Finals has finally arrived!
In this week's episode of Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders: Making the Team, the training camp candidates are joined by the returning veteran candidates for the final round of auditions in the hopes of earning a coveted spot to training camp!
Finals is a several-step process. First is the panel interview, second is the solo performances, and third is the field performance with the dance combination and kickline.
In the panel interview, groups of rookie and veteran candidates come in together and can be asked any questions from the judges sitting on the panel. Questions dealing with politics, football, their personal lives, and more can be asked. Nothing is off the table, making it even harder to prepare for these interviews. Not to mention, having Kelli Finglass, Judy Trammell and Charlotte Jones Anderson ask the questions can only make it even more difficult and nerve-wracking. One wrong answer, and your ticket to training camp could be gone!
The solo performances are a minute-and-a-half dance choreographed by the girls themselves to showcase their talents, what style of dance they are best at. It's a way to wow the judges. Some of the things that the judges will be looking for are showmanship, entertainment, technique, choreography, style, and great costumes.
Before the veterans join the training camp candidates on the field, they learn the same dance combination that the candidates learned and performed for the judges at semi-finals. This is a way to even out the playing field to see which training camp candidates are as strong as the veterans, or if any of the veterans are weaker than their competition.
On the field everyone is wearing the same outfit, doing the same choreography, and same kickline while the judges watch from the stands. The big screen at AT&T Stadium is not very forgiving so it shows any little mess-up that may happen.
The kickline aspect of the field performance may be the most telling of a candidate's potential to be a Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders because it's the most authentic game day moment throughout the audition process. The kicks might also be the most physically taxing part of the audition process. It is of upmost importance to be successful on the field.
After the solos and field performance conclude, the judges deliberate to decide the 45 women invited to training camp. Now the even harder work begins for the women looking to earn the uniform!
Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders: Making the Team airs Thursday nights at 10/9c on CMT.
