Miss D from Bring It! spills on Season 3
Bring It! returns with all new episodes this month! Read our interview with Miss D below.
What can we expect from the upcoming season?
“Well, the upcoming season of the show has so many twists and turns. It’s almost as bad as the Goliath roller coaster at Six Flags in Atlanta. There are many ups and downs, and emotional roller coasters that are going to happen. There’s many new creative dance, a lot of changes, a lot of new mammas, a lot of drama. It’s a lot of everything.”
How do you balance your personal life, being a wife and a mother and coaching the Dancing Dolls with the show’s rise to fame?
“Well my husband and I have an amazing balance that we have with the dynamic between the two of us. We make sure that my son Cobe doesn’t miss a beat. I do a lot of work out-of-town and a lot of practicing. My husband also does a lot of work out-of-town. For some reason we just make it work. Cobe’s in school during the day, so we try to get as much of our business done during the day. And when Cobe gets out of school, he comes to see me until it’s time for me to rehearse, and then my husband has him for the rest of the night. Sometimes it’s difficult because, of course my son wants me to be there all the time, but Mommy has to work. As a family we always make it work.”
How are the girls handling their newfound stardom?
“I don’t think the success has gone to the heads of any of the girls. I mean, they’re just kids. You know, they’re regular kids that still like to hang out with their friends and talk on the phone. I think that it has been a bit of a culture shock, if that’s the word, if I can even compare it to that. It’s just different; to have people constantly stare in your face and say “hi, can I get your autograph? Take a picture?” and you’re like, “with me, with me?” I’m just a regular old person. They have to remember sometimes that they are on TV. Even I have that issue sometimes because I forget that I am on television and I’m not just a regular person anymore. But the kids haven’t changed any. Their attitudes are not different. They haven’t gone “Hollywood.” They are still just kids.”
Do you find it harder to coach them? With the cameras around and with all the extra attention?
“No. Not at all. Most of the time I forget that the cameras are even there. I’m on TV because of the person I was before the TV cameras came. I’m still the same individual now, that I was before the show came. Nothing about me is different, nothing at all.”
You’ve been dancing and coaching for years. What are your thoughts on this genre of dancing growing more with new dance teams and new competitions?
“Watching the genre of dance that we do, that I’ve found to be important for so many years grow, has been mind-blowing. I’ve been doing this style of dance since I was a little girl. I’ve watched my godmother teach at Jackson State University, and so many dance teams. And seeing it grow worldwide, international; people are so interested in what we’re doing. It’s been super mind-blowing.”
How do you feel about some of your dancers going on to dance in college and having to reconfigure the Dancing Dolls back to something great?
“Well, every year we always bring in new girls that come in and tryout for the team. And during the senior year of the girls who are leaving, that’s the time to prep and train for the new people who are coming in. I don’t look at the squad as having to be reconfigured. The team in itself is great. One person does not make up the organization; they just don’t. Everybody is equally important. They are an equal entity. It’s like the engine to a car. You have to have the motor, the fan belt, and the radiator. You have to have all the things to make your car run. All of these girls play a major part in making the team a success. There’s no one person that’s going to be over the other. For the girls going to college it’s always going to be bitter-sweet. I want to see them go off and do new things, but it is kind of hard to let go, with Kayla and Sunjai especially. I’ve had five girls graduate from my team this year. They’ve been with me for so long and watching them grow up, not only as dancers but into amazing young women, it’s really sweet to see them grow up and open the next chapter of their lives. But it’s bitter because I don’t want them to go.”
In the past two seasons the coaches perform with their teams, are we going to see more of that in season three?
“I’m not going to say what happens in season three; you know I can’t give that away. I can definitely say that there are a lot of twists and turns. There are a lot of new coaches and new rivals. There’s a lot of new coach drama. I’m going to leave that there. You’re just going to have to watch the show to see what happens.”
How did you get into dance? Who inspired you to dance?
“I’ve been dancing for as much as I can remember. Like most little girls, everyone wants to be a ballerina when I start off dancing. I started dancing at the age of four and tap was the first style of dance I learned to do, and learn how to do well. Not many people are interested in tap because it’s a hard dance style to do, but it was something I wanted to do and something I found very interesting. In the long run, I feel like watching Janet Jackson, Tina Turner, and different icons that dance, it just amazed me at what they were able to do, and I found myself wanting to be like them.”
Bring It premieres Friday, July 31, at 9pm ET