WEBVTT - How Faith Ward Became A Dallas Cowboys Cheerleader 0:00:00.520 --> 0:00:02.960 Hi, It's Kate Langbrook here. Hey. 0:00:03.040 --> 0:00:06.439 If you've just binged the new season of America's Sweethearts 0:00:06.440 --> 0:00:10.640 on Netflix and found yourself fascinated by the world of 0:00:10.680 --> 0:00:15.920 the Dallas Cowboys cheerleaders, you are going to love this episode. 0:00:16.640 --> 0:00:21.120 We spoke to Australian cheerleader Faith Ward about the reality 0:00:21.560 --> 0:00:25.120 behind the uniform, the auditions, the pressure, and what it 0:00:25.239 --> 0:00:28.800 really takes to make the squad. Here's our conversation. 0:00:29.360 --> 0:00:31.080 It was this big thing going around saying it was 0:00:31.080 --> 0:00:33.680 a four hundred percent pay increase, which don't get me wrong, 0:00:33.720 --> 0:00:36.040 it's a pay increase, and I'm so incredibly blessed to 0:00:36.040 --> 0:00:38.480 be trying the team when that happened, Like I would 0:00:38.520 --> 0:00:40.560 not be able to you know, I didn't have a 0:00:40.640 --> 0:00:42.120 visa for a bit, so I couldn't get a job, 0:00:42.159 --> 0:00:43.760 and you know, have extra money coming in, so I 0:00:43.760 --> 0:00:45.879 would not be surviving if we didn't have that pay increase. 0:00:46.200 --> 0:00:49.480 But it's still not realistically enough for what we do 0:00:49.640 --> 0:00:51.240 as athletes today. 0:00:51.280 --> 0:00:53.519 On No Filter, and I don't mind telling you this 0:00:53.720 --> 0:00:56.080 is a great one. We get to go behind the 0:00:56.120 --> 0:00:59.920 scenes of one of the most recognizable and mythologized insta 0:01:00.120 --> 0:01:06.280 tuitions in American pop culture the Dallas Cowboys cheerleaders. They 0:01:06.360 --> 0:01:11.840 are synonymous with glamor, discipline and perfection, but in recent 0:01:11.959 --> 0:01:15.120 years there's been a renewed fascination with what the role 0:01:15.400 --> 0:01:19.520 actually demands and what it's really like behind the uniform. 0:01:20.520 --> 0:01:24.360 And my guest today is faith Ward, an Australian New 0:01:24.440 --> 0:01:30.800 Zealand dancer who unexpectedly found herself auditioning for and ultimately 0:01:30.920 --> 0:01:36.160 joining the Dallas Cowboys cheerleaders after receiving a very nonchalant 0:01:36.440 --> 0:01:40.880 DM on Instagram. It's an amazing story and in this 0:01:40.959 --> 0:01:44.639 conversation we talk about how she ended up on that path, 0:01:45.200 --> 0:01:48.960 what the audition and selection process is really like, the 0:01:49.000 --> 0:01:53.720 realities of the job versus the public fantasy, and what 0:01:53.760 --> 0:01:58.400 it means to step inside such a powerful global institution, 0:01:59.200 --> 0:02:03.160 especially at a moment when the world is paying closer 0:02:03.200 --> 0:02:11.440 attention than ever. This is faith Ward. Faith Ward, welcome 0:02:11.520 --> 0:02:12.360 to no Filter. 0:02:13.639 --> 0:02:14.679 So excited to see you. 0:02:15.000 --> 0:02:19.880 Well, I am also so excited to have you because, 0:02:19.960 --> 0:02:24.000 in the realm of what is possible in this world, 0:02:24.400 --> 0:02:29.360 I did not ever think that an Australian New Zealand 0:02:29.440 --> 0:02:35.400 girl would ever be a Dallas Cowboys cheerleader. I just 0:02:35.520 --> 0:02:38.400 didn't think that it would be possible. 0:02:38.960 --> 0:02:41.440 Neither did I. I'm with you on that one. 0:02:41.800 --> 0:02:43.919 Literally, I have to pinch myself every day that I'm 0:02:44.240 --> 0:02:46.720 in this position because it just is insane. Yeah, I 0:02:46.760 --> 0:02:50.600 did not think they would ever even it's called America's Sweetheart. Yeah, Americans, 0:02:50.639 --> 0:02:53.600 why do they want a half Aussy, half New Zealand 0:02:53.680 --> 0:02:56.480 check on the team? Like, it's pretty incredible. But I'm 0:02:56.520 --> 0:02:59.280 honestly so honored to be representing both countries. So I 0:02:59.320 --> 0:03:00.360 hope I'm doing them proud. 0:03:01.200 --> 0:03:05.840 Well, Okay, So, I, like many came to appreciate the 0:03:05.880 --> 0:03:10.640 work of the cheerleaders through through the show America's Sweethearts, 0:03:11.280 --> 0:03:17.280 and it's such an extraordinary collision of worlds, do you 0:03:17.360 --> 0:03:17.880 know what I mean? 0:03:17.960 --> 0:03:21.720 Like your athletes, absolutely. 0:03:21.240 --> 0:03:26.160 You're also expected to and it's demanded of you that 0:03:26.240 --> 0:03:31.320 you uphold certain attributes that are seen as you know, 0:03:31.760 --> 0:03:35.960 being possessed by America's Sweethearts, which is charm and grace 0:03:36.080 --> 0:03:40.360 and sass and looking hot and a kind of girl 0:03:40.400 --> 0:03:44.680 next door quality. But the great underneath is the hard 0:03:44.800 --> 0:03:51.800 work and the excellence. How did this come on your radar? 0:03:52.120 --> 0:03:54.480 Because you were, like you said, at the bottom of 0:03:54.520 --> 0:03:56.080 the world. 0:03:55.760 --> 0:03:57.800 You're exactly right all of the above as to what 0:03:57.840 --> 0:04:00.360 you just said, and I completely agree. It has so 0:04:00.360 --> 0:04:02.800 many different categories that you're filling into one role. But 0:04:02.840 --> 0:04:04.560 for me, it came about just as any. 0:04:04.440 --> 0:04:04.960 Other normal girl. 0:04:04.960 --> 0:04:06.560 I had a dream from a young age about making 0:04:06.600 --> 0:04:09.200 it in the dancing industry, and obviously there isn't a 0:04:09.240 --> 0:04:11.840 lot of opportunity in Australia, so we have to, you know, 0:04:12.000 --> 0:04:12.840 punt a little further. 0:04:13.120 --> 0:04:15.040 And so you're in Perth at this point. 0:04:15.040 --> 0:04:17.480 So I'm in Perth, Western Australia. Yes, that's where I reside. 0:04:17.480 --> 0:04:20.000 But I'm originally from Welling to New Zealand. So that 0:04:20.120 --> 0:04:21.680 is why I consider myself half in. 0:04:21.760 --> 0:04:24.000 Half all right, faith, you know what you are for 0:04:24.120 --> 0:04:27.920 our purposes, your Russell Crow, you Russell cry to us 0:04:28.000 --> 0:04:31.480 a New Zealander, But who is claimed as an Australian. 0:04:31.800 --> 0:04:32.479 I love that. 0:04:33.000 --> 0:04:36.000 It's reference. I know that, so let's say that. 0:04:36.080 --> 0:04:39.039 Yeah, But no, for me, the journey basically came about 0:04:39.400 --> 0:04:42.479 from I actually grew up doing dance competitions, obviously going 0:04:42.520 --> 0:04:44.440 against multiple different people, and then I won a few 0:04:44.520 --> 0:04:47.159 dance competitions and got flown out to the States to 0:04:47.200 --> 0:04:49.520 compete against like the best talent in the States, and. 0:04:49.480 --> 0:04:51.800 What sort of dance was that At this point, this. 0:04:51.800 --> 0:04:55.360 Was all like lyrical, jazz, contemporary, acro. I've been training 0:04:55.400 --> 0:04:57.880 like literally since I was two in all those genres, 0:04:58.680 --> 0:05:02.120 thirty six hours a week. Literally, Yeah, NonStop, go to school, 0:05:02.160 --> 0:05:05.159 go to dance, go to cheer sleep me like it 0:05:05.200 --> 0:05:06.799 was insane. I was that kid that was always falling 0:05:06.800 --> 0:05:09.359 asleep at school. But anyways, it was all worth it 0:05:09.400 --> 0:05:12.520 in the end. So yeah, basically grew up doing dance competitions, 0:05:12.520 --> 0:05:14.720 flew over to the States, and then it started doing 0:05:15.320 --> 0:05:18.120 dance comps against his incredible talent in the States, and 0:05:18.200 --> 0:05:20.240 was like, wait, I need to start connecting with the 0:05:20.279 --> 0:05:21.839 talent here. So I followed a few of the girls 0:05:21.839 --> 0:05:24.000 on Instagram. And one of the girls I followed is 0:05:24.040 --> 0:05:26.200 now my teammates. So back when I was sixteen, I 0:05:26.240 --> 0:05:28.680 followed her on Instagram and we got chatting and we 0:05:28.720 --> 0:05:31.240 always kept in touch throughout the years. And then she 0:05:31.279 --> 0:05:33.279 became a Dallas Cowboys cheerleader and I was like, what 0:05:33.360 --> 0:05:35.920 is this girl doing? This looks incredible, Like we don't 0:05:35.920 --> 0:05:38.400 have anything like this in Australia, So I'm going to 0:05:38.400 --> 0:05:41.120 follow them on Instagram. So followed the GCC on Instagram. 0:05:41.400 --> 0:05:43.640 Always kept in touch with her, always was loving seeing 0:05:43.640 --> 0:05:46.400 her posts. And then who was wasting her name? Her 0:05:46.480 --> 0:05:50.400 name is Sophie right, Yes, she's incredible and so so 0:05:50.440 --> 0:05:53.280 you were sixteen, so this must have been six It 0:05:53.320 --> 0:05:57.200 was in twenty two hours, sixty years ago, six years ago, insane. 0:05:57.320 --> 0:05:59.920 So found out about it through that and then obviously 0:06:00.040 --> 0:06:02.240 it was still in an Australia training and then the 0:06:02.279 --> 0:06:04.839 show came out on Netflix, and that's where the game changed. 0:06:05.040 --> 0:06:06.600 But when the show came out on Netflix, I was 0:06:06.640 --> 0:06:08.880 actually working as a professional dancer on a cruise ship 0:06:08.880 --> 0:06:11.080 with Royal Caribbean. So I was in my little bunk 0:06:11.120 --> 0:06:14.120 bed working a ten month contract. Like I enjoyed it 0:06:14.160 --> 0:06:16.039 and I loved it, but in my intuition, I knew 0:06:16.080 --> 0:06:18.320 that there was more out there for me. I was content, 0:06:18.400 --> 0:06:20.640 but I wasn't fully like this is what I want 0:06:20.680 --> 0:06:21.840 to be doing for the rest of my life. 0:06:21.839 --> 0:06:27.560 I'm not entirely nourished as a creative exactly. 0:06:27.640 --> 0:06:29.279 So I was like, there's something else out there for me, 0:06:29.279 --> 0:06:31.760 but I don't know what it is yet. Anyway, So 0:06:32.000 --> 0:06:34.000 the show comes out and I'm like, to my room back, 0:06:34.040 --> 0:06:35.760 we need to sit down and watch it, like get 0:06:35.800 --> 0:06:38.080 the bunk beds. We're getting that, we're watching it. So 0:06:38.160 --> 0:06:40.320 we sat down, we watched the first season. I binged 0:06:40.320 --> 0:06:42.680 it all in one night and was hooked. I was like, oh, 0:06:42.760 --> 0:06:45.200 this is a bit of me. This show so obviously 0:06:45.240 --> 0:06:47.440 growing up with that background of dancing and then also 0:06:47.560 --> 0:06:50.760 being an all star cheerleader. I was tumbling, flipping, flying. 0:06:50.839 --> 0:06:52.680 I was like, this is both those things that I've 0:06:52.720 --> 0:06:55.800 trained my whole life into one job, Like it is 0:06:55.839 --> 0:06:58.920 screaming my name, it's perfect. But once I watched the show, 0:06:58.920 --> 0:07:00.760 I was like, oh, they're Never I didn't even look 0:07:00.760 --> 0:07:02.640 at the show going oh yeah, I'm going to be there, right. 0:07:03.080 --> 0:07:06.880 You were just watching it in almost the abstract sense 0:07:06.920 --> 0:07:09.359 of like, oh I can do that. I understand what 0:07:09.400 --> 0:07:14.080 they're doing. This is amazing. But never it was too much. 0:07:14.200 --> 0:07:15.280 On your vision board. 0:07:15.560 --> 0:07:17.440 No, it was past my vision board, like it was 0:07:17.440 --> 0:07:18.880 didn't even make it to the vision board because I 0:07:18.880 --> 0:07:20.920 was like, faith, that's not a reality, Like let's be 0:07:20.960 --> 0:07:24.200 realistic right now. So the fact that once I saw 0:07:24.240 --> 0:07:26.080 the show, obviously it was just you know, like, oh, 0:07:26.080 --> 0:07:28.120 I'm got an awe of it. I was still auditioning 0:07:28.120 --> 0:07:29.440 for a million other things. I was like, I'm not 0:07:29.440 --> 0:07:31.240 one hundred percents out of this cruise of life. So 0:07:31.560 --> 0:07:33.600 I went to Paris. I was aditioning for a cabaret 0:07:33.600 --> 0:07:34.800 called Mulan Rouge. 0:07:34.840 --> 0:07:37.640 Right, which is also I think there's a number of 0:07:37.800 --> 0:07:41.080 actually Perth dancers who have been deducted rouge as. 0:07:41.120 --> 0:07:43.480 If you know that, yeah, oh there you go. 0:07:43.560 --> 0:07:45.080 Yes, I have so many friends that have gone and 0:07:45.080 --> 0:07:47.000 done it and it looks incredible. So I wouldn't watch 0:07:47.040 --> 0:07:49.000 the show on Paris, and then I knew the audition 0:07:49.120 --> 0:07:51.080 was like coming up, so you know, did all that 0:07:51.440 --> 0:07:53.240 or just for that? They offered me a contract in 0:07:53.280 --> 0:07:55.280 April and I was like, you know, when your guts like, 0:07:55.440 --> 0:07:58.400 oh yes, take it, but still not one hundred percent sure. 0:07:58.440 --> 0:08:00.800 I had this weird feeling in my I was like, oh, 0:08:00.840 --> 0:08:02.040 I don't know. I want to think about it for 0:08:02.080 --> 0:08:03.960 a little bit. I kid you not. I get home 0:08:04.000 --> 0:08:06.840 that night, I open my Instagram direct messages up and 0:08:06.880 --> 0:08:09.120 there is a message from the DCC recruiter. 0:08:10.360 --> 0:08:14.160 Yeah, insane, hang on and slow down. 0:08:14.760 --> 0:08:17.240 I know Kelly and Judy have trouble understanding here because 0:08:17.240 --> 0:08:20.880 you're a quick talker, right, I speak the same language 0:08:20.880 --> 0:08:24.840 as you, but we have to digest this moment. So 0:08:25.520 --> 0:08:27.760 I didn't know that was the thing either. So they 0:08:27.800 --> 0:08:31.800 contacted you. How, how and where had they seen you? 0:08:31.840 --> 0:08:34.959 Are they across the Mulane Rouge auditions. 0:08:35.000 --> 0:08:37.400 It just happened that I was in Paris doing that 0:08:37.480 --> 0:08:40.080 at the same time. She had found me through social 0:08:40.120 --> 0:08:42.480 media and just saw me posting all my dance content. 0:08:42.800 --> 0:08:45.199 And then while the timing was that I was in Paris, 0:08:45.600 --> 0:08:47.480 I just happened to get this DM at the same time. 0:08:47.559 --> 0:08:49.080 It was like a sign that it was like, don't 0:08:49.120 --> 0:08:51.400 take that job. This is your career, this is your 0:08:51.440 --> 0:08:52.920 chosen path. Do you know what I mean? 0:08:53.000 --> 0:08:55.480 Yeah, I've got goosam same every time I say it. 0:08:55.520 --> 0:08:57.000 I'm like what that was like my sign? 0:08:57.040 --> 0:08:59.320 And I was like, okay, wait, maybe this that they're 0:08:59.360 --> 0:09:03.320 looking for inter national candidates, Like maybe I should apply? 0:09:03.679 --> 0:09:06.640 Like this is it screaming faith, this is your chance, 0:09:06.720 --> 0:09:08.520 take it, make your dreams a reality? Faith. 0:09:08.559 --> 0:09:09.760 What did the message say? 0:09:10.120 --> 0:09:13.040 It was the most nonchalant message I've ever read in 0:09:13.080 --> 0:09:13.640 my life. 0:09:13.920 --> 0:09:16.079 I'm pretty sure I'll put this in the show. It's hilarious. 0:09:16.160 --> 0:09:19.120 It's that she's just like, hey, you should apply for 0:09:19.200 --> 0:09:20.640 DCC with like a red lover. 0:09:23.520 --> 0:09:25.600 Her name is Shelley. She's incredible. I would not be 0:09:25.600 --> 0:09:26.680 sitting here without Shelley. 0:09:26.760 --> 0:09:30.679 She has helped me throughout my whole journey visas, all 0:09:30.720 --> 0:09:32.680 the stuff that you don't think about that goes into applying. 0:09:32.760 --> 0:09:35.360 Being obviously from the other side of the globe, she 0:09:35.400 --> 0:09:36.080 has helped me with. 0:09:36.240 --> 0:09:37.880 So it's been incredible and just. 0:09:37.920 --> 0:09:41.200 Yeah, okay, so you get the message. If someone's hit 0:09:41.240 --> 0:09:43.920 you up in your DMS. 0:09:42.920 --> 0:09:47.479 The best DM sliding ever and so then then what happens. 0:09:48.040 --> 0:09:50.920 So once I got the DM, basically she was like, 0:09:50.960 --> 0:09:52.840 look like, I'm not going to be like, yes, you've 0:09:52.880 --> 0:09:53.280 got the job. 0:09:53.320 --> 0:09:54.840 You've got to do the hard work yourself. You've got 0:09:54.880 --> 0:09:55.520 to put in the effort. 0:09:55.559 --> 0:09:57.040 I'm just going to send you the link to apply 0:09:57.520 --> 0:09:59.520 and let you know that if you do make the 0:09:59.559 --> 0:10:02.160 steps going forward for the online auditions, we will help 0:10:02.200 --> 0:10:05.040 you get a visa to come to finals. I was like, okay, girl, 0:10:05.120 --> 0:10:09.240 I was absolutely So basically did all the online submissions. 0:10:09.240 --> 0:10:11.840 So it started with a video round submission for online one. 0:10:12.160 --> 0:10:14.600 A video of you dancing or they want to see 0:10:14.880 --> 0:10:16.679 how you present, yes. 0:10:16.559 --> 0:10:18.400 So basically just want to see like you speaking to 0:10:18.440 --> 0:10:18.880 the camera. 0:10:19.120 --> 0:10:21.880 So just hi, my name's Faith, you know, your generic 0:10:22.000 --> 0:10:24.760 details about yourself, and then just a one minute thirty 0:10:24.840 --> 0:10:27.680 video of you dancing. So I had already pre recorded 0:10:27.679 --> 0:10:29.440 this oneman at thirty video to send off for other 0:10:29.559 --> 0:10:31.600 jobs because I was like, I was trying to supply 0:10:31.679 --> 0:10:33.880 for anything and everything, So I'd perfected this video. I 0:10:33.960 --> 0:10:36.200 knew it had everything that I could offer, and every 0:10:36.280 --> 0:10:39.880 genre of dance style, fashion, beauty, everything was in this video. 0:10:39.920 --> 0:10:41.840 So I sent that off with pretty high hopes. I 0:10:41.880 --> 0:10:43.800 was like, Okay, like, I hope they liked this video. 0:10:43.840 --> 0:10:45.800 I hope it's what they're looking for. But I did 0:10:45.840 --> 0:10:49.160 also know that it's very different to what they normally 0:10:49.200 --> 0:10:51.360 go for when they apply because obviously the pro dance 0:10:51.440 --> 0:10:53.600 cheerstyle was with palms, so I knew that I wasn't going. 0:10:53.600 --> 0:10:54.360 To be sending that through. 0:10:54.360 --> 0:10:56.240 I'm going to be sending through me with my hair 0:10:56.360 --> 0:10:59.040 up and showing my differences, and. 0:10:58.960 --> 0:11:00.839 You'd never the cheer. 0:11:01.200 --> 0:11:04.040 The style that you'd been doing didn't involve pomp poms. 0:11:04.920 --> 0:11:05.120 No. 0:11:05.280 --> 0:11:08.360 My chair that I did growing up was backflips. I 0:11:08.440 --> 0:11:11.480 was getting thrown in the air doing the Pyramids sort 0:11:11.480 --> 0:11:14.360 of thing. Yeah, that's sort of the pyramid, you know exactly, 0:11:14.360 --> 0:11:16.400 and that was called all Star chilading, and then the 0:11:16.440 --> 0:11:19.480 pomp po chileading style that you do in NFL is 0:11:19.520 --> 0:11:23.240 called pro dance style. So they're very different to each other, 0:11:23.559 --> 0:11:25.560 but obviously have similarities in the fact that you know, 0:11:25.559 --> 0:11:28.280 you're all put together and you're flexible, and you're kicking 0:11:28.320 --> 0:11:29.280 and you're doing all that stuff. 0:11:29.320 --> 0:11:32.280 So it definitely helped me with learning to adapt style. 0:11:32.120 --> 0:11:36.200 From the show that the kicks are obviously a real 0:11:36.320 --> 0:11:43.520 thing and different in style from like other styles of dance. 0:11:44.040 --> 0:11:45.600 So you've got to really be able to bring your 0:11:45.679 --> 0:11:46.200 leg up. 0:11:46.440 --> 0:11:50.680 Well, I marvel at these, I'm so impressed that bag 0:11:50.760 --> 0:11:53.040 to know. Yeah, no, so, but the DCC kicks you 0:11:53.040 --> 0:11:55.000 have to kick directly in front of your face. Yes, 0:11:56.080 --> 0:11:59.160 you're supposed to touch your nose. Oh yes, queen, you 0:11:59.240 --> 0:12:01.280 know it. You literally if you kick out to the side, 0:12:01.280 --> 0:12:02.920 you're gonna be hitting your friend next year. So you 0:12:03.040 --> 0:12:05.560 cannot do that. It has to be directly in front 0:12:05.559 --> 0:12:07.320 of your nose. And that brings us back to my 0:12:07.400 --> 0:12:09.760 online submission round two. So obviously I make the round 0:12:09.760 --> 0:12:11.880 one that was all happy Days. I was like, okay, cool, Faith, 0:12:12.040 --> 0:12:14.400 You've made round one. Don't get too excited now, so oh, 0:12:14.480 --> 0:12:16.880 you've still got to get through the round two. So anyway, 0:12:16.880 --> 0:12:18.640 we get to the round two online submission, and now 0:12:18.640 --> 0:12:22.560 that involves the kicks, right, the iconic girl didn't know 0:12:22.600 --> 0:12:24.640 about the thing that you have to kick directly in front, 0:12:25.000 --> 0:12:28.160 so that turned out. I mean, they try to tell you, 0:12:28.200 --> 0:12:30.800 but like, I've been trained a certain way my whole life. 0:12:31.200 --> 0:12:33.360 So going back now and reflecting on that video, I 0:12:33.360 --> 0:12:35.440 looked at it and I was like, oh my gosh, Faith, 0:12:35.480 --> 0:12:36.120 what are you doing. 0:12:36.120 --> 0:12:37.560 You're not kicking directly in front of. 0:12:37.559 --> 0:12:39.880 Your face because I was always trying to kick, you know, 0:12:39.920 --> 0:12:40.880 slightly turned out. 0:12:41.320 --> 0:12:42.480 So I did the second round. 0:12:42.640 --> 0:12:44.680 That was all fine and well, and then I remember 0:12:44.760 --> 0:12:47.160 I was actually in Sydney, still auditioning for more. 0:12:47.200 --> 0:12:48.000 I'm still hustling. 0:12:48.040 --> 0:12:50.360 I feel like I was like in the mindset of like, Okay, 0:12:50.440 --> 0:12:52.800 keep your options open, Faith, because it's not guaranteed that 0:12:52.840 --> 0:12:54.880 this is going to fall into your lap, so just 0:12:54.960 --> 0:12:57.320 keep auditioning. So I was at another audition and auditioning 0:12:57.360 --> 0:12:59.760 for a musical when I came home that night to 0:13:00.200 --> 0:13:04.480 the video from Kelly the director saying that congratulations, you are. 0:13:04.360 --> 0:13:07.400 Going to finals in Dallas, Texas. Wow. 0:13:07.800 --> 0:13:10.360 Yeah, And then at sinked in I was like, okay, wait, wow, 0:13:10.520 --> 0:13:12.559 actually a possibility right now, faith, Like. 0:13:12.840 --> 0:13:14.240 You need to like lock in. 0:13:14.480 --> 0:13:21.240 What through this process did it feel to you, like, well, 0:13:21.280 --> 0:13:24.880 like without any arrogance, But did it feel like it 0:13:25.040 --> 0:13:27.120 was going to be something that you're going to end 0:13:27.200 --> 0:13:30.440 up doing or were you still at this stage thinking well, 0:13:30.520 --> 0:13:32.240 I'm I'm gonna give it a read, hot go. 0:13:33.320 --> 0:13:35.000 I was a little bit in denial for sure, but 0:13:35.400 --> 0:13:37.760 I do think down in my intuition, I was like 0:13:37.840 --> 0:13:39.800 I could, I could. I could see the dream like 0:13:39.800 --> 0:13:42.760 it was almost like manifestation, and you can pitch yourself 0:13:42.760 --> 0:13:45.080 in the uniform. You could pitch yourself doing it. But 0:13:45.120 --> 0:13:47.920 it's just like, how how is that going to happen? 0:13:48.080 --> 0:13:51.120 Like it just couldn't. It never really hit me until 0:13:51.160 --> 0:13:53.000 I was standing there trying it all. I remember she 0:13:53.040 --> 0:13:55.160 was like fitting me for the uniform during tryouts, and 0:13:55.200 --> 0:13:58.000 I was like, wait a damn minute, like this needs 0:13:58.000 --> 0:14:00.680 to happen, Like I'm supposed to be here, earned my 0:14:00.720 --> 0:14:02.320 place to be here, I've worked just as hard as 0:14:02.360 --> 0:14:05.160 everyone else. So yeah, I knew that it was definitely 0:14:05.160 --> 0:14:07.720 an option, but I still definitely doubted myself a little 0:14:07.720 --> 0:14:08.319 bit as well. 0:14:08.400 --> 0:14:14.280 But so then you fly to Texas, yes, to do 0:14:14.520 --> 0:14:17.160 the tryout, So this is now where the real deal 0:14:17.200 --> 0:14:18.240 happens finals. 0:14:18.440 --> 0:14:20.680 How many girls are involved at this point? 0:14:21.040 --> 0:14:23.680 Okay, so they flew about, they didn't fly, we'd fly 0:14:23.720 --> 0:14:28.200 ourselves obviously, soay, double my money, no, of course, of course, 0:14:28.800 --> 0:14:30.800 all your own money, and off you go. I knew 0:14:30.800 --> 0:14:33.160 there was another Australian girl trying out as well, a 0:14:33.240 --> 0:14:36.720 girl from Japan. There was a few other international candidates, 0:14:36.720 --> 0:14:38.120 which is really cool to see and it made you 0:14:38.160 --> 0:14:39.800 feel like, okay, cool, I'm not just the only one 0:14:39.800 --> 0:14:41.640 that's crazy going after this, see the. 0:14:41.520 --> 0:14:47.120 First faith that they've opened the doors to internationals. Was 0:14:47.160 --> 0:14:49.400 it like a conscious thing or this has always happened 0:14:49.400 --> 0:14:50.160 in the past. 0:14:49.920 --> 0:14:52.440 Has always happened obviously when the Netflix show came out, 0:14:52.520 --> 0:14:55.200 there was no Australians or international candidates on the show 0:14:55.200 --> 0:14:57.880 that I'm aware of, but they have had previous years 0:14:57.920 --> 0:14:59.760 and I'm actually really good friends and than Ossie who 0:14:59.800 --> 0:15:01.640 was on the team back in twenty sixteen. 0:15:02.160 --> 0:15:04.160 Her name is Janelle and she is incredible, so she 0:15:04.320 --> 0:15:07.080 really helped me. Just like she's Aussie. Her name's Janelle. 0:15:07.280 --> 0:15:09.680 You know. Yeah, oh that's so true. That's such an 0:15:09.680 --> 0:15:10.240 ossy name. 0:15:10.320 --> 0:15:10.560 Haye. 0:15:10.760 --> 0:15:11.280 That is great. 0:15:11.680 --> 0:15:14.160 So no, she really helped me just keeping me like 0:15:14.320 --> 0:15:16.080 is this normal Janelle and she was like, yes, Faith, 0:15:16.080 --> 0:15:18.040 that's normal. And like having an Aussie to talk too 0:15:18.080 --> 0:15:22.040 about the experience of the journey was really helpful. Yes. 0:15:22.600 --> 0:15:26.000 In the finals, finals, So finals was probably the most 0:15:26.040 --> 0:15:28.320 crazy day of my life. They had about eighty girls 0:15:28.400 --> 0:15:30.840 all come together from all over the country. Right. I 0:15:30.920 --> 0:15:33.320 knew there was a couple of international candidates. So we 0:15:33.440 --> 0:15:35.120 all sit down and you just go up and you 0:15:35.120 --> 0:15:36.120 do a solo one at a. 0:15:36.040 --> 0:15:37.840 Time, and this is when you all do the dance. 0:15:38.080 --> 0:15:38.800 This is when you do. 0:15:38.760 --> 0:15:41.720 Your dance where all my dancing training from growing up 0:15:41.840 --> 0:15:43.480 was going to come to play. I was like, okay, Faith, 0:15:43.600 --> 0:15:45.760 you know you can do this stuff. This is where 0:15:45.800 --> 0:15:47.600 you need to show that this is your strong suit. 0:15:47.880 --> 0:15:50.160 Where I knew that the field stuff for the pompoms 0:15:50.280 --> 0:15:51.800 I hadn't really done before, so I was like, you 0:15:51.840 --> 0:15:53.760 need to show them now that this is this is 0:15:53.800 --> 0:15:55.880 you and this is why you're here. And then in 0:15:55.880 --> 0:15:57.920 the field stuff, fake it to you, make it girl. 0:16:00.120 --> 0:16:02.120 I was giving it my best shot. I performed a 0:16:02.120 --> 0:16:05.200 really beautiful lyrical piece, and yeah, I gave it my all. 0:16:05.240 --> 0:16:07.640 I put in all my best tricks, told a really 0:16:07.640 --> 0:16:09.960 great story behind the dance as well, and I could 0:16:09.960 --> 0:16:12.320 tell that they were really enjoying it by just looking 0:16:12.320 --> 0:16:13.840 in their face on the panel. And that was like 0:16:13.880 --> 0:16:17.400 the most rewarding feeling, knowing that, like I'd been training 0:16:17.440 --> 0:16:19.920 for like three months leading up to that audition, obviously 0:16:19.960 --> 0:16:22.880 my whole life, but like just on that specific dance, 0:16:22.920 --> 0:16:25.120 with that three months of running it and then performing 0:16:25.160 --> 0:16:27.760 it and looking at their faces and like the owner 0:16:27.800 --> 0:16:31.400 of the company you heard, Jerry Jones's daughter was sitting there, Charlotte. 0:16:31.400 --> 0:16:34.360 Her face just lit up, and I remember just looking thinking, oh, 0:16:34.400 --> 0:16:35.320 my goodness. 0:16:35.120 --> 0:16:37.760 Does she like me? Like hopefully? Wow. 0:16:38.360 --> 0:16:40.880 It was the most incredible feeling. Yeah, it was really cool. 0:16:40.960 --> 0:16:42.680 So once you do that, you then go into the 0:16:42.720 --> 0:16:45.440 field stuff. So I was like number I think I 0:16:45.480 --> 0:16:47.760 was number fifty out of like the eighty girls, right, 0:16:48.120 --> 0:16:50.440 and you're all sitting in these chairs just waiting to 0:16:50.480 --> 0:16:53.000 go in your heart in your chest. It was the 0:16:53.040 --> 0:16:55.920 most scary feeling of my life. I don't think I've 0:16:55.920 --> 0:16:58.480 ever been so nervous. 0:16:58.280 --> 0:16:58.920 It's crazy. 0:16:59.080 --> 0:17:03.680 It's this point, what's the vibe with the other women, 0:17:04.880 --> 0:17:09.159 because you're, yeah, you're you're in it together, you're also 0:17:09.240 --> 0:17:10.160 against each other. 0:17:10.880 --> 0:17:12.080 That's a really good question. 0:17:12.160 --> 0:17:14.640 I feel like at this rate, I didn't know anyone, 0:17:14.800 --> 0:17:17.040 so I'm like chatting making friends to everyone, and when 0:17:17.040 --> 0:17:19.840 I get nervous, I'm like, just talk to me, please 0:17:19.880 --> 0:17:23.439 calm me down. Obviously, then I kind of realized the 0:17:23.480 --> 0:17:26.000 cultural differences. I was like, oh, okay, so I'm a yaffa, 0:17:26.200 --> 0:17:28.240 you know, Ossie gal, trying to make banter and they're 0:17:28.280 --> 0:17:29.680 all just like looking at me, like this girl. 0:17:29.560 --> 0:17:31.400 Is not funny, like what is going on about? 0:17:31.440 --> 0:17:33.159 And that's when I realized, okay, Faith, you've got to 0:17:33.200 --> 0:17:35.760 like adapt a little bit here. But no, the girls 0:17:35.760 --> 0:17:38.480 are all the sweetest things ever, and they make the 0:17:38.600 --> 0:17:41.359 experience it's a little bit terrifying less terrifying. 0:17:41.600 --> 0:17:44.320 So well, their. 0:17:43.359 --> 0:17:48.920 Experience, I imagine, is very different because they've grown up knowing 0:17:49.480 --> 0:17:55.440 this intimately and having it as the pinnacle of if 0:17:55.480 --> 0:17:59.680 you're a dancer, what you want to achieve, whereas you 0:17:59.720 --> 0:18:03.480