opinion
of artificial intelligence?
What do you think is the best thing
for everybody
to eat before practice
to sustain practice?
-What's your fiancé's name?
-His name is Will.
He's actually my first boyfriend. And
-[Kelli gasps] Really?
-He's the first guy I've ever dated, and
Good.
So he's Catholic, and you're Buddhist.
How are y'all gonna raise children?
So, I converted to Catholicism.
-You did?
-Yeah.
-Wow.
-Yeah.
[Caroline] I've never been
through a process
like becoming
a Dallas Cowboys Cheerleader,
because the things that come into play,
you would never think of before.
-[Kelli] What's average belly-button-to
-About two and a half. Yeah.
[Kelli] It looks a little low to me
at the moment.
I think that torso proportion
is a big thing.
They don't want it
to look disproportionalized, almost.
I'm seeing too many inches here.
-Yeah, we're gonna raise the belt.
-Okay.
You don't wanna look too skinny.
You don't wanna look too thick.
You don't want your love handles
to hang over.
Don't want your legs to look too big.
-[Kelli] Her thighs look a little angular.
-[assistant] Okay.
You wanna have some good-looking cleavage,
but not, "Oh my gosh.
This is out of control."
-You're so tiny.
-She's all in the front.
-But everything's natural?
-Yeah.
Got it from my mama. [giggles]
I hear that.
I'm so excited for the Kelli knot.
[delicate orchestral music playing]
-Fits her perfectly. Everything's great.
-"Petite and proportionate."
[Caroline] If your God-given body
is proportioned a certain way,
you're just lucky.
[Kelli] I was looking, like, "Judy,
she's got perfect dimensions
for the uniform."
She's beautiful. She'll look great.
[Caroline] Obviously fitness
and eating right is important,
but there are some things
you really can't control.
I'm gonna rename this girl "tiny heinie."
-She has no booty, so we can go up higher.
-We can give her the illusion.
[Kelli] Becca, is this your normal,
maintainable weight, or?
-This is about normal for me.
-Normal.
You're a curvy girl in a great way.
If someone looks
like the uniform belongs on them,
it could change the trajectory
of training camp.
[music ends with dramatic flourish]
[Kelli] You got 22 days
till we're introducing
the world-famous
Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders
in a stadium.
There's gonna start being some movement.
["Here I Am" by Dolly Parton playing]
[Judy] Kelly has gone down some.
[Kelli] Yeah, Kelly dropped down
to me last night.
Charly, that From a dance perspective,
it shocks me she's this low.
Anna Kate wasn't everything
I'd heard about her.
Anisha.
She's gonna keep moving up.
Here I am ♪
Oh, here I am ♪
-Here, here I am ♪
-Here I am ♪
[Kelly] I can't believe it.
I've been dreaming
since I was a little girl
to put on this uniform.
When I go to work, I don't have makeup on.
I have my scrubs on. That's literally it.
When I'm here,
I get to just play a different character.
[Charly] I feel like I'm in a dream.
[laughs]
I love it.
It makes it all feel real, in a sense,
and I wanna do it again.
There's a lot of things
that run into a young woman's head
of, you know, body image,
and being your best,
and feeling your best physically,
and mentally, and emotionally.
But putting that uniform on,
I just felt like Wonder Woman.
[Anna Kate] Seeing it on my body
and being like,
"This is something
that could actually happen,"
it's just nerve-racking to think of that
and think of the process
that's still to come.
[Reece] It's so surreal
getting to have the uniform on,
but it's also so hard to imagine, like,
not making it.
Kelli just reminded me.
She was like, "Don't get comfortable."
And I completely agree with her.
I don't wanna get comfortable.
I don't wanna be like, "Oh my gosh."
It is the coolest thing
I've ever experienced,
but I also don't wanna take that
and sit on it too much,
because I know every day is an audition.
Every day, I need to keep pushing.
Here I am ♪
[Reece] But it's just in arm's reach,
and I just want it so badly.
Here I am ♪
[song ends with echoing note]
[gentle woodblock tapping]
[dramatic percussive music playing]
[music ends]
[gentle, dramatic music playing]
[music fades]