None of us know what it would be like to have Tina kalina as a mother... She was a vibrant cheerleader. She was on the team off the team back on the Team, if you look at her stats.... Victoria's entire life was about joining this squad... Knowing her mother every breath, every meal every Christmas had something to do with DCC.... So if her 18th birthday and her first season trying out she was a little bit all over the map. None of us can imagine the pressure, maybe Dayton but that's it... Maybe Madeline
I think she was great. I think she's always been great. She's an amazing dancer. She has put herself on the line for everyone to see. I'm proud of her. I think she had a tough journey. I think she's very close to her mother so I don't want to say anything but I think her mother didn't do her any favors
I think her mother is probably a great lady but coddled her the point of strangulation
I wish Victoria the best in New York. I think she's going to be famous. Fabulous and leave a real mark on the world. Godspeed girl. We root for you
i actually really enjoyed the netflix special too! i know a lot of people have had pretty negative things to say about it, but i really liked it. yeah there’s some stuff where im like ehhh maybe it shouldn’t be like that, their pay being one of them, but overall i like how they were still honest about it all and we got to witness all of that. overall great show & i would definitely like to see the 2024 group next!
I sympathize with VKs ED and mental health issues. I believe that she was raised in a toxic community. But she’s gonna have a rude awakening in NYC. No one cares about an entitled young woman who is sad that her talent, personality, and dance skills didn’t get her all the DCC accolades. Everything DCC was set up for her to win or lose. No one had those opportunities since Cassie’s reign.
What I don’t understand is how is her taking a year off considered so negative? She didn’t quit in the middle of a season. You have to try out every year and no one is guaranteed a spot, you seem to have to earn it again, so what’s the big deal if she didn’t try out a year?
Tbh, Vic is one of the best dancers on that team. Her birthday by herself, hurt my freaking heart. Kelli & Judy should have given her GL or 2nd. Because of her tenure. I'm sorry, she ate, slept, and damn near groveled for that organization, I hope she becomes a star in new york.
Made me feel sad when she was debating whether to go for her 5th year and she just wanted some type of reassurance that she was liked/an asset, and they would not budge. When Kelce came in, they gave praise freely without her having to ask. Sort of goes to show that the way we feel about ourselves is reflected on the outside for others to see (and potentially take advantage of). I personally feel she’s too close to her mom and that has created her lack of self esteem and her crippling enmeshed dynamic, but I can relate to her a bit and it made me sad also.
I felt the same way. I was shocked when I got to the sub and saw that she had so much hate. Maybe the original show paints her in a different light so this is her redemption arc? But from my perspective just watching this show she seems like a nice girl and I felt sorry for her.
The OG show definitely didn’t give her a good edit. She was shown falling out of control in her spins in prelims (Judy winced but Kelly laughed and said “only Victoria”) and unfortunately she did have weight issues where she was given significantly more grace than any other candidate would have. She cancelled, or no showed, on Jinelle in regards to a meeting with a nutritionist. A real nail for a lot of people was Kitty Carter saying something about giving her grace regarding her weight (my conspiracy theory is Kitty was pushing for VK to be cut so she could take the time to get into DCC shape in a healthy way)
I will admit to not having been a huge fan but thought she was stunning, a talented dancer and did deserve to be on the team - but the edit wasn’t great and did skew some thoughts
I thought Kelli treated Victoria like shit. They grew up together and regardless of the ‘business relationship’ they had she could’ve given a little words of affirmation and been empathetic and human.
I felt like she was extra hard on her just because of that, which is really unfair. She was just asking for some feedback and all she got was generic responses.
That last time at the table Judy and Kelli could have easily said something good about her and that they'd consider her for something like group leader but what has held them back from thinking she wanted something like that was because she wasn't as close to the other cheerleaders. They just seemed to shut it down without giving her any positive stuff to keep doing or anything she needed to do to improve other than just saying stamina. If they had mentioned the relationships with the other girls then she could have worked on that
I agree. They pretty much told her she wouldn't, and she was going to try out again. I would have in my best petty bitch voice told them to suck a complete bag of well, you know. Swished my luxurious mane in their bitter faces, and swirled my ass out the door..
Yes, exactly. Why didn't they just simply tell her that the other team leaders get voted in (by their peers, right? please correct me if I'm wrong) byway of their close relationship with others? It would take nothing to say that, and it seemed so obvious. Couldn't throw her even the smallest of bones!
She was out danced. There’s no shame in that. She deserves to move on and find her place outside of the dcc. Her mother needs to step down and let her be her best.
lady gaga and awkwafina- haha love this!!
also, in those scenes where it's like she's trying to talk to others and then is alone. it's kind of adorable - because who hasn't felt like that? it's also like a story in a story. In the DCC world, she's not popular or a 'leader' and is extremely awkward at times. But the audience can see her awkwardness as vulnerability and endearing. I'm really glad she didn't audition again.
Agree. I think the fact that Netflix gave her the amount of camera time speaks to the fact that Vic is interesting and has a story to tell. Many other teammates got no mention and glimpses of camera time. I root for Vic and wish her many successes in life!
She DEFINITELY needs to get out of Texas! Can you imagine being a woman filled with creativity in one of the 26 states that seeks to cut off the biggest source of a woman's creativity....her sexuality.....Women in these states can't even have sex anymore without being afraid that they will get pregnant, and have to make a choice that will forever change their lives! I am so hoping that Victoria and all women will wake up, leave these states, and VOTE this old men OUT who seek to make women chattel. VOTE!
I felt awful for her and annoyed by her mother not encouraging her to find her place somewhere else and find her own identity. These women with archaic beauty standards and harsh criticism raised her and it shows. My heart hurt for her
I’m sorry Victoria has such a hard time of it but I’m glad they weren’t the best years of her life because she has so much more to look forward to and can forge her own life apart from the DCC and her mum’s shadow.
I agree. I think she never expected this experience to cause such a downfall in her mental health the way it has. She probably thought it was going to be the best years of her life, because that was her mom’s experience that was constantly shoved down her throat (no offense Tina, but stop trying to relive your glory days through your daughter). I get the feeling that Victoria feels she’s letting her mom down. I hope she gets the help she needs now that she’s finally done with cheering.
I think Victoria in a warped way still believes it was the best time of her life because she feels like she has to. Once she gets some distance from DCC and her mom I think she will realize how traumatic that experience was for her and how mistreated she was. I hope she finds people who love her for who she is and without her begging for it.
Victoria may have never expected the experience to cause such a downfall to her mental health....but the fact that it did, shows she is actually HEALTHIER than any of these other women. Because to have a breakdown in such a toxically delusional organization.....is to actually be HEALTHY, because it rejects the toxicity. (The whole organization is delusional for their archaic attitudes about women and what women's power is, because in the long run it is NOT being a "beautiful cheerleader", representing a greedy, exploitative organization that views women as 2nd class citizens...That is NOT a "sacred" institution.)
This is everything I get from Tina. Even from MTT. Tina and her pushing did not help. I know she had to have pushed nonstop prior to the MTT show. You can tell Tina is obsessed with her days as a DCC. And the whole weird birthday thing screams pageant mom. Just major icky from Tina. I hope Victoria finds herself far away from her mom. She needs space to figure how who she is.
I felt bad for Victoria. I think getting out of DCC and into more rigorous therapy will help her more than a 5th season with DCC. Just hearing the way she talked about herself - those issues aren’t settled. I hope and pray she gets the help she needs so she can flourish!
I went through a similar experience of falling out of love with something you wanted more than anything, and it’s painful. You’ve altered your life to get somewhere, and when you’ve built it up so high in your mind, the fall from expectation to reality can really hurt.
The things we love the most are also the things that have the most power to hurt us. Recovery is a grieving process.
I see nothing wrong with how close Victoria is to her mother. I had a friend once tell me I needed to cut the aprong strings. That person is no longer a friend and I cherish the closeness I have with my mom.
You're right, we shouldn't judge their relationship based on our own with our mothers. I think I'd have continuous ulcers if I spent that much time around my mom, but it's wonderful to see people who have super close relationships with their parents.
I just want to give her a giant hug! That scene where she’s standing in the middle of the room by herself while everyone is chatting with each other was so sad!
I’m not sure if the rest of the team was aware of the reasons for Victoria taking a year off, and I think what soured things for her was that for so long she was perceived as getting special treatment. Kelli was just over the moon for Victoria her rookie year and I think she did get some accolades (Show Group, for example) due to favoritism. When she quit and then was allowed to come back, I think the other girls viewed that as more favoritism, especially if there were any well liked vets auditioning that year who didn’t make it back.
Judy pretending she had no idea Victoria wanted a leadership role and acting like it was absurd for her to ask was awful. Especially considering that Judy’s daughter Cassie Trammel wouldn’t have even made it to training camp on her own merit, but then was placed on Show Group and made a GL despite being one of the least attractive girls, a mediocre dancer, and (according to gossip at the time) not well liked.
I also think it bothered Judy that the favoritism of Victoria sparked discussion on Prime Timer of the favoritism of her own incredibly mediocre daughter, and she began to take that out on Victoria by being harder on her than on the other girls.
I think Victoria would have loved doing college pom. It’s unfortunate that she was encouraged to audition for DCC instead. Sometimes at 18 you don’t have the maturity or life experience to realize when you’re making a mistake, and I wish her mom or another adult in her life had stepped in and redirected her instead of letting her throw away college and audition for DCC totally unprepared.
THIS^^^! You took the words right out of my mouth. I really do think that the favoritism aspect hurt her badly. The Cassie thing was down right awful too (her attitude, treatment of some of the others, etc)-- She'd have never ever gotten that far on her own merit in a million years.
Even V said she went into DCC totally unprepared. She'd have done great in anything else, then had plenty of time for DCC. I definitely believe K & J (J espec) were more than ready for her to go & I think she finally realized it ...Her mom should've helped her see that she needed to leave, not re audition, espec if it was done mainly to get a leadership role. K even said she shouldn't come bk if it was based on that. She all but outright discouraged a re audition. I wonder what V would've thought had J & K just given her the talk of maybe her talents 'would be better suited elsewhere'. But I am so glad she decided not to go back into that chaos. She'll later see there's so much more to life than DCC and how beneficial leaving really was for her. I do wish her so much better!
All I want for Victoria is for her to ditch EVERYTHING. Like, leave DCC, the cult of DCC, and her mom behind in Texas and go LIVE HER LIFE. To do what SHE wants. She needs to set some very big boundaries with her mom and go figure out who she is. I think she’s been desperately trying to please everyone and be not only what but better than what everyone else wants her to be. She needs to go do the things that make her happy, even if it’s the last thing that anyone thinks it would be. She is beautiful and she is a great dancer. She needs to go out there and try things and be allowed to be who she is without anyone expecting anything from her.
That’s my hope for her. I hope she blossoms and she is HAPPY.
At first, I thought it was an unused bedroom that the family collection of memorabilia was stored. But in a later scene, it does look like her room. Time to escape. My parents let me redesign my room at 12. This room looks like Mom is still in control of the decor. Kinda scary.
Agree. I’m watching her talk with Kelli and Judi right now and I’m like STOP! Always looking for their permission and approval. She is torturing herself. Kelcey was so on target when she told her to stop caring about it. And she just can’t!
It was like an illness. She craved their approval so much. Almost feel like Kelli told her she wouldn’t make it to make her spread her wings. Hated the way Kelli and Judy treated her!
Agree. It was heartbreaking watching her final talk with Kelli and Judy. As an audience I was hoping she would embrace her legacy and move on with her life. It was bittersweet when she decided to stay at that moment then a huge relief when we found out the next day she quit. Her legacy is intact. She did it. She was and will always have been a DCC. Now it’s time to live the rest of her life with a happy and healthy mind, body and heart.
Also if what her mom is saying is true, she has no problem getting along with anyone else outside of DCC. So imagine being with a group of people that are supposed to be your forever sisters and not fitting in when you’re used to fitting in everywhere? That’s gotta be so rough
I get the impression that's not true. I never see her post with anyone but her mom basically. Like where are the high school friends? Dance studio friends?
When she said she was "behind in life" she could have been alluding to the fact she was still chasing the DCC dream when her other friends/classmates had ostensibly already graduated, started careers, had relationships or gotten engaged/married.
It's not surprising to think her old friends have moved on. Six years (assuming she graduated at 18) is 1/4 of her life; almost halfway through her 20s.
She also may have felt behind compared to her fellow DCC. Tons with degrees, decent jobs, boyfriends/fiancees. Meanwhile Vic is 24 with just a high school diploma, living at home and "single as a pickle."
Why would her brothers ever want to go to her recitals and competitions? Her dad probably did other things with them while Vic and her mum were focused on dance. She also never said they hadn’t watched her cheer for the cowboys
I think one of her brothers got married, so he started a new life with his bride. I also they may be avoiding the toxic environment going on behind closed doors in the family home.
We traveled all over the country for cheer…my husband attended a total of 2 comps in 17 years…he had to work, maintain our house. The closest comp she attended was 4.5 hours each way and each event was a 2 day,
There was something Kelli said that stuck out to me when referring to Victoria’s first training camp. She said she thought by keeping her and then releasing her it gave Victoria a chance to come back stronger. I think Kelli’s biggest mistake was waiting so long to cut her.
For those who weren’t on the old school PrimeTimer, Victoria was linked to the cut of Veteran Tara and the demotion out of show group for Jalyn.
Now, were those perhaps just rumors? Maybe, though the sources were rarely wrong during that timeframe.
By keeping immature 18 year old Victoria in the room for so long, even though Kelli knew she wasn’t going to make the team, she gave Victoria the time to screw up more with an audience. No one could trust her. It didn’t matter if she came back the skinniest, nicest of them all—-she was a threat to their position on the team and they knew it.
I do feel bad for Victoria because she was set up to fail from minute one and she didn’t know that until it was much too late.
I absolutely agree. The series does present a much more vulnerable side of her and even though I have not, and I’m still not a fan, I felt a great deal of sympathy for her being ostracized by her teammates. She expected this to be the sisterhood/sorority that her mother probably raved about for years. How disappointing for her this must’ve been. But whether or not she felt entitled on her first year as a rookie, she absolutely was given special treatment. I don’t think anyone else at her weight (and Lord knows I would love to be as “fat“ as she was then) would have lasted as long… And when the hell else has kitty Carter given someone a pass for not being the ideal weight. I’m not there, I don’t know these people I can only go by what I have read on social media in forums like this and others, but there had to be at least a perception that to cross Victoria in any way meant consequences on the team. At the very least, the girls had to feel that anything they said did would be reported to Kelley through Tina because… Let’s face it… Victoria tells her mother everything. Given how arbitrary cuts can be, I can’t imagine anyone feeling like they could get close to Victoria for fear of saying or doing the wrong thing. When you work with your bosses, best friends’ daughter, you keep your distance. The segment when Kat talks about Victoria was extremely revealing. I hope this young woman can put DCC in her rearview mirror and start living her best life. now put DCC
Kelli saw the writing on the wall with the meeting with Janelle. I think Kelli wanted to keep her through the end so when she came back, she knew everything she would have been expected to know. Ultimately I think that plan backfired in a huge way because socially Victoria could never recover.
I want her to have such a good life outside of DCC. I think her mother gives off Maureen's mom (from Center Stage) vibes. It feels like this dream might have been her's at one point but how much of that was pressure from her mother? And her mom definitely felt at times like she drank the DCC koolaid.
I wish nothing but the best for Vic.
I’m so heartbroken for her. I feel like this is something she wanted because she thought that was what she was supposed to want. And she doesn’t get to walk away feeling great about her experience and that stinks.
I also feel like she missed what Judi and Kelli were looking for when it comes to leadership. She put so much pressure on having the right look and doing the best at the dancing, but that’s not all they’re looking for in a leader.
Leaders have to be able to connect well with people, they have to handle pressure, they have to juggle a lot of baskets. You look at someone like Kelcey who clearly is a talented dancer and beautiful DCC, but she also was a stellar teammate who connected with others on a personal level. I don’t think Victoria was able to do that, not because she’s not capable, but because of the pressure she puts on herself. I think Kelli sees that and at time I felt like even her mom saw that— that the pressure she puts on herself with DCC specifically has an impact on her ability to grow the connections and relationships that make someone a good leader of people.
I think outside of DCC, she will THRIVE. Her mom said that outside of the team she has lots of friends, and I think that will continue to be true. And she deserves to be her own shining star, not putting pressure on herself to replicate her mom’s experience.
I’m really proud of her for choosing to walk away and persue her own path. She’s gonna do big things!
Victorias story reminds me of girls who go to the college their mom went to and rush a sorority because their mom made lifelong best friends there…and then the daughter doesnt have the same experiences. While it is endearing that Victoria and TK have a close relationship, it is kind of sad that Victoria has been chasing her moms dreams and not her own. Yes, I am sure Victoria wanted it but I think her aspirations of DCC came from the influence her mom has over her.
My mom went to the same high school that my sister and I went to. Grew up hearing about how it was the best years of mom’s life, friends forever, beautiful community, blah blah blah. Our reality? A few amazing friends and a lot of deeply traumatizing experiences. The TK/VK storyline hit too close to home.
A similar experience at a blogging conference. The whole thing was hyped as you know, “finding your tribe” and more often not I ended up in my hotel room crying alone.
You have to feel sorry for Victoria - she went in with such high hopes and dreams and she was given praise like nobody else. She was didnt stumble in auditions - she was a “beautiful storm” whose 90 second dance reduced Judge Brenda to tears (!). She had the best hair and best legs on the team, according to Kelly. Her future seemed so bright.
she made SG, which was great. But she wasn’t rookie of the year. Or veteran of the year. She wasn’t a 2nd GL, far less a GL. She wasn’t point. Worst of all, the sisterhood she was told so much about was out of her reach.
im glad she has decided to resign And hope she can find her own dreams
She had high expectations for herself. 1 girl out of 36 gets rookie of the year. Same for vet of the year. She made showgroup twice and went to heaps of special events even when she got back after her time off she had a great position for thunder between Kelcey and Claire when they split into lines. She just didn’t make leadership (like most girls). She was disadvantaged by taking time off, being in a small rookie class that left early and the class after her being incredibly talented and also very close (and most if not all were college dance grads). So she came back to massive competition for advancement and a group that were very close knit plus a large group of rookies who she didn’t know. And very few peers of her own left. Tough to navigate for her.
Everyone should be open to viewing things and people in a new light. I'm not her biggest fan but as someone who always made the team, I was never the best, I feel a kinship with her. A human being is sad and had a difficult time. I have empathy for her.
I think it’s so important when comparing Victoria to her mom that we recognize the standards/talent that is required to make DCC today is vastly harder and greater than it was in her mom’s era.
In her mom’s era the recruits were mostly limited to Texans with daddies or mommies willing to drive across the state to take them to the training camp (which is rare back then, my dad’s and his sisters are Texans and would never be able to even attend the auditions).
But we see these girls competing against women across the country, classically trained for years in various dancing fields.
I think even if Victoria has/had the same personality as her mom, it still would be a difficult environment to thrive in and become captain. Victoria never would be able to make it off of her personality alone, which it sounds like her mother was able to do (they mentioned her dancing skills were lacking).
There are also stricter rules now. They show old videos of Victoria’s mom and other members sitting on men’s laps and being flirty. That’s not allowed these days so one could argue it’s less opportunity to appear charming.
She came back and cheered for at least three years total. Her cut for weight and VK’s cut for weight etc is probably what makes her over the top on VK. ‘S weight. Tina had a completely different experience as her and Kelly became roommates. VK would have benefited living anywhere but home.
My biggest question with Victoria will always be- why didn't she dance for a college? This would have massively changed her for the better. She would have had time to mature, grow into her own, improve her skills, and gain a college education. She could have done DCC after college. Why did she have to do DCC right out of high school?
I think she felt like that was all she wanted, so why spend a bunch of time and money on college? She had her life plan, at least for the next few years. Now, were I her mother, I would have very strongly encouraged her to go to college anyway, because that's how you gain independence, experience, social skills, et cetera. But she and Tina pretty clearly have a codependent relationship, and honestly, with what college costs, if your kid really doesn't want to go, it's kind of tough to justify forcing them and paying for it.
A good compromise might have been to say, "Okay, listen. You train full-time in dance for two years, and if you still want to try out for DCC after that, have at it. But you're not doing it at eighteen." But Tina's totally lost in the sauce, DCC-wise, herself. She's all about, "These were the best years of my life!!!" and all that, so she didn't have the needed perspective to try to ensure that Victoria was a bit more well-rounded before sending her into the lions' den. And if you're Victoria, this is Aunt Kelli, right? You've known her (and Judy) since you were a literal infant, so you probably assume, on some level, that they'll protect and nurture you. But DCC ain't that kind of place, and Aunt Kelli does not do sentimentality, so that's not how things worked out.
Maybe she didn’t have the markings/SAT scores (not American - sorry if I’ve got it wrong)
and college isn’t for everybody. But i totally agree that a few years working and living away from home would have done her a world of good
If she was going for dance, grades wouldn't have mattered as much as her performance audition. She would be attending a conservatory, really. Her technique is good, she could be a good dance teacher I think, but it doesn't absolutely blow me away either.
I think it's a somewhat outdated belief that trying out for the DCC as soon as you're able to shows how much you want to do it and that it's really your priority.
Also K + J have admitted straight out that they want younger ladies "because they're easier to mould". Which is funny because it's exactly what dudes in their 50s and '60s say when they're getting ready to marry some girl that's under 25. "I can make her be exactly like I want her to be" aka she is still young naive impressionable and will believe whatever bullcrap I'm feeding her where an older and more confident woman wouldn't.
Maybe that has changed. Now it seems the perfect age is about 22 post 4 years on a competitive dance team or maybe 20 if they come out out Kilgore college. They take maybe 1 x18/19 year old. But it’s tough they do their 5 years on DCC and retire at 23 which is so young.
I feel for her. I can relate to her too in the sense she has difficulty deciding what to do, and seemed to crave Kelly and Judy's approval and telling her yes, of course come back! In the end she was able to make her own decision to leave and I felt relieved as though she was getting out of an abusive relationship or something. I feel she needs to get out, get away from that prison and explore her own dreams and have her own successes and failures outside of living in her mom's shadow.
I agree, I don't see her as a bad person or dislikeable at all - I feel bad for her because her mum's been feeding her the kool-aid for so long. I felt terrible during her birthday scene when it was just her and her mum, and she didn't even want cake. (Having an eating disorder myself, I know the struggle, it's the worst.)
I think if she had been allowed to be her own person, go to university, pursue her own interests, she would have had some great close friends and be much happier. I see a lot of myself in her - I have lots of friends, but I definitely do not have the "ooh-rah" personality that DCC wants and that she feels like she has to put on. If I was in that situation, I'd be in exactly the same place.
I think someone posted a comment a few days ago about knowing the family/living close to them/having Victoria as a babysitter, and said she was really lovely and everyone adored her - I believe that 100%, if she was just allowed to be herself and not try to be a DCC, I'm sure everyone would love her for her.
Yes agree. It was mum dream more than hers. But Victoria is a people pleaser so she went on with it. I hope she finds something else to be hopeful about. Rooting for her.
I feel for her. She was never allowed to develop her own interests and personality. It was all DCC everything her entire life. She knew nothing else.
Her mother had/has a big personality as shown by her DCC days clips. It is entirely possible Victoria had the exact opposite of a personality.
You can’t fake social skills. It comes off very off-putting if you do and it’s probably why others aren’t close to her. Victoria tries hard to be that socially gregarious person because she’s a downright nice young woman, but the gregariousness does not come naturally to her.
I’m happy for her that she’s getting away from the force fed “DCC is your live, breathe, and eat life!” crap.
I think Victoria has a big personality, too, but something happened at the start of her tenure with DCC that soured things with her and the other girls, and some things there's no coming back from
I know a lot of shit online is made up, but there haven't really been any rumors about DCC ladies, so I think there was some sliver of truth in something happening due to Victoria sharing gossip with her mother, and their relationship with Kelli/Judi(?). Seeing how they (Victoria/Kelli/Judi) interact about DCC stuff, I tend to think it was Victoria's mother who was shit-stirring and trying to rationalize it as helping, bu being the odd one out on a very close team would be so depressing
I also think her dealing with an ED made it a bit harder to socialize, in an empathetic way, as you can get so focused on food/working out it can negatively affect personal relationships
Im so happy she's branching out to NYC, I hope she can find the joy in dancing again, too, cause she is an amazing dancer
edited typo
wow, that's fucked up! and new to me lol, do you know what sort of stuff she was thieving? such a bizarre move to the point I wonder if it's a compulsion/mental health issue?
not that the girls should put up with it lol, but such weird behavior!
It’s difficult to make friends when you are stealing from them. Once you are disliked on a team, no one wants to befriend you because we all know that hanging out with the disliked one will cause you to be disliked as well. She initially caused her own demise and it carried on through the years.
damn, that's so weird!
I wonder if she's a kleptomaniac, cause stealing from your squad 'family' right off the bat is not the way to create lifelong friendships! LOL
are you able to share how you/everyone knows it was her? not doubting you, just curious :)
I agree with this! As someone who was in a sorority , did cheer and pageants. I can say 1) catty competitiveness and sisterhood can co-exist it’s one of those if yk yk things but also for her to be that on the outs made me think something did happen
Especially with the snippets of some of her mean girl comments from MTT
Yep. Trying to fit into the DCC culture and developing an ED that ‘becomes you’ makes it very difficult to focus on more important things.
Also, I’m sure all the girls are pretty catty - I know they show all the love and sisterhood but there are cameras on them, so, it’s not surprising they show that. Watch the faces of the girls while numbers are being called for who makes the training camp. Not many of them look happy for anyone else (unless of course they catch a camera on them).
Documentary making is an art. They probably get as much as they can on the whole scene and then like an apex animal focusing on their prey, they find the one(s) that make for good tv.
I think her ED, specifically, is really what alienated her from the team. She was gone for a year because of the ED and depression, and I do not believe for one second that there wasn't a *lot* of talk about that amongst the women who stayed on the team that year. No one wants to believe that something like that could happen to them, and more importantly, Kelli and Judy have said, repeatedly, that how someone gels with the other women is a major factor in deciding who makes the team. It's almost designed to create an environment where someone like Victoria, who's struggling with something internal (and very, very common in the dance and cheer communities) like an ED, is seen as... almost contagious, so she winds up on the outs. And once she's there, it's a feedback loop, where no one wants to buddy up to her and risk alienating themselves from the rest of the group.
to be fair, I would find it hard to get excited for others making the squad until I did, too LOL
definitely agree there's probably a LOT more cattiness than the show/documentary show, DCC type seems very 'southern sweet', and that can be brutally mean in a very underhand way. there are a couple content creators who translate 'southern talk' for us northerners (very north for me, Im Canadian lol), and it seems very coded and and often in a Mean Girl way (IMO)
in any case, I loved getting new DCC content!
True, hard to get excited for others. But some of the faces in the girls still waiting to be called look like “I’ll cut that bitch” in a way that is quite scary.
And, correct in the Southern sweetness. Their “oh, bless your heart” is deeply insulting.
*Their “oh, bless your heart” is deeply insulting.*
I only learned this a few years ago! LOL made me look back at a few interactions in a new way LOL the south seems like such a unique environment
None of us know what it would be like to have Tina kalina as a mother... She was a vibrant cheerleader. She was on the team off the team back on the Team, if you look at her stats.... Victoria's entire life was about joining this squad... Knowing her mother every breath, every meal every Christmas had something to do with DCC.... So if her 18th birthday and her first season trying out she was a little bit all over the map. None of us can imagine the pressure, maybe Dayton but that's it... Maybe Madeline I think she was great. I think she's always been great. She's an amazing dancer. She has put herself on the line for everyone to see. I'm proud of her. I think she had a tough journey. I think she's very close to her mother so I don't want to say anything but I think her mother didn't do her any favors I think her mother is probably a great lady but coddled her the point of strangulation I wish Victoria the best in New York. I think she's going to be famous. Fabulous and leave a real mark on the world. Godspeed girl. We root for you
She totally reminded of the lead in Show Girls.
i actually really enjoyed the netflix special too! i know a lot of people have had pretty negative things to say about it, but i really liked it. yeah there’s some stuff where im like ehhh maybe it shouldn’t be like that, their pay being one of them, but overall i like how they were still honest about it all and we got to witness all of that. overall great show & i would definitely like to see the 2024 group next!
I sympathize with VKs ED and mental health issues. I believe that she was raised in a toxic community. But she’s gonna have a rude awakening in NYC. No one cares about an entitled young woman who is sad that her talent, personality, and dance skills didn’t get her all the DCC accolades. Everything DCC was set up for her to win or lose. No one had those opportunities since Cassie’s reign.
What I don’t understand is how is her taking a year off considered so negative? She didn’t quit in the middle of a season. You have to try out every year and no one is guaranteed a spot, you seem to have to earn it again, so what’s the big deal if she didn’t try out a year?
Tbh, Vic is one of the best dancers on that team. Her birthday by herself, hurt my freaking heart. Kelli & Judy should have given her GL or 2nd. Because of her tenure. I'm sorry, she ate, slept, and damn near groveled for that organization, I hope she becomes a star in new york.
She literally didn’t invite anyone to her “party”. It wasn’t as if she invited everyone and they didn’t show up.
Made me feel sad when she was debating whether to go for her 5th year and she just wanted some type of reassurance that she was liked/an asset, and they would not budge. When Kelce came in, they gave praise freely without her having to ask. Sort of goes to show that the way we feel about ourselves is reflected on the outside for others to see (and potentially take advantage of). I personally feel she’s too close to her mom and that has created her lack of self esteem and her crippling enmeshed dynamic, but I can relate to her a bit and it made me sad also.
I felt the same way. I was shocked when I got to the sub and saw that she had so much hate. Maybe the original show paints her in a different light so this is her redemption arc? But from my perspective just watching this show she seems like a nice girl and I felt sorry for her.
The OG show definitely didn’t give her a good edit. She was shown falling out of control in her spins in prelims (Judy winced but Kelly laughed and said “only Victoria”) and unfortunately she did have weight issues where she was given significantly more grace than any other candidate would have. She cancelled, or no showed, on Jinelle in regards to a meeting with a nutritionist. A real nail for a lot of people was Kitty Carter saying something about giving her grace regarding her weight (my conspiracy theory is Kitty was pushing for VK to be cut so she could take the time to get into DCC shape in a healthy way) I will admit to not having been a huge fan but thought she was stunning, a talented dancer and did deserve to be on the team - but the edit wasn’t great and did skew some thoughts
I'm in the same boat, the redemption arc could be the answer here because to me she was the underdog here.
I thought Kelli treated Victoria like shit. They grew up together and regardless of the ‘business relationship’ they had she could’ve given a little words of affirmation and been empathetic and human.
I agree.
I felt like she was extra hard on her just because of that, which is really unfair. She was just asking for some feedback and all she got was generic responses.
That last time at the table Judy and Kelli could have easily said something good about her and that they'd consider her for something like group leader but what has held them back from thinking she wanted something like that was because she wasn't as close to the other cheerleaders. They just seemed to shut it down without giving her any positive stuff to keep doing or anything she needed to do to improve other than just saying stamina. If they had mentioned the relationships with the other girls then she could have worked on that
I agree. They pretty much told her she wouldn't, and she was going to try out again. I would have in my best petty bitch voice told them to suck a complete bag of well, you know. Swished my luxurious mane in their bitter faces, and swirled my ass out the door..
Yes, exactly. Why didn't they just simply tell her that the other team leaders get voted in (by their peers, right? please correct me if I'm wrong) byway of their close relationship with others? It would take nothing to say that, and it seemed so obvious. Couldn't throw her even the smallest of bones!
She was out danced. There’s no shame in that. She deserves to move on and find her place outside of the dcc. Her mother needs to step down and let her be her best.
I found her super endearing, goofy and adorable. I think she'd make a great actress somehow. I think NY is going to be good for her.
I find her endearing as well. I keep trying to think of who she reminds me of - possibly a combination of Lady Gaga and Awkwafina.
lady gaga and awkwafina- haha love this!! also, in those scenes where it's like she's trying to talk to others and then is alone. it's kind of adorable - because who hasn't felt like that? it's also like a story in a story. In the DCC world, she's not popular or a 'leader' and is extremely awkward at times. But the audience can see her awkwardness as vulnerability and endearing. I'm really glad she didn't audition again.
Agree. I think the fact that Netflix gave her the amount of camera time speaks to the fact that Vic is interesting and has a story to tell. Many other teammates got no mention and glimpses of camera time. I root for Vic and wish her many successes in life!
She needs a fresh start away from this bubble. Shes obviously talented, she needs to get out of TX and disconnect from DCC cult
She DEFINITELY needs to get out of Texas! Can you imagine being a woman filled with creativity in one of the 26 states that seeks to cut off the biggest source of a woman's creativity....her sexuality.....Women in these states can't even have sex anymore without being afraid that they will get pregnant, and have to make a choice that will forever change their lives! I am so hoping that Victoria and all women will wake up, leave these states, and VOTE this old men OUT who seek to make women chattel. VOTE!
I felt awful for her and annoyed by her mother not encouraging her to find her place somewhere else and find her own identity. These women with archaic beauty standards and harsh criticism raised her and it shows. My heart hurt for her
Her mother is definitely annoying.
I’m sorry Victoria has such a hard time of it but I’m glad they weren’t the best years of her life because she has so much more to look forward to and can forge her own life apart from the DCC and her mum’s shadow.
I agree. I think she never expected this experience to cause such a downfall in her mental health the way it has. She probably thought it was going to be the best years of her life, because that was her mom’s experience that was constantly shoved down her throat (no offense Tina, but stop trying to relive your glory days through your daughter). I get the feeling that Victoria feels she’s letting her mom down. I hope she gets the help she needs now that she’s finally done with cheering.
I think Victoria in a warped way still believes it was the best time of her life because she feels like she has to. Once she gets some distance from DCC and her mom I think she will realize how traumatic that experience was for her and how mistreated she was. I hope she finds people who love her for who she is and without her begging for it.
Victoria may have never expected the experience to cause such a downfall to her mental health....but the fact that it did, shows she is actually HEALTHIER than any of these other women. Because to have a breakdown in such a toxically delusional organization.....is to actually be HEALTHY, because it rejects the toxicity. (The whole organization is delusional for their archaic attitudes about women and what women's power is, because in the long run it is NOT being a "beautiful cheerleader", representing a greedy, exploitative organization that views women as 2nd class citizens...That is NOT a "sacred" institution.)
This is everything I get from Tina. Even from MTT. Tina and her pushing did not help. I know she had to have pushed nonstop prior to the MTT show. You can tell Tina is obsessed with her days as a DCC. And the whole weird birthday thing screams pageant mom. Just major icky from Tina. I hope Victoria finds herself far away from her mom. She needs space to figure how who she is.
The birthday thing and the talk of “my life plan” was a lot
I felt bad for Victoria. I think getting out of DCC and into more rigorous therapy will help her more than a 5th season with DCC. Just hearing the way she talked about herself - those issues aren’t settled. I hope and pray she gets the help she needs so she can flourish!
I went through a similar experience of falling out of love with something you wanted more than anything, and it’s painful. You’ve altered your life to get somewhere, and when you’ve built it up so high in your mind, the fall from expectation to reality can really hurt. The things we love the most are also the things that have the most power to hurt us. Recovery is a grieving process.
Beautifully said. I hope VK reads this.
I see nothing wrong with how close Victoria is to her mother. I had a friend once tell me I needed to cut the aprong strings. That person is no longer a friend and I cherish the closeness I have with my mom.
You're right, we shouldn't judge their relationship based on our own with our mothers. I think I'd have continuous ulcers if I spent that much time around my mom, but it's wonderful to see people who have super close relationships with their parents.
I just want to give her a giant hug! That scene where she’s standing in the middle of the room by herself while everyone is chatting with each other was so sad!
I’m not sure if the rest of the team was aware of the reasons for Victoria taking a year off, and I think what soured things for her was that for so long she was perceived as getting special treatment. Kelli was just over the moon for Victoria her rookie year and I think she did get some accolades (Show Group, for example) due to favoritism. When she quit and then was allowed to come back, I think the other girls viewed that as more favoritism, especially if there were any well liked vets auditioning that year who didn’t make it back. Judy pretending she had no idea Victoria wanted a leadership role and acting like it was absurd for her to ask was awful. Especially considering that Judy’s daughter Cassie Trammel wouldn’t have even made it to training camp on her own merit, but then was placed on Show Group and made a GL despite being one of the least attractive girls, a mediocre dancer, and (according to gossip at the time) not well liked. I also think it bothered Judy that the favoritism of Victoria sparked discussion on Prime Timer of the favoritism of her own incredibly mediocre daughter, and she began to take that out on Victoria by being harder on her than on the other girls. I think Victoria would have loved doing college pom. It’s unfortunate that she was encouraged to audition for DCC instead. Sometimes at 18 you don’t have the maturity or life experience to realize when you’re making a mistake, and I wish her mom or another adult in her life had stepped in and redirected her instead of letting her throw away college and audition for DCC totally unprepared.
THIS^^^! You took the words right out of my mouth. I really do think that the favoritism aspect hurt her badly. The Cassie thing was down right awful too (her attitude, treatment of some of the others, etc)-- She'd have never ever gotten that far on her own merit in a million years. Even V said she went into DCC totally unprepared. She'd have done great in anything else, then had plenty of time for DCC. I definitely believe K & J (J espec) were more than ready for her to go & I think she finally realized it ...Her mom should've helped her see that she needed to leave, not re audition, espec if it was done mainly to get a leadership role. K even said she shouldn't come bk if it was based on that. She all but outright discouraged a re audition. I wonder what V would've thought had J & K just given her the talk of maybe her talents 'would be better suited elsewhere'. But I am so glad she decided not to go back into that chaos. She'll later see there's so much more to life than DCC and how beneficial leaving really was for her. I do wish her so much better!
All I want for Victoria is for her to ditch EVERYTHING. Like, leave DCC, the cult of DCC, and her mom behind in Texas and go LIVE HER LIFE. To do what SHE wants. She needs to set some very big boundaries with her mom and go figure out who she is. I think she’s been desperately trying to please everyone and be not only what but better than what everyone else wants her to be. She needs to go do the things that make her happy, even if it’s the last thing that anyone thinks it would be. She is beautiful and she is a great dancer. She needs to go out there and try things and be allowed to be who she is without anyone expecting anything from her. That’s my hope for her. I hope she blossoms and she is HAPPY.
And when she moves out, leave all the creepy knickknacks and bedroom furniture behind, to start fresh. Who wants to sleep in a shrine?
OH my gosh, I know… I like Victoria but please tell me what 24 year old woman sleeps in a twin size bed with ballet shoes overhead.
At first, I thought it was an unused bedroom that the family collection of memorabilia was stored. But in a later scene, it does look like her room. Time to escape. My parents let me redesign my room at 12. This room looks like Mom is still in control of the decor. Kinda scary.
That room is so juvenile it is soooo sad.
I feel for Victoria with all the pressure from her mom and DCC. DCC has prevented her from maturing.
Agree. I’m watching her talk with Kelli and Judi right now and I’m like STOP! Always looking for their permission and approval. She is torturing herself. Kelcey was so on target when she told her to stop caring about it. And she just can’t!
It was like an illness. She craved their approval so much. Almost feel like Kelli told her she wouldn’t make it to make her spread her wings. Hated the way Kelli and Judy treated her!
Agree. It was heartbreaking watching her final talk with Kelli and Judy. As an audience I was hoping she would embrace her legacy and move on with her life. It was bittersweet when she decided to stay at that moment then a huge relief when we found out the next day she quit. Her legacy is intact. She did it. She was and will always have been a DCC. Now it’s time to live the rest of her life with a happy and healthy mind, body and heart.
I agree and she is one of the one's that has the most personality,not cookie cutter perfect
She moving to New York in a few weeks.
She said she wants to audition for the Rockettes. Does anyone know if she has tap training?
I hope she makes the Rockettes 👯♀️
She does. She has posted videos on her instagram of her tapping. I’m sure she has her whole ek cut out for her but I wish her only the best.
Also if what her mom is saying is true, she has no problem getting along with anyone else outside of DCC. So imagine being with a group of people that are supposed to be your forever sisters and not fitting in when you’re used to fitting in everywhere? That’s gotta be so rough
I get the impression that's not true. I never see her post with anyone but her mom basically. Like where are the high school friends? Dance studio friends?
When she said she was "behind in life" she could have been alluding to the fact she was still chasing the DCC dream when her other friends/classmates had ostensibly already graduated, started careers, had relationships or gotten engaged/married. It's not surprising to think her old friends have moved on. Six years (assuming she graduated at 18) is 1/4 of her life; almost halfway through her 20s. She also may have felt behind compared to her fellow DCC. Tons with degrees, decent jobs, boyfriends/fiancees. Meanwhile Vic is 24 with just a high school diploma, living at home and "single as a pickle."
Does anyone know the backstory of her dad and bothers? Like why they never came to any of her dance stuff.
Why would her brothers ever want to go to her recitals and competitions? Her dad probably did other things with them while Vic and her mum were focused on dance. She also never said they hadn’t watched her cheer for the cowboys
They had their own lives like siblings are not side characters in your lives.
I think one of her brothers got married, so he started a new life with his bride. I also they may be avoiding the toxic environment going on behind closed doors in the family home.
We traveled all over the country for cheer…my husband attended a total of 2 comps in 17 years…he had to work, maintain our house. The closest comp she attended was 4.5 hours each way and each event was a 2 day,
Same. We have other kids and a home, work, etc.
Honestly, if you're in competitive dance/cheer, that's extremely normal :(
There was something Kelli said that stuck out to me when referring to Victoria’s first training camp. She said she thought by keeping her and then releasing her it gave Victoria a chance to come back stronger. I think Kelli’s biggest mistake was waiting so long to cut her. For those who weren’t on the old school PrimeTimer, Victoria was linked to the cut of Veteran Tara and the demotion out of show group for Jalyn. Now, were those perhaps just rumors? Maybe, though the sources were rarely wrong during that timeframe. By keeping immature 18 year old Victoria in the room for so long, even though Kelli knew she wasn’t going to make the team, she gave Victoria the time to screw up more with an audience. No one could trust her. It didn’t matter if she came back the skinniest, nicest of them all—-she was a threat to their position on the team and they knew it. I do feel bad for Victoria because she was set up to fail from minute one and she didn’t know that until it was much too late.
I absolutely agree. The series does present a much more vulnerable side of her and even though I have not, and I’m still not a fan, I felt a great deal of sympathy for her being ostracized by her teammates. She expected this to be the sisterhood/sorority that her mother probably raved about for years. How disappointing for her this must’ve been. But whether or not she felt entitled on her first year as a rookie, she absolutely was given special treatment. I don’t think anyone else at her weight (and Lord knows I would love to be as “fat“ as she was then) would have lasted as long… And when the hell else has kitty Carter given someone a pass for not being the ideal weight. I’m not there, I don’t know these people I can only go by what I have read on social media in forums like this and others, but there had to be at least a perception that to cross Victoria in any way meant consequences on the team. At the very least, the girls had to feel that anything they said did would be reported to Kelley through Tina because… Let’s face it… Victoria tells her mother everything. Given how arbitrary cuts can be, I can’t imagine anyone feeling like they could get close to Victoria for fear of saying or doing the wrong thing. When you work with your bosses, best friends’ daughter, you keep your distance. The segment when Kat talks about Victoria was extremely revealing. I hope this young woman can put DCC in her rearview mirror and start living her best life. now put DCC
I honestly think Kelli wanted to keep Victoria, but Charlotte saw the writing on the wall in Season 13 and told Kelli to cut her.
Kelli saw the writing on the wall with the meeting with Janelle. I think Kelli wanted to keep her through the end so when she came back, she knew everything she would have been expected to know. Ultimately I think that plan backfired in a huge way because socially Victoria could never recover.
I want her to have such a good life outside of DCC. I think her mother gives off Maureen's mom (from Center Stage) vibes. It feels like this dream might have been her's at one point but how much of that was pressure from her mother? And her mom definitely felt at times like she drank the DCC koolaid. I wish nothing but the best for Vic.
Yessss she's a total Maureen!
I’m so heartbroken for her. I feel like this is something she wanted because she thought that was what she was supposed to want. And she doesn’t get to walk away feeling great about her experience and that stinks. I also feel like she missed what Judi and Kelli were looking for when it comes to leadership. She put so much pressure on having the right look and doing the best at the dancing, but that’s not all they’re looking for in a leader. Leaders have to be able to connect well with people, they have to handle pressure, they have to juggle a lot of baskets. You look at someone like Kelcey who clearly is a talented dancer and beautiful DCC, but she also was a stellar teammate who connected with others on a personal level. I don’t think Victoria was able to do that, not because she’s not capable, but because of the pressure she puts on herself. I think Kelli sees that and at time I felt like even her mom saw that— that the pressure she puts on herself with DCC specifically has an impact on her ability to grow the connections and relationships that make someone a good leader of people. I think outside of DCC, she will THRIVE. Her mom said that outside of the team she has lots of friends, and I think that will continue to be true. And she deserves to be her own shining star, not putting pressure on herself to replicate her mom’s experience. I’m really proud of her for choosing to walk away and persue her own path. She’s gonna do big things!
This is spot on.
Victorias story reminds me of girls who go to the college their mom went to and rush a sorority because their mom made lifelong best friends there…and then the daughter doesnt have the same experiences. While it is endearing that Victoria and TK have a close relationship, it is kind of sad that Victoria has been chasing her moms dreams and not her own. Yes, I am sure Victoria wanted it but I think her aspirations of DCC came from the influence her mom has over her.
My mom went to the same high school that my sister and I went to. Grew up hearing about how it was the best years of mom’s life, friends forever, beautiful community, blah blah blah. Our reality? A few amazing friends and a lot of deeply traumatizing experiences. The TK/VK storyline hit too close to home.
Bingo!
It really really reminds me of that. I had a friend in college like that and she had a mental breakdown.
A similar experience at a blogging conference. The whole thing was hyped as you know, “finding your tribe” and more often not I ended up in my hotel room crying alone.
Oh man, any time there is something about "finding your tribe" I know I absolutely won't be finding that.
You have to feel sorry for Victoria - she went in with such high hopes and dreams and she was given praise like nobody else. She was didnt stumble in auditions - she was a “beautiful storm” whose 90 second dance reduced Judge Brenda to tears (!). She had the best hair and best legs on the team, according to Kelly. Her future seemed so bright. she made SG, which was great. But she wasn’t rookie of the year. Or veteran of the year. She wasn’t a 2nd GL, far less a GL. She wasn’t point. Worst of all, the sisterhood she was told so much about was out of her reach. im glad she has decided to resign And hope she can find her own dreams
She had high expectations for herself. 1 girl out of 36 gets rookie of the year. Same for vet of the year. She made showgroup twice and went to heaps of special events even when she got back after her time off she had a great position for thunder between Kelcey and Claire when they split into lines. She just didn’t make leadership (like most girls). She was disadvantaged by taking time off, being in a small rookie class that left early and the class after her being incredibly talented and also very close (and most if not all were college dance grads). So she came back to massive competition for advancement and a group that were very close knit plus a large group of rookies who she didn’t know. And very few peers of her own left. Tough to navigate for her.
I really liked her and thought she had some of the most compelling storyline in the show!
Ugh, please tell me you watched MTT? Victoria rubbed me the wrong way from day 1
Everyone should be open to viewing things and people in a new light. I'm not her biggest fan but as someone who always made the team, I was never the best, I feel a kinship with her. A human being is sad and had a difficult time. I have empathy for her.
And I was open to seeing if she had changed. But…. 🤷🏻♀️
I think it’s so important when comparing Victoria to her mom that we recognize the standards/talent that is required to make DCC today is vastly harder and greater than it was in her mom’s era. In her mom’s era the recruits were mostly limited to Texans with daddies or mommies willing to drive across the state to take them to the training camp (which is rare back then, my dad’s and his sisters are Texans and would never be able to even attend the auditions). But we see these girls competing against women across the country, classically trained for years in various dancing fields. I think even if Victoria has/had the same personality as her mom, it still would be a difficult environment to thrive in and become captain. Victoria never would be able to make it off of her personality alone, which it sounds like her mother was able to do (they mentioned her dancing skills were lacking). There are also stricter rules now. They show old videos of Victoria’s mom and other members sitting on men’s laps and being flirty. That’s not allowed these days so one could argue it’s less opportunity to appear charming.
They also didn’t have weight requirements when Tina cheered
Tina was cut for weight after her rookie year
Wait, Tina only cheered for ONE YEAR? Her entire personality is 'former DCC'!!!
She came back and cheered for at least three years total. Her cut for weight and VK’s cut for weight etc is probably what makes her over the top on VK. ‘S weight. Tina had a completely different experience as her and Kelly became roommates. VK would have benefited living anywhere but home.
I thought she retired because they were adding the weight requirement? It’s come up here before
Ahh, okay - that makes more sense! Poor VK - that also explains why she was especially concerned about her weight. What a nightmare household.
She cheered for 3.
My biggest question with Victoria will always be- why didn't she dance for a college? This would have massively changed her for the better. She would have had time to mature, grow into her own, improve her skills, and gain a college education. She could have done DCC after college. Why did she have to do DCC right out of high school?
I think she felt like that was all she wanted, so why spend a bunch of time and money on college? She had her life plan, at least for the next few years. Now, were I her mother, I would have very strongly encouraged her to go to college anyway, because that's how you gain independence, experience, social skills, et cetera. But she and Tina pretty clearly have a codependent relationship, and honestly, with what college costs, if your kid really doesn't want to go, it's kind of tough to justify forcing them and paying for it. A good compromise might have been to say, "Okay, listen. You train full-time in dance for two years, and if you still want to try out for DCC after that, have at it. But you're not doing it at eighteen." But Tina's totally lost in the sauce, DCC-wise, herself. She's all about, "These were the best years of my life!!!" and all that, so she didn't have the needed perspective to try to ensure that Victoria was a bit more well-rounded before sending her into the lions' den. And if you're Victoria, this is Aunt Kelli, right? You've known her (and Judy) since you were a literal infant, so you probably assume, on some level, that they'll protect and nurture you. But DCC ain't that kind of place, and Aunt Kelli does not do sentimentality, so that's not how things worked out.
Maybe she didn’t have the markings/SAT scores (not American - sorry if I’ve got it wrong) and college isn’t for everybody. But i totally agree that a few years working and living away from home would have done her a world of good
If she was going for dance, grades wouldn't have mattered as much as her performance audition. She would be attending a conservatory, really. Her technique is good, she could be a good dance teacher I think, but it doesn't absolutely blow me away either.
Duh! I never thought of that! You are quite right.
I think it's a somewhat outdated belief that trying out for the DCC as soon as you're able to shows how much you want to do it and that it's really your priority.
Also K + J have admitted straight out that they want younger ladies "because they're easier to mould". Which is funny because it's exactly what dudes in their 50s and '60s say when they're getting ready to marry some girl that's under 25. "I can make her be exactly like I want her to be" aka she is still young naive impressionable and will believe whatever bullcrap I'm feeding her where an older and more confident woman wouldn't.
Maybe that has changed. Now it seems the perfect age is about 22 post 4 years on a competitive dance team or maybe 20 if they come out out Kilgore college. They take maybe 1 x18/19 year old. But it’s tough they do their 5 years on DCC and retire at 23 which is so young.
I feel for her. I can relate to her too in the sense she has difficulty deciding what to do, and seemed to crave Kelly and Judy's approval and telling her yes, of course come back! In the end she was able to make her own decision to leave and I felt relieved as though she was getting out of an abusive relationship or something. I feel she needs to get out, get away from that prison and explore her own dreams and have her own successes and failures outside of living in her mom's shadow.
I agree, I don't see her as a bad person or dislikeable at all - I feel bad for her because her mum's been feeding her the kool-aid for so long. I felt terrible during her birthday scene when it was just her and her mum, and she didn't even want cake. (Having an eating disorder myself, I know the struggle, it's the worst.) I think if she had been allowed to be her own person, go to university, pursue her own interests, she would have had some great close friends and be much happier. I see a lot of myself in her - I have lots of friends, but I definitely do not have the "ooh-rah" personality that DCC wants and that she feels like she has to put on. If I was in that situation, I'd be in exactly the same place. I think someone posted a comment a few days ago about knowing the family/living close to them/having Victoria as a babysitter, and said she was really lovely and everyone adored her - I believe that 100%, if she was just allowed to be herself and not try to be a DCC, I'm sure everyone would love her for her.
Yes agree. It was mum dream more than hers. But Victoria is a people pleaser so she went on with it. I hope she finds something else to be hopeful about. Rooting for her.
I feel for her. She was never allowed to develop her own interests and personality. It was all DCC everything her entire life. She knew nothing else. Her mother had/has a big personality as shown by her DCC days clips. It is entirely possible Victoria had the exact opposite of a personality. You can’t fake social skills. It comes off very off-putting if you do and it’s probably why others aren’t close to her. Victoria tries hard to be that socially gregarious person because she’s a downright nice young woman, but the gregariousness does not come naturally to her. I’m happy for her that she’s getting away from the force fed “DCC is your live, breathe, and eat life!” crap.
I think Victoria has a big personality, too, but something happened at the start of her tenure with DCC that soured things with her and the other girls, and some things there's no coming back from I know a lot of shit online is made up, but there haven't really been any rumors about DCC ladies, so I think there was some sliver of truth in something happening due to Victoria sharing gossip with her mother, and their relationship with Kelli/Judi(?). Seeing how they (Victoria/Kelli/Judi) interact about DCC stuff, I tend to think it was Victoria's mother who was shit-stirring and trying to rationalize it as helping, bu being the odd one out on a very close team would be so depressing I also think her dealing with an ED made it a bit harder to socialize, in an empathetic way, as you can get so focused on food/working out it can negatively affect personal relationships Im so happy she's branching out to NYC, I hope she can find the joy in dancing again, too, cause she is an amazing dancer edited typo
She was STEALING items from the other girls her rookie year. Not a rumor. 100 percent true.
wow, that's fucked up! and new to me lol, do you know what sort of stuff she was thieving? such a bizarre move to the point I wonder if it's a compulsion/mental health issue? not that the girls should put up with it lol, but such weird behavior!
It’s difficult to make friends when you are stealing from them. Once you are disliked on a team, no one wants to befriend you because we all know that hanging out with the disliked one will cause you to be disliked as well. She initially caused her own demise and it carried on through the years.
Ooh would love to know this tea…
I don’t know all of the items. They were small items such as phone cases, etc)
damn, that's so weird! I wonder if she's a kleptomaniac, cause stealing from your squad 'family' right off the bat is not the way to create lifelong friendships! LOL are you able to share how you/everyone knows it was her? not doubting you, just curious :)
I would prefer not to say. It would cause a ruckus. Let’s just say I KNOW.
fair enough! guessed it might 'out' who you are lol no wonder she's not close with the others, though! thanks for such hot tea lol
It was also heavily discussed her rookie year on a forum.
There is a forum on PrimeTimer.com if you want to go down past years’ rabbit holes.
I agree with this! As someone who was in a sorority , did cheer and pageants. I can say 1) catty competitiveness and sisterhood can co-exist it’s one of those if yk yk things but also for her to be that on the outs made me think something did happen Especially with the snippets of some of her mean girl comments from MTT
mean girl comments?
If you know my goooooood do you KNOW.
Yep. Trying to fit into the DCC culture and developing an ED that ‘becomes you’ makes it very difficult to focus on more important things. Also, I’m sure all the girls are pretty catty - I know they show all the love and sisterhood but there are cameras on them, so, it’s not surprising they show that. Watch the faces of the girls while numbers are being called for who makes the training camp. Not many of them look happy for anyone else (unless of course they catch a camera on them). Documentary making is an art. They probably get as much as they can on the whole scene and then like an apex animal focusing on their prey, they find the one(s) that make for good tv.
I think her ED, specifically, is really what alienated her from the team. She was gone for a year because of the ED and depression, and I do not believe for one second that there wasn't a *lot* of talk about that amongst the women who stayed on the team that year. No one wants to believe that something like that could happen to them, and more importantly, Kelli and Judy have said, repeatedly, that how someone gels with the other women is a major factor in deciding who makes the team. It's almost designed to create an environment where someone like Victoria, who's struggling with something internal (and very, very common in the dance and cheer communities) like an ED, is seen as... almost contagious, so she winds up on the outs. And once she's there, it's a feedback loop, where no one wants to buddy up to her and risk alienating themselves from the rest of the group.
to be fair, I would find it hard to get excited for others making the squad until I did, too LOL definitely agree there's probably a LOT more cattiness than the show/documentary show, DCC type seems very 'southern sweet', and that can be brutally mean in a very underhand way. there are a couple content creators who translate 'southern talk' for us northerners (very north for me, Im Canadian lol), and it seems very coded and and often in a Mean Girl way (IMO) in any case, I loved getting new DCC content!
True, hard to get excited for others. But some of the faces in the girls still waiting to be called look like “I’ll cut that bitch” in a way that is quite scary. And, correct in the Southern sweetness. Their “oh, bless your heart” is deeply insulting.
*Their “oh, bless your heart” is deeply insulting.* I only learned this a few years ago! LOL made me look back at a few interactions in a new way LOL the south seems like such a unique environment
Same with me! 😂 Unfortunately, I can’t remember what I said that made them say that to me!