Angela Rena

* She’s from Australia and she recently graduated from university with a Bachelor of Chiropractic Science, and she cheer leads for a professional rugby team called the “Manly Sea Eagles.” She’s been aware of the Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders through her years of dancing growing up. Her coach’s passion for the DCC has been passed onto the team, and she’s grown the courage in the past few years to come and audition. Her family didn’t believe her when she told them that she was going to audition for the DCC, but they’re 100% behind her. Leaving her friends, family, and study at home was a tough decision, but you only live once and you have to follow your dreams.

## **Confessionals**

Total: 40

Season 6: 26 (5th most)

Season 7: 8

Season 8: 3

Season 9: 0

Season 10: 3

### **Season 6**

**(6.1)**

* Biography
* If I see my number on the white board, it’s definitely one step closer to my dream, and definitely the first thing that I’m gonna do is pick up my phone and call my mom.
* Oh my gosh, I have to actually double-check my number to make sure it was the right number. I’m beyond excited right now. This is the most exciting thing that’s happened to me, I think.
* I think the Australian accent got me through the first round, so, hopefully it gets me through this one as well.
* My number was the last number called, so just the emotions that I was going through, going why did I do this? Why did I take a year off everything? But, yeah, it’s made it all worthwhile.

**(6.2)**

* Finals are two days away, and tonight we’ve got a class with Kitty Carter.
* I know that if there’s anyone to be brutal and honest, it would be Kitty Carter.
* I’m not yet confident with my routine. I was looking at perfecting it after the panel interviews tomorrow, so fingers crossed that [Kitty] won’t rip me to shreds today.
* I didn’t fly all this way to go home, so I’ve got my fingers crossed for myself.
* Oh my gosh, the pressure is on. I spent nine hours in the studio yesterday working on my solo, so it should pay off.
* I just tried to have fun and I shake my tail feather and I think I pulled that off.
* I have no idea what my chances are at the moment. Everyone’s so good here.
* [Last name to call] If they don’t call my name, this is actually the only opportunity I can have to come audition for DCC. The visa that I have is a one-year student work visa, and I wouldn’t be able to return next year.
* Oh my gosh, I can’t believe I made it into training camp, and I can’t believe I was called last again. That was just… it was worse than the semifinals to finals. Training camp, here I come! Yay!

**(6.3)**

* [Kelli] feels like this is going to be a tough year, which I am dreading. Because Kelli being nice, I think, is tough, so her being tough, ugh.

**(6.4)**

* Just to be able to say I’ve stood here in [the uniform], it’s such an incredible feeling.

**(6.5)**

* [After she makes a comment about being surprised in the forms in which egg whites could be purchased] Eating in Australia is a lot healthier than America; driving around there’s not as many fast food chains. It’s killed me a little bit trying them all out, but I’m getting back into my normal routine now.
* Today I met Sunni, a veteran. I called her because I just needed a bit of advice in regards to training camp.

**(6.6)**

* [Cameo shoot] I have no idea what I’m going to do when I get out there. I think the best idea is just to go wing it and have fun with it.

**(6.8)**

* I just hope that it’s over tonight, so the little training camp nightmares stop every night.
* [Has a conversation with her Australian cheer coach about making the team] And my phone just ran out of battery. No!
* So, now I’m gonna change into uniform. I’m going into the changing room as Angela and come out as an official Dallas Cowboys Cheerleader. [*She enters the room and then exits in uniform*] Ta-da! I’m now a Dallas Cowboys Cheerleader!
* I nearly got a bit teary, because I think it actually hit me that I’m a Dallas Cowboys Cheerleader.
* It’s really inspiring to see a performance by the All-Stars, especially with a game coming up so soon, and just to think that that’s amplified time 80,000 people at Cowboys Stadium. I can’t wait.
* Walking in and seeing our lockers; this is so exceptional. We’re life-sized!
* [Flashbacks interspersed, final cheerleader confessional of season] My journey to get here was so long, traveling over 8,000 miles just to get here to audition at prelims, and it seems like so long ago. But the journey through training camp was incredible. I met some great friends, had a fabulous time, and here we are at the first game. I just couldn’t ask for anything better.

### **Season 7**

**(7.1)**

* [Finals] I think I’m nervous because you know what you’re losing, you’ve been in a uniform, you have your own uniform, and it’s just sitting there waiting for you to earn it back.

**(7.2)**

* [With Mackenzie Lee] It feels like the last year never happened. I feel like I’m in training camp for the first time, like shaking and going, “Oh my gosh, I get to see Kelli and Judy tonight.”

**(7.3)**

* [Skeet shooting] This is really cool, especially for me, coming from the other side of the world. Like, this is the USA Olympic team. Who gets to do this?

* Our team did win. Everyone is winners. We’re just happy to be here, but ultimately there did have to be a winner, so that just happened to be us.

**(7.9)**

* [Swimsuit fitting] A little bit out of my comfort zone, but we’ll see how it goes.
* We’re here at Iberostar, and we actually have our rehearsal for the fashion show tonight, and our runway is actually still under construction. So, this’ll be kind of interesting, strutting our stuff in heels and wood and… uh-oh.
* One of the biggest challenges is trying to get everyone in sync, hit the stage marks on their right timing. It’s just trying to coordinate everything and make it all look as one unit.
* The magic team trying to make us look pretty at 4:00 AM.

### **Season 8**

**(8.4)**

* [Boxing club] I’m here to pass on my expertise to Vivian. I’ve been coming here a little over a year. I was in trouble quite a bit in my rookie season for my weight, and so I found this is by far the best workout to keep me trim and toned and looking good in the uniform.
* Boxing’s a great workout. When you’re punching with your arms with force, you’re using your obliques, your abdominals. So, if you can punch hard, you can dance hard.
* I think it’s really great for a rookie to come in and have a veteran she looks up to and kinds of guides her through training camp.

### **Season 10**

**(10.6)**

* I think it would be so awesome to be on show group. It’s one of the reasons I came back this year. I just want to join the team on a USO tour and be that kind of camaraderie with show group.
* I’ve tried out for show group for the past three years and haven’t made it. I hope that I did enough to show them that I have what it takes to be in the show group this year.

**(10.8)**

* [Squad photo] My hamstring’s actually better kneeling than it is standing, so I’m happy about the position I’m in for the squad photo. Rawr.

## **Commentary**

### **Season 6**

**(6.1)**

* [Preliminaries judging] Little Miss Australia. “She reeks of class and ability besides being beautiful. Major pop and sex appeal.” – K/ I had a yes. – J/ I had a yes for her, too. – Charlotte/ Checked off on appearances. – K
* [Semifinals judging] I liked her accent./ There’s something weird about her splits; the flexibility is off. – K

**(6.2)**

* 16 hours you flew. And you’ve been here for how long? [*Angela says four weeks*] And what’s the word you call it – “rubbish?” That was pretty trashy. And you told me how badly you wanted it? That was pathetic. You’ve got two freaking days to get this ready. I’ve been pulling for you. You’re making a liar out of me, presenting that (bleep). – Kitty Carter
* She maybe took a little bit of advantage of us, thinking that maybe she’s going to get by on her looks alone and the accent, and it did not work for her tonight. It was a disaster. – Kitty Carter
* Showy. – K
* [Finals deliberation] She seemed unprepared./ I put “weak.”/ Yeah, and how can you be weak on your individual performance? That just…/ Is there a line between dancing and choreography? You know, maybe she’s not a great choreographer, but she can dance./ Is there a difference between creating a solo and executing routines that we present them and teach them? Yes. – K

**(6.3)**

* Angela, your kicks are tight. – K
* You may be making mistakes, but you are attacking every move so hard that it makes us want to watch you. So, if you’re making mistakes, at least they look right, that’s a great thing to have on the first day, that you’ve already got a lot of power. Do the rest of you see how much power she has? – J

**(6.4)**

* Angela’s gonna be a new little firecracker. – K

**(6.5)**

* Angela and Mackenzie, y’all are so powerful. You make everybody want to watch you. – J/ Angela, it’s nice to see how exact you are with the choreography as it’s taught. I can tell you’ve practiced. And you’re powerful. – K
* I never know what Kelli and Judy are thinking. But I think Angela has everything that we need and she adds a real unique piece to the puzzle of what our team is. And I have every hope that she will be a part of this team next year. – Sunni Cranfill

**(6.6)**

* [Cameo shoot] She comes in here, puts that uniform on and already looks like a natural. – J

### **Season 7**

**(7.1)**

* [Discussing her favorite solos of the day] I enjoyed Angela’s. I liked it; I thought it was cool choreography. I thought it was fun. She even had kind of the MC Hammer pants, and it was entertaining. – K

### **Season 9**

**(9.8)**

* [Tent-building] Since Angela and I are both in this tent, we got both Aussies. We’re doing "Shrimp on the Barbie." A very popular Aussie saying. – Jinelle

### **Season 10**

**(10.6)**

* I want Angela to stand out more. – Shelly Bramhall
* [Show group auditions, after Angela twerks] Maybe she shouldn’t have done that. – J/ No. – K
* [*Show group audition deliberations*] What do you do with Angela? – Kitty Carter/ She has turned down a lot of things. – Shelly Bramhall/ I’ve needed appearances and she’s turned it down.
* People think that time here and tenure should give them automatics. And that’s not the case. So, we’ll see. – K
* [Rehearsal] Angela doesn’t know this very well. – J/ Oh my gosh! – K/ You see it? She doesn’t know it at all! She’s watching her rookies. – J
* Angela… – K/ I’m just having a bad day. – Angela/ You are a veteran, and that was much, much worse than most rookies. Nobody cares when you’re dancing in a game what’s happened that day. You have to be able to zip that personal life shut, and say, “I am here to perform,” and turn that on regardless. – Bree Hafen

**(10.7)**

* I thought she would be perfect for this because she is like the queen of power. I mean, nobody dances bigger than she does on the field. – Melissa Rycroft

**(10.8)**

* Angela went down with a hamstring injury tonight. I feel bad for her; it’s really a hard injury to come back from. – J

## **Other**

### **Season 6**

**(6.1)**

* Introduces herself to the judges at preliminaries: 26 years old and from Australia.
* Last one shown being invited to finals.

**(6.2)**

* Shown performing her solo for Kitty Carter.
* At panel interviews, she’s asked for her celebrity crush, and she says hasn’t thought about that – she’s been too busy studying up on the Dallas Cowboys.
* She’s the last one shown being invited to training camp.

**(6.5)**

* Has a segment meeting up with Sunni Cranfill at a café.

**(6.8)**

* After she makes the team, she is shown having a conversation with her Australian cheer coach on the phone. She tells her that she has bad news: she’s not coming home for a year.

### **Season 7**

**(7.3)**

* She’s on the winning team for the skeet shooting competition (with Courtney Cook, Melissa Kellerman, and captain Meagan McVay).

**(7.5)**

* She is part of the “Mathletes” with the other Group 4 veterans for the bowling outing (Courtney Cook, Jackie Bob, Meagan McVay, Melissa Kellerman).

**(7.10)**

* She’s revealed to be on the back cover of the swimsuit calendar.

### **Season 8**

**(8.4)**

* Has a scene helping Vivian Ralena work out at a boxing club.

### **Season 10**

**(10.3)**

* She takes lead in teaching the second routine of training camp.

**(10.4)**

* She gives Emily critique on her jump-splitting technique.
* She’s announced as group leader for group 4.
* If you pause, you can see a list of the scores she received at auditions: she was ranked #15 and received 14 yeses and 2 maybes.

**(10.6)**

* She’s shown doing a solo performance at show group auditions.
* Her unsuccessful effort to make show group is a mini-plotline for the episode.

**(10.7)**

* She helps Melissa Rycroft with her session with some of the TCC’s. There, she talks about the importance of looking upwards when you perform on the field.

**(10.8)**

* She hurts her knee doing the jump split, screaming in the process, though she says it was just the sound that scared her.

## **Misc.**

* **Group Leader** in Season 10
* Former Manly Sea Eagles Rugby cheerleader