03x01 - Yes/No/Maybe, Part 1

[bunniefuu]

[woman breathing deeply]

[inhales sharply]

[gentle music playing]

[Reece] My mission
as a dancer is to use my gift

and my talent to bring glory
to my Creator.

I never expected my life
to look like it does.

I wanted to be
a Dallas Cowboys Cheerleader.

But now, with the exposure of our team,

it's a lot.

It's a lot. Sometimes you do feel pulled.

[Judy Trammell] Okay, Reece, just hang on.
We want to fix some of the lighting.

[Kelli Finglass] She needs a spotlight.
Period.

[crowd cheering]

[Kelli] You've got a lot of… eyes on you.

I'm proud that you haven't
let it affect you, 'cause it… it could.

So I hope you… You should know that.

Are you managing everything okay?
I mean, is it ever too much?

[discordant cheering]

[Reece] People look at us
like these celebrities.

I don't know.
I can't wrap my head around it.

Once the show came out,

people just assume things about you.

[Jenna] It's as if, like, you take all
of your deepest insecurities

and thousands of people are like,
"Agree, agree, agree!"

There are days where I don't feel
good enough to be in the room.

I just feel myself getting eaten alive.

[cheering in background]

[announcer] The internationally acclaimed
Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders!

[Kelli] It wasn't always this way.

But our world's different now.

["Eminence Front" by The Who playing]

[Megan] You are signing up for something
larger than just an NFL cheer team.

[Judy] We could make mistakes
privately in the past.

But now, everything is public.

- [enticing song building]
- [crowd cheering]

[Megan] Everything about this organization
revolved around tradition.

We all understand the sisterhood,

the weight, and the history.

[music and cheering continues]

[Kleine] It used to be, "Oh, those are
the Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders."

But now, people know us by our names.

- Who's your favorite cheerleader?
- Reece.

[Kleine] We have millions of sets of eyes
all on every little thing that we do.

[Kelli] As America's Sweethearts,

you need to post pictures
little girls would look up to.

[woman] I'd never post that
in a million years.

- [Judy] But who posted it?
- I have no idea.

[laughs] The Reddit people are crazy.

[Kleine] We all need approval
at some point…

[crying] I'm gonna take,
like, three minutes.

…that everything's fine,
everything's perfect.

- ["Eminence Front" continues playing]
- ♪ The sun shines ♪

♪ And people forget… ♪

I feel every time I go out,
there are probably people

who are just waiting for me to mess up.

[Judy] It's all over TikTok
how bad her kicks are.

[Kelli] That's why we need to keep 'em
busy, focused, and positive.

Can't listen to the haters.

♪ The girls smile ♪

[Megan] This whole opportunity

of promoting yourself
has opened up all these doors.

But there has been concerns of,
"Who's here for the right reasons?"

[enticing song continues]

[Kleine] If you came here
to do all this on social media,

and you're not here to dance,
then don't try out.

This has been my dream forever, and I'm…
I'm so close.

[man] Once you got into this world,

it's like you're almost
in this fantasy land.

[Kleine] We call it DCC land.

I felt like you were
slipping away a little there.

[cheerleader] It really is blood,
sweat, and tears…

[Kelli] Do we need a wheelchair?

[cheerleader] …but it's worth it.

[Reece] I've been so, so grateful, but…

it's hard.

[Kleine] The more success you have,
the more people are gonna not like you.

And so, do you want
to just hold your talents in

or be what you were called to do?

I wish the girls on the team now
could experience

a little bit of time to see
what it was like without all of this.

[cheerleaders whooping]

[Kelli] It's exposure,
and some people like that,

and some people don't.

I guess the question is,
"Can you handle it?"

[cheerleader] Here we go!

[song stops]

Thank you, sir.

- Off we go.
- Sure.

- I'll see you after the show?
- Yeah, okay. Thank you.

- Thank you!
- Uh-huh.

[cheerleaders repeating] One, two, three,
five, seven…

[Reece] One, three, five, seven. Three.

Five, seven, this is four.

Five, seven, this is five.

- Five, seven.
- [cheerleaders repeating]

[Reece] One, three, five.

[Judy] Okay, stop.
You know you're too tight already, right?

Where's the next line forward?

Which one feels better for y'all
for both kick lines? The back one?

Okay, get back to your files.

- [Charly] Oh my God, yeah.
- [woman] Wait.

Okay, so here we are.
Five, six, seven, eight.

And a one, two, three, four.
Stay on that line.

Seven, eight, and one, two, three, four.

And five, six, seven, eight.

Stop. Okay. Line, line, your…

Okay, move up in front of the line.

Wait, do y'all…
How close is it once you do the lights?

Well, the intro that comes after it
is my video intro, yeah?

And one, two, three,
four, five, six, seven.

And one, and two, and three,
and four, and five, and six, and seven.

Eight. One, two…

[Kelli] It's always been a dream of mine
to have a stage show.

One, heh, did I count wrong?

[Kelli] With a lot of planning and a lot
of financial considerations, we did it.

["Super Graphic Ultra Modern Girl"
by Chappell Roan playing]

[hushed chatter in background]

[enticing dance song continues]

- [knock on door]
- [man] We're gonna hold for five minutes.

- Perfect.
- [man] There's people still getting merch.

- We thought you might say that.
- [dance song continues]

[Kelli] My biggest dream was just to have
a full-blown Broadway show, a residency.

We've got the talent.
We have the creative juice.

And the demand is there.

♪ You can't come
Uh-huh, I'm through…♪

- [Reece yelps] We're about to do a tour.
- [Kelly V] People are coming just for us.

- [Reece] Exactly.
- Instead of a game, when we're just there.

- [Reece] It's a wild concept.
- [Kelli on loudspeaker] Dallas, Texas!

[crowd cheering wildly]

Are you ready?

Please welcome
the Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders!

- [enticing song continues]
- [crowd cheering wildly]

[Kelli] We were backstage
and we could hear the squeals.

[Judy] When Kelli first told me
that we were gonna do this tour,

I was very intimidated.

I didn't realize how much
the cheerleaders have blown up.

[Kelli] Do we recognize that the
added visibility have created new fandom?

Yes. We can see it, feel it, and hear it.

[on video] Hi, I'm Reece…

[overlapping chatter]

- [Taylor] People came for Reece.
- [Jada] No Reece, no peace.

No Reece, no ticket sales.

[Kelli] Everybody knows a lot more
about the Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders

and the individuals on the team

since last season's America's Sweethearts.

[dance song continues]

[Reece] I never pictured this
to be my life.

I think I was really shocked.

When I came back from watching the first
two or three episodes, I was like, "Oh!"

"The whole world is gonna see this."

At first, it was just so strange,

and then now,
I think it's intensified more.

[Kelli] We can't
stop the show for a zipper.

When we first decided
that we were doing a live show,

we knew it needed to be a hundred minutes…

[laughing] And that's about
as much as we knew.

So it's… it's a challenge.

[overlapping chatter]

[Kelli] We had a hip-hop piece.

Where are the girls? Grab 'em! Holler!

We had lyrical pieces,
contemporary pieces.

We featured some solos.

We had "Beautiful Things,"
which was Kelly and Charly's duet.

[Reece] You just see so many people
that love and support our team.

You know, they have signs,
"Here for the cheerleaders."

[cheerleaders] Three,
two, one, show one's done! Whoo!

[Kelli] Y'all look good
for being dead tired.

[overlapping chatter] Oh! Money!
Money! US! Coin!

- Currency!
- [all] Yes!

[dance music continues]

[song fades]

[Kelli] Who do we have coming today?
Seven or eight?

[muttering]

Okay! Eight people.

The stage show,

it's also a good opportunity for us
to be thinking ahead.

And so, part of this Texas tour
that we did,

we also incorporated
a round of live auditions.

Shianna…

- Shianna is number one.
- [Judy] …is gonna be one.

- [Kelli] I like her.
- I do too, a lot.

- [expectant music playing]
- [crowd cheering]

[Kelli] Well, howdy!

My name is Kelli Finglass,

and I'm the director
of the Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders.

[crowd cheering wildly]

[Kelli] We're about to hold
a live audition right now.

I didn't know exactly
what the logistics would be

for the audition process in person.

Okay, we're gonna do this
in two groups of four.

So, come on out, ladies.

Kyre', Victoria, Journi, and Andalee.

Me and seven other girls
performed our round two dance,

plus our kick lines
in front of Kelli and Judy

and a thousand other people.

[Kelli] It was really exciting
to have a live audience judging element.

The fans' vote is here.
Who else deserves to be at finals?

And then in a couple cities,
Judy and I picked even two more.

Journi's very memorable.

She was very powerful on the stage.

I was the farthest person to her,
and I saw her across the room,

and I was like, "That's my pick."

[Kelli] Here is who you all

have picked into the
Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders finals,

and we agree.

She's from Frisco, Texas,
number three, Journi.

[crowd cheering]

[Judy] Slow down!

- Thank you so much!
- Congratulations!

[Kelli] Congratulations!

[Journi] I am a very hard-working person
and very dedicated,

so I know that I'm ready to handle it.

I'm so excited.

From League City, Texas,
number five, Presley.

[crowd cheering]

- Thank you so much! Thank you so much!
- Congratulations.

Number six, Amaya.

- [crowd cheering]
- [Judy] Yay!

[Kelli] The auditions were experimental,
and they worked.

We chose ten from our live shows
that made it to the final auditions.

This is going to put pressure
on the new vets.

- They don't see what we're seeing.
- But they'll see it at finals.

- [Kelli] I know.
- Mmm-hmm.

[music fades]

[indistinct chatter]

Five, six, seven, eight.

[Kleine] This year,
there's so many fifth years.

And then the hip goes up, down and down.

[gentle music playing]

[Kleine] I think there's six.
I think it's, like, the most ever.

Yeah, an arm workout. Pray for me.

Last season,
there was just so much going on,

so much stress,
so many things to navigate.

It was honestly just exhausting.

- Is that a look?
- [Kleine] No.

[Megan] You know,
things got rocky last year,

and it was really hard.

♪ I want to survive ♪

I felt like I couldn't even
do my job as a cheerleader.

I was having to be a lawyer,
a therapist, an HR specialist.

Obviously, we love the Cowboys.

That's why we're here,
why we moved our whole lives to be here.

And right now,

with our full-time jobs,
it's really difficult.

We were getting paid $15 an hour,

and me, Jada, Armani, Amanda,

Kleine, and Marissa
all fought really hard.

- You're not asking for the world.
- No, we're not.

You're just asking for a livable wage.

[Megan] And our efforts were heard.

I didn't expect that at all.

[Kelli] I want to first
thank our group leaders.

- [gentle music continues]
- [sighs]

We couldn't do this without you.

[Megan] To feel victorious
after such an impossible battle,

and just having Jada and Armani with me,
it was really rewarding.

- Should we hug?
- Yeah.

- Okay.
- I don't know how to hug with three.

- You could just… Hand in.
- Put your hand in.

[Megan] I think this year
is gonna be a fresh, new start,

and I'm really excited
to have a solid team.

I'm technically
the only returning first leader,

but I'm excited for the other girls
to step forward.

[leader counting]

[Megan] Especially Kleine, because she has
so much leadership potential.

[Megan] Four, head,
five, six, seven, eight.

♪ Hey, everybody ♪

[Megan] Kleine's not that serious.

That's the ugliest part
I've ever seen in a dance.

[all laughing]

Damn, Kleine. How you really feel?

[Megan] She always is reminding everyone…
laugh it off,

because if you're not gonna laugh,
you're gonna cry.

Honk.

[Megan] ♪ Say I love you like I love you ♪

[Kleine] I want it to be an era of,
"Let's openly talk to each other."

Let's communicate.

Now I will say, in the past,
it's kind of gotten me in trouble.

[Kelli] Kleine, you just said something.
Where's my ornament?

- Kleine, where are you?
- Right here.

Before you say, "Where's my ornament…"
Where are you?

[Kleine] Right here.

Why don't you first thank Michelle
for coming up here by herself

and putting this tree together?

Why don't we thank people first?

In previous years,
if you ever fought with Kelli Finglass…

[imitates scissors] Cut. [laughs]

[Kelli] Help me help you.

It's not the time to ask Judy,
"Where's my Christmas ornament?"

Or "Where's my vegetarian meal?"
It's just not the time.

[Kleine] I think it just kind of became,
like,

you can kind of say
whatever you want to me,

but at the same time,
I'll call you out if I don't like it.

I don't know why ten of you didn't
have the time to write James a card.

I'm working from 8:00 a.m.
through lunch to get here at 6:30,

and I don't leave work till 5:30,

so that is my excuse,
but it's not an excuse.

I'm owning it, and so that's…
I'm one of the ten.

[Kleine] I think Jada
was the same way, but…

[Kelli] Kleine.

[Kleine] …with me,
sometimes it just isn't received well.

You're up there.
Did you not see yourself before?

No, ma'am. Um…

[Kleine] I do feel
for the girls who feel like

they have to constantly
get some sort of approval, or a nod,

or a smile from Judy or Kelli,
and it's just…

Who cares, you know?

This is what happens,
I get hyperfixated on the same part.

[Kleine] Searching for that approval

is only gonna bring
a negative outlook on the year.

- [Kleine] Everyone circle up! Circle up!
- [Megan] Circle up!

[Kleine] Kayla in the middle! Kayla!

♪ Happy birthday to you
Happy birthday to you ♪

♪ Happy birthday, dear Kayla
Happy birthday to you ♪

[all] Whoo!

[Megan] At the end of the day,
it is about the sisterhood,

and that's kind of the theme
I'm trying to portray to the girls.

There's a lot of attention on us,
and I just want us to be so solid,

because what we have is so special,

and I feel like there could be girls here
coming in for the wrong reasons.

If we're not a solid group,

then how are we gonna
withstand all the noise outside?

[Megan] Do you guys want to come sit down?

[Megan] The girls deserve
what a true DCC year is like.

I know that there's
a lot of noise on social media.

There's a lot of outside things
that are pulling our attention

in 17 million directions.

But we are on Team Veteran.

- And I get to, literally… I can, like…
- [all clapping]

[Megan] This is the time where this truly
defines what this sisterhood is.

Because y'all are the best of the best,
and I can say right here,

this will be the best team
the team has ever had.

I'm not even kidding.

Right here, right now,
I'm really proud of everyone in this room.

And especially, you know,
we had some bumps, but we made that.

And it's gonna be a good year.

- [indistinct chatter]
- [both laughing]

[all] One, two, three, DCC!

Whoo!

[Kelli] "Thank you for participation

in the 2025
Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders auditions."

"While you did not advance
to round two this time,

please know that your talent and passion
did not go unnoticed."

"Every audition is a valuable experience,

and we encourage you to continue honing
your skills and pursuing your dreams."

Hmm.

Let's just say,
"We encourage you to continue…"

"Your dreams?"

- I don't like "honing your skills."
- Yeah. I don't either.

The first season of America's Sweethearts
dropped and launched after

last year's auditions, right?

So this is the first time
we are viewing applications

that have joined this audition process

because of seeing
Netflix's America's Sweethearts.

We had applications open for ten days.

We were averaging
about 25 applications a day.

And then hundreds dropped
on the last two days,

and that's why
we've been locked in our room.

- Okay, so I'm gonna go back to scores.
- [intriguing music playing]

Okay, I'm on scores.

[Kelli] We've now looked
and judged every application,

and now we're sorting them by score.

Hey, y'all. My name is Parker,
and I'm 23 years old,

from College Station, Texas.

[Kelli] One performer
from TCU's dance team, or Alabama,

or Ohio State, or LSU,
or some of these powerhouses

that are college dance teams,

there's kind of
become a legacy of them trying out,

and that's great for us.

Well, I like Parker a lot.

[Kelli] I like her a lot too.

My name is Brenley.
I'm 22 years old from Fort Worth, Texas.

- [Kelli] Brenley!
- I just finished four years of…

- [Judy] She's pretty.
- Yeah.

[Kelli] She's strong.

Texas Tech said they'll miss her
more than anyone in their last ten years.

Savanna comes from a program, TCU,
that we're very familiar with.

[Judy] She's teeny.

But she dances tall.

[Kelli] Then we have studio dancers
auditioning as well,

and it is a result of the TV show,
and that has been great for us.

[Judy] I think there's a lot that would've
never even thought it was a possibility

or something they'd want to do.

- So many of these New York, LA dancers.
- Yeah, a lot more New York, a lot more LA.

Hi, there, my name's Faith.
I'm 22 and living in Perth, Australia.

[Kelli imitating Aussie accent]
Well, g'day, mate.

All of a sudden,
I've gone to Dumb and Dumber.

[Faith] I'm from Wellington, New Zealand.

A fun fact about me is
that I grew up with double-jointed hips,

which makes my hips super flexible.

And I was known as "Flexy Faith"
on social media.

She seems genuine.
I get warm out of her, not snotty.

[Judy] Double-jointed in her hips
is why she's so flexible.

[Kelli] Oh my God!

She just twisted her leg like a spoon.

[Kelli loudly] Oh!

She rotates her hip in the socket.

It's like when you had
your Barbie doll socket,

and you could twist her legs.

[Judy] It's in front.
Then she turns it to back.

[Kelli] It looked like
it almost rotated 360 degrees.

- I mean, she's great. Look at that.
- Yeah.

She's very unique.

In reality, if every veteran made it back,

there's only six open spots.

[intriguing music continues]

Well, technically,
with 36 on our final roster, and with 30…

veterans already committed
to re-auditioning,

um, that leaves only six spots
that are unclaimed at this point.

[Kelli] Six spots with dancers coming
from across the world.

The real mental, physical,

and emotional complication
of all this is when we have

great, great new talent

and also some great veterans

and still having a limitation of a roster.

Hi, judges, I'm Jenna.

I'm 23 years old
from San Diego, California.

[Kelli] Jenna's beautiful, and she
could be our comeback girl this year.

We've seen time and time again that
those girls that go away and come back,

come back stronger

and have great careers,
like Kelly V and Charly.

Hello, judges, I'm so excited to be back.

My name is Dayton Bramhall.

- I'm twenty--
- [mouse clicks]

[producer] Is Dayton gonna make it to…

- That's a question.
- [producer] …to the second round?

I think… I haven't studied…

I think she is. Let me make sure or see.

I've kind of dreaded

seeing it…

one way or the other.

Yeah, Dayton, she's going to qualify.

She's in the lower…
lowest tier, but she did.

[Shelly Bramhall] The first time that
Dayton made it to training camp in 2018,

unfortunately, she did not
make the team that year.

I don't think it'd be fair to you
or anybody else

if you just made this team just because.

I wouldn't want to make it just because.

I want to earn it.

[Kelli on loudspeaker] Number 38,
Dayton from McKinney, Texas!

[all clapping and cheering]

[Shelly] And then, last year,
she made it to training camp again.

[Judy] Once Dayton got in the room,

we realized she's just not keeping up
with the rest of the team.

I can't believe that
we ended up having to cut her again,

because I know I told Shelly
I could never do that again.

[Kelli] We want you up there, but none
of us want you to make this just because…

you have a history.

You need to earn to make this team.

[Kelli] Dayton has been
around this her whole life.

I've known Shelly since 1989.

Shelly and I were working together,

and our daughters were always
kind of at the same places together.

I don't want to disappoint Dayton again.
I don't want to disappoint Shelly again.

The good news is she's had a whole year
with prep classes.

So there's hope

that Dayton is stronger,
and better, and more competitive.

She could come back more confident.

I told her, "You just need to be you.
You don't need to fill my boots at all."

"They don't need another Shelly."

"They need a Dayton."

[Jennifer Colvin] How many people
this is the first prep class you've taken?

Okay, we've got some new people! Yeah!

Welcome!
The first time you've been in here?

Well, like,
you'll get all the jitters out.

Really cool. So, we have these lovely
current DCCs that are here.

- [all clapping and cheering]
- [Jennifer] My assistants.

One, clean, two, down, three.

Four, up, five, six, seven, ta-ta.

Come on. Take my hand.

So you have, "I will be your ba-by."

The cheerleaders put on prep classes
to help prep for the tryout season.

It's a great idea to take these classes.
You get to learn the kick line.

You get to learn
lots of different routines.

Roll it up, roll it in. Ha.

Everyone is super talented.

They learned a whole routine
and are performing it in an hour,

which is great. It's amazing.
It's a quality that you need to have.

[Kelli] We created audition prep classes
at the beginning of my career.

[instructor on video] Four,
five, six, seven, eight.

It was designed
to help people learn our style of dance,

because it's such a specialized
type of dance. It's not ballet.

It's not jazz. It's not lyrical.

It's this specialty kind of power pom.

And it also gets them
just kind of familiar with our room,

our studio, our voices.

Six, seven, eight.

Go right, left, out, cra-zy…

My first DCC prep class was when I was 15.

[on video] Hi, I'm Savanna Dastrup.

I've always wanted to be
a Dallas Cowboys cheerleader.

It's been my dream.

So next year I'm planning
on trying out when I'm old enough.

[inspiring music playing]

[Savanna] This has been my dream forever,

and I'm right there.

Hi, I'm Savanna. I'm 22 years old,

and I was named
after the movie Savannah Smiles,

which was actually filmed right here
in my hometown of Orem, Utah.

I'm right where I always dreamed of being.

There's nowhere else I'd rather be.
There's nothing else I'd rather be doing.

I actually took every single one
of their DCC online prep classes,

and it was so cool.

Kelli Finglass popped up on that class,
and I was like… [gasps]

I had the most fun.
I loved learning the style.

I loved doing it.

And then I chose to go to TCU,

knowing that I was gonna try out
for the Cowboys.

[laughs] That's the only reason
I went there.

Sorry, TCU.

And then I was close enough to drive up
every weekend for a prep class.

Knowing that this was my goal
when I graduated,

I'm really grateful that I decided
to prepare for it.

I knew, "When I graduate,
I'm gonna audition."

And I always had that in my heart.

Like, "This is my dream,
and I'm so close."

[inspiring music continues]

You can reach for the stars, literally,

and if you work hard
and you dedicate yourself, it can happen.

It can come true.

If it's not this year, then they'll see me
next year, and the next year.

And they'll see me when I'm 101,
and I'm still gonna jump into the splits.

This is my dream,
and I will try and try until…

hopefully, I can make it happen.

[Kelli] The prep classes.
Does it give someone an advantage?

I think it would have to
give them a little extra dose

of being more comfortable,
and being more familiar,

and maybe more confident.

And I think building
that confidence helps them.

But we've had people
literally come from out of state

that haven't taken prep classes,

- and they can be successful as well.
- [music fades]

[Faith] I am super excited
to be here in Texas.

I've never been here before,
so it has been an experience.

I did my groceries earlier,
and I got across the road…

"Wait a damn minute!" I forgot they drive
on the other side of the road here.

Also, your guys' cars look like robots.

Every time they drive past,
I'm like, "What is that?"

I saw a car driving itself!
This is insane.

I feel we're just a little bit
behind in Australia with that stuff, but…

[laughing] It was very different.

I grew up basically just being
on Instagram, being known as Flexy Faith.

Having double-jointed hips
just naturally makes me super flexible.

So I managed to make myself
a little, you know, name out of that.

I started posting
my little leg mount photos.

Scorpions, and then it started
to get a bit of engagement.

I was getting flights to Sydney,
working with brands such as Sony.

Vaseline, Nivea, all these big companies
are reaching out and working with me.

I love that I literally
feel like Cinderella in these.

Now that is my full-time job, as well as
dancing and a million other crazy things.

I didn't even think
DCC was an option for me.

Being Australian, I was like,

"They're never gonna want an Aussie girl
representing America's Sweethearts."

Sorry, no. Like, what the hell?

And then I go on to my Instagram DMs,
and I'm scrolling, and I see a message.

"Hey, you should apply for DCC."

And I was like, "Ugh, who is this?
This is some fake account or something."

Yeah, no, it wasn't.
It wasn't a fake account. They were legit.

I follow a lot of internationally
well-known dancers.

And in Faith's case, I wanted to reach out

because she comes across
as technically amazing

and carries herself so beautifully.

You can't look away.

And when someone really catches my eye,
I can't let it go.

Not gonna lie, this whole DCC process
of, like, auditioning has been so fast.

I found out I made round one
within a couple days.

Two days later, "Here's the semi-finals.
Learn this 20-minute routine."

And then three days later,
"You're going to Texas!"

[on video] Congratulations,
you have advanced…

[Faith] Apparently, if I make the team,
I literally start my life here in Texas.

Not knowing if you're gonna be here
for two days or eight months is crazy.

I'm shaking.

It is a terrifying feeling not knowing
if you're gonna see your mum,

or your boyfriend,
or your family anytime soon.

But it's also like, I've gotta
make those sacrifices to be here.

It's hard but, you know…

"Go, the Cowboys!" [laughing]

[Michelle] You want to keep your ankles
and knees in line the whole time.

Just… boom.

Am I not there?

[laughs]

You have to feel like
you can like push from there.

No, you have to be higher.

- Like, here.
- Wait, what?

You can hold the bar if you need.

[laughs] I think I'm not
gonna be able to lift this.

- [Michelle] Try no weight, just movement.
- Okay.

He's laughing. Hi! I'm learning to gym.

- [both laughing]
- [man] You got it.

[Michelle] "I'm learning to gym."

Okay, so push from your heels.
The heels will, like…

Yes. Yes. There we go. Uh-huh. Yeah.

Oh…

Oh! And I kinda have to pee.
[laughs] I just found out.

- I just pushed on my bladder.
- [laughs] Yeah.

- Wait, I'm tired from that, from those…
- Jenn, really?

- One more. Oh my God.
- Yay.

See, this was really hard with no weights.

- I'm telling you, I'm not strong.
- That's crazy.

- Like, scary not strong.
- That's pretty crazy.

[Jenna] Last year during training camp,
I was a little naive.

Most of my life I've been able
to make the teams that I wanted to.

I knew that it was a different level.
I knew the standard.

I knew the expectations, but I just…
had high expectations for myself too.

So I was like, "I'm gonna make this team.
I'm good enough. I can do this."

[pensive music playing]

[Kelli on mic] Welcome to training camp.

Number 49, Jenna,
from San Diego, California.

[cheering in background]

[Jenna] I made it through
all of training camp.

[pensive music continues]

[Jenna] I kinda thought I was safe.

I get a call in the morning,

which is after training camp, technically.

- Hey, Kelli, I have Jenna for you.
- [Kelli] Oh, thanks.

- Hi.
- [Kelli] Hi. Oh, pretty.

- Thank you.
- Come on in.

[Jenna] I went into one of
the conference rooms with Kelli.

[Kelli] You can sometimes
get lost on the field.

It's just, do you have experience
with a 100-yard stage?

You're not gonna make the team this year.

- You… You did great. You really did. Okay.
- [Jenna] Thank you. I appreciate that.

I was the last cut,
and I didn't get a goodbye to the team.

Nobody was there.

And also, it was a celebration
within an hour of my cut.

[muted cheering and whooping]

[Jenna] I was so happy for those girls,
and I had to be happy for them.

And then like football season starts,
and you get left behind.

That's just kinda how it goes,
and they got their uniforms, and I didn't.

[pensive music continues]

[Jenna] I felt so humiliated.

I was like, "Everybody saw me fail,

and now I have to show them
that I can make the team."

I started seeing a sport psychologist,
and I talked about it in therapy a lot.

And when I realized I was motivated
by all this external validation,

I was like, "I'm not going to commit
to re-auditioning

until I know for a fact
that I'm doing this for myself."

All of a sudden,
I finally was able to accept everything.

The process, my cut, dance…

like, what had happened
to my relationship with dance.

[introspective music playing]

Taking care of your mind,

it's the most important thing
you can do for yourself.

I just feel like a completely different
dancer with what I'm putting out there.

I'm not trying to count the six spots
and trying to fit into this box.

I'm trying to be one of the 36
best dancers in the room.

[music fades]

[Lea] You guys want to see
what snacks I got for you guys?

- [Kleine] Yeah.
- Okay.

- [Lea] Beef.
- [Kleine] Lea!

- [Lea] Bar.
- [Megan] Nice.

Fruit strips from Germany that I never ate
and they flung out into the streets.

And a sparkling water.

- [Megan] That's for you.
- [Kleine] Perfect.

- We can share these two items.
- Lovely. What a spread.

- [Lea] How did we come about this idea?
- [Kleine] We were literally on the phone.

I was like, "Should I wear my hair
up or down? Should I do half up?"

You were like, "Should we get
a hotel tomorrow?" I was like, "Yeah."

- [Megan] Seeing these new girls…
- [Kleine] Prep season in particular.

- [Megan] Prep season! Oh my God!
- [Lea] Like, prep intensive, prep every…

[Megan] People were literally
in front of my face with their camera!

- I'm like…
- Yeah.

- Read the room.
- Okay.

Yeah. [laughs]

[Lea] I think tomorrow's
gonna be a super long day.

[Kleine] Which is fine.
It's nothing we haven't done before.

If you'll recall, two years ago,
we had five people retire.

- [Megan] Yeah, two years ago.
- And that was…

I mean, it was horrible because
they ended up making three cuts,

and it was, like, literally,
the worst finals of everyone's lives.

But I genuinely…
I can't see that happening this year.

I feel like we're gonna walk in tomorrow,
and the energy's just gonna be palpable.

- [Megan] Freakin' crazy.
- We're gonna walk into a cloud.

[Megan] I will say,
if there is a veterans' cut,

I don't know how I'm gonna hold it in.

I think I'll have to throw
a bit of a tantrum.

Yeah.

[dramatic classical music playing]

- [woman 1] Are you graduating?
- [woman 2] Yes, I already graduated.

- You just graduated? Wow! Congrats!
- Yes, I did.

You put all the work in.

- Now just let your body take over.
- Okay.

We have 81 candidates
that are gonna be trying out today.

The audition itself is a show,

and I think there's more pressure
on a veteran who's re-auditioning

to keep their spot

and to elevate their place on the squad.

[Megan] We are so hungry
for our spot back.

It's extremely competitive.

[Kelli] The first part of the morning
is their solo presentation.

The combo on the field
is gonna be the second half of the day.

And then you will make
three very easy choices.

"Yes, I see her
as a Dallas Cowboys Cheerleader."

"No, it's not adding up."

Or, "Maybe."

Maybe is a positive indicator,
but we also need to clearly define,

"No," it's, "She's not ready this year."

[Megan] With the show,
you know, there has been concerns

of who's here for the right reasons.

I just genuinely hope that
they're willing to be a teammate first,

rather than,
you know, promoting themselves.

This is not…
and I love Lady Gaga, but this is not…

We're not looking for Lady Gaga to show up
wearing a meat dress at the Grammys.

If they're coming here to be a part
of a team, I'm all in.

If they are coming here
just for this to be a launching pad,

I'm not a fan of that.

[dramatic music continues]

[Megan] I just feel like
I have to prepare for the worst.

Gotta focus on what I can control,

because I don't know
what goes up in those rooms.

[Kelli] I don't want to start the year off
threatening the veterans.

But with these numbers,
I don't think it is safe to feel safe.

[dramatic music building]

[gently evocative music playing]