Brianna (S12 TCC)

### Other

Not to be confused with the similarly named Briana, who was also an unsuccessful candidate in Season 12. Brianna is Caucasian, and Briana is African-American. She is from Newark, DE not NJ.

### **Season 12**

**(12.1)**

* “I’m so nervous. This is my first time auditioning for the Dallas Cowboys. I recently auditioned for the Rockettes. There are so many more people here, and I was like, ‘Ah!’“
* [Invited to semifinals] “I’m coming back tomorrow, so I’m really excited.“

**(12.2)**

* “Dancing for the judges is really nerve-wracking. There’s a lot of them and you don’t know who to look at.“
* [Invited to finals] “I’m a finalist for the DCC auditions.“

**(12.4)**

* [First practice] “First impressions definitely do matter today, just because you don’t know what they’re looking for. So, everybody has to be on their A-game.“
* [Alumni workshop] “It’s stressful to be in this environment. The alumni saw that I was trained in studio, and that I need to let loose a little bit. I definitely need to do that tonight, so I will bring it.“
* [Before office] “I know I have to improve on my confidence and the memory of the choreography. So, I had a feeling Kelli might call my name, but I wasn’t totally sure.“
* [After office] “I want to be on this team really bad, but I’ve never been through something this hard in my life. So, I’m just going to focus really hard and let everything do its thing, and I will do whatever it takes to be a DCC.“

**(12.5)**

* “It’s the beginning of week two. We’ve learned four dances. I feel overwhelmed a little bit, but I just have to get the movements in my body and get into the groove of things, and hopefully it will work out.“
* “I know that at the end of week two, I am at the bottom, but I emptied my bucket out tonight. I did the best I could, and if they cut me, I’m proud of myself. I made it this far, and I did my best tonight.“

**(12.6)**

* “Tonight, I just emptied my bucket, and Keith [Green] really helped my confidence as well.“
* [*Crying*] “I feel like I’m disappointing [Kelli and Judy], so… it’s just hard for me.“ [*She walks off camera*]

**(12.7)**

* [Before office] “The last thing I want to do is drive 20 hours home regretting something. And I don’t want to walk out of here crying. I want to walk out of here with my head held high.“
* [After office] “It is a little overwhelming, but they’re definitely encouraging me. So, I am definitely going to work with veterans more and get here even earlier than I am, just to show them that I love to be here and I want to work hard.“
* [Kitty Carter says she’s too immature for the team] “I’m taking that personally. I’m just going to up my maturity and try my best. I don’t know how I’m going to do that yet, but I’ll figure out a way.“
* [Before office] “Tonight I feel like was my best night, but I know I’m the only rookie going in tonight and it’s a cut night. You just have to prepare yourself.“
* [After cut] “I wasn’t even thinking I’d make it this far, especially being the youngest. So, just to be here on week four means the world to me. It would definitely take some convincing just to put myself through this mental process again, but I think I would come back in a few years. They’ve changed my life and my heart. I appreciate everyone that’s helped us through this process.“

## **Commentary**

### **Season 12**

**(12.1)**

* “Aww, she’s adorable.” – Kelli [after she introduces herself to the judges]
* “Why do I think she’s cute?” – Kelli/“Because she’s unpolished.” – Judy/ “Very.” – Kelli/“And you want to polish her up.” – Judy
* “She’s beautiful. She was my favorite one!” – Charlotte Anderson
* “Charlotte and Judy all had stars and exclamation marks on their books, which means ‘Wow, she’s a favorite.’” – Kelli
* “So fresh. She was captivating. As a matter of fact, I think I lost track of everybody else.” – Charlotte/“Yeah, I think she was one of the best ones of the day.” – Judy
* [End of episode confessional] “Brianna’s probably my favorite of today’s round. It was like, ‘where’d she come from?’ It was great.“ – Kelli

**(12.2)**

* “That 18-year-old is something.” – Anthony Ramos
* “Why are her kicks low?” – Kelli
* “I liked her, it was like she doesn’t realize how good she is, but then it read to me like she’s given up. It was almost like, ‘I don’t want to do this, anymore'.“/“Really?“ – Kelli/“Like, ‘I’ve made it to this round, and I don’t think I want this anymore'.“/“Was it give up or give out?“ – Kelli/“I don’t know, but I was so disappointed in her kicks.“ - Kristi Scales/“Her kicks were disappointingly low, but I’ll put a string in her and pull them myself.“ – Kelli/“There are some that aren’t ready for prime time. Maybe just next week gets her to next year. Just standing out on the field next week, she might say, ‘I’ve tasted it, now I want the whole piece'.“

**(12.3)**

* [Panel interviews] “One of our favorites has been Brianna. She just melted us.” – Kelli
* [During solo] “Hello.” – Kelli
* “Brianna’s solo was very expressive. This 18-year-old who’s traveled here from New Jersey, and she cried at her panel interviews, all of the sudden, wow. In fact, I wrote ‘Damn.’” – Kelli
* [Her kicks are spotlighted] “This is Brianna’s…” – Kelli/“Weakness” – Charlotte Anderson/“Weakness” – Kelli
* [Finals deliberation] “I thought her solo was fantastic.“– Melissa Rycroft/“Mm hmm, beautiful."/“I noticed on the field, I just didn’t see the power, and she kinda looked like a tall little girl.“ – Melissa/“You could tell kicks weren’t her language today.“ – Kelli/“Right, because I’ve liked her this whole time, but there are so many girls that are ready to go to training camp. So that’s my reason why I put no.“ – Marshall

**(12.4)**

* “Brianna, you need to find your power.” – Kelli
* “You’re gonna find your power. You must find your power.” – Judy
* “Brianna’s a very technical dancer. She’s got extension and flexibility. But in ballet, it’s very controlled and slow, and now we’re asking her just to slam it.“
* “Because you’re training, you want to keep dancing here, here, here, and here [*gesturing*] 'boom ka'. So, you have to let go a little bit.“ – Sarah Gourley/“You’ve got to get a lot lower. You’re tall, right? Which, being tall, sometimes you’re at a disadvantage with these itty little people in front of you. But you’ve got to use your plié. You’ve got to be bigger.“ – Ashton Torres
* “Brianna’s going to be interesting. She has great technique. She doesn’t have great sellability as a performer."
* “Brianna, question for you. Have you ever danced rock or country?“– Kelli [*Brianna says no*] “So musically, it was always contemporary?“ – Kelli [*Brianna says it was*] “You’re not expressing yourself to this style of music, and you’re going to have to, and it’s going to be a waste if you can’t and you don’t.“ – Kelli
* “Brianna’s going to have to improve a lot for mass appeal. I’m seeing that technical and contemporary dancer in her. But, really, when you get her on the football field, there’s even more expected than that.“ – Kelli
* “I think we need put Brianna up there [*on the list of people in trouble*].“ – Tina Kalina/“Really?“ – Kelli/“I thought you told it to her very well tonight.“ – Tina/“You can tell she’s never danced to rock or country or nothing.“

**(12.5)**

* [After Judy says Molly’s kicks are low] “Brianna’s are higher than hers.” – Judy [Brianna immediately misses a kick] “Whoops. Why’s she such a slow learner? I don’t understand.” – Judy/“Probably because we’re staring at her, and she’s scared. But that’s not an excuse.” – Kelli
* “I like the fact that Brianna’s got pop.” – Kelli
* [She messes up] “Come on, Brianna.” – Kelli
* “And really, I was waiting for you. I was like waiting the whole time, like ''she’s about to do it''. And I saw several times we were even like here [*signals they made eye contact*], and I was like...“ [*he nods*] – Jordan Johnson/“She will look you right in the eye and do it wrong.“ – Judy/“Yeah.“ – Jordan/“But she’s not afraid to look you in the eye and smile.“ – Judy

**(12.6)**

* “I heard that you were mainly contemporary trained and never really done hip-hop. It’s really cool as a teacher and choreographer to see somebody put themselves in a vulnerable position and really go for it. I really respect that. I really, really do.“ – Keith Green
* “She just kinda, she went wiggle-wiggle down, like she wanted to get down as fast as she could.“ – Kelli [who then asks KaShara to show Brianna how to do the move]
* “We’re going to quit babying you, okay? And you need to have your memory down. You have to know your dances.” – Judy
* “If this is her goal, obviously it is at 18 leaving her family and making all of these sacrifices, this is her dream. I’m not see that from what she’s giving us. She’s just basic and she needs to be more bold.“ – Michelle Keys/“She didn’t have a good night tonight for sure.“ – Judy/“We keep giving her excuses. We haven’t given her a hard talk. We’ve coddled her every time we’ve talked. [Singing] Rock-a-bye Brianna, in the Texas tree.“ - Kelli/“Yeah, we have, and I admit it.“ – Judy
* [End of episode confessional] “Brianna’s got to be powerful. She’s got to dance like a cheerleader now. She’s got to be field strong.” – Kelli
* [End of episode confessional, about her, Brennan, and Celinda] “They are all falling short of that mark.” – Kelli

**(12.7)**

* “Brianna is learning very slow on power.” – Kelli
* “You are beautiful! So, I think where she needs to work is pushing her face and changing it up and not keeping just the same pretty smile on your face, but bringing a little bit more excitement.“– Denise Dicharry
* “Brianna’s making lots of mistakes.” – Kelli
* “I would send you home. I think that you’re way too immature for this team right now.“ – Kitty Carter
* “I think she’s just out of her league. I think you’re going to do us all a favor by letting her go.“ – Kitty/“Do you feel that way?“ – Kelli [to Judy]“ Why is she so hard?“ – Judy/“Because she’s young, she’s sweet, she’s so pretty.“ – Kelli/“She’s only a baby. She’s got plenty of time. If she really wants to do this, she’ll be back.“ – Kitty
* [Post cut] “It was really hard to release Brianna. I think she’s a beautiful girl. And I say ‘girl’ because I don’t think she’s totally grown up yet.“ – Kelli

## **Office Visits**

### **Season 12**

**(12.4)**

* [End of episode, 4th of 4 called in] Kelli asks how she feels so far, and Brianna says she honestly feels overwhelmed. She’s trying to shake it off, but she’s getting in her own head. Judy says she has something grand about her, and they’re trying to pull it out. [*Brianna starts tearing up*] Kelli asks why she’s crying, and Brianna says she doesn’t know. She’s been crying all week, and she’s been like ‘Who am I? Why am I crying?’ [*Commercial break*] Kelli encourages her that she can put her big girl panties on and she can do this. She’s going to have to be powerful, fun to watch, and more musical. Brianna said she’ll listen to the music they’re working on, as well as other country music, so she can just get that into her body. Kelli is happy with that, and says she knows it’s hard, but Brianna doesn’t have to put on this shell. Just be who she is – she’s made it past hundreds. Brianna thinks the biggest thing for her is getting the choreography as quickly as possible. She just gets so nervous to do it in small groups that she psyches herself out, but she has to work on that. [*Brianna leaves*] Judy thinks Brianna’s really genuine. Kelli says she’s so cute: she’s adorable, she’s beautiful. She wants to start a modelling agency for her.

**(12.7)**

* [Early episode, 3rd of 3] Kelli says tonight was one of her worst nights. Do they need to have the conversation that she’s not ready for this team now? Brianna thinks she can do this, and says they’ve given her this amazing opportunity. She sees herself progressing as a dancer and as a person. Kelli says she’s seen glimpses. She asks Brianna if she went home, would she try out again? Brianna doesn’t think she would audition next year, but she would need time to progress in the style, and then she would come back. Kelli thinks Brianna’s putting her heart into this. But whether heart’s going to make it, she doesn’t know. She wants her to be successful; they’re on her side. They dismiss her, and as she’s leaving, Kelli congratulates her on getting through the office visit without crying.
* [End of episode, 2nd of 2] Kelli asks how she felt tonight. Brianna says she felt good. Kelli says she doesn’t look like she felt good tonight, and Brianna just shrugs. Kelli says she’s been her favorite throughout auditions, and everyone has thought she was beautiful. Everybody thinks she’s exceptionally talented in her style. They would all love for her to make the team and think she could make this team. But every person also thinks she’s not ready for their style. [*Commercial break*] Kelli says she’s given it a great run, but she’s not ready for this team right now. They’ve decided tonight is her last night. Brianna starts crying and feels like she’s disappointed them. Kelli says disappointment is a heavy word, and they don’t think that’s fair. Judy says it’s the hope that they had for her, because they see so much there, but unfortunately, the choreography is not clicking fast enough, and it’s a completely different style than she’s ever done before and they’re all trying to push it. Brianna is so thankful for the opportunities they’ve given her. And outside of there, she’s learned how to cook and learned so much as a human being. Kelli thinks her learning to cook is cute. The first meal Brianna cooked was barbecue chicken and broccoli in the hotel. Kelli is afraid she’ll go back to New York and they’ll never see her again. She hopes Brianna is inspired to take power-based style classes. There’s nothing else as a hurdle for her to make this team. Brianna says that means a lot, and asks to give them a hug. [*She leaves*] Judy says she thinks that’s the hardest cut they’ve ever made. That sometimes it gets so personal when you think that now she has to call her parents [*Judy gets teary*]. Kelli is still laughing about Brianna making chicken and broccoli in the hotel.

## **End of Journey**

### **Season 12**

**(12.7)**

* Third TCC cut from training camp (3 out of 8).

## **Other**

### **Season 12**

**(12.1)**

* Introduces herself to the judges at preliminaries.

**(12.2)**

* First one being shown invited to finals.
* Her low kicks are shown when Kelli mentions “any shortcoming” during the ending credits.

**(12.3)**

* At panel interviews, say she’s a senior in high school and this is her first interview. Then gets emotional when asked what this means to her.
* Solo performance is shown.
* Shown being invited to training camp.

**(12.5)**

* Makeover glamor shot (no ‘before’ shot).
* Shown making a mistake while Kelli gives a confessional saying if a girl is making memory mistakes this week, they may be moving too fast for her.

**(12.6)**

* Answers a question about whether they can date the players at media training day.