Source: Lifetime
Ever since I reported the news that Lifetime was launching a new show about a Hip Hop Majorette dance troupe, I was all here for it. And even though I thought the premise was a great idea, I had no clue how much I’d actually end up enjoying “Bring It.” I’ve laughed, cried and gotten entirely too crunk watching that show. I binge watch it with my sister and missed it terribly as the network took a break before releasing more episodes.
It’s not a joke. So imagine my excitement when I saw that Lifetime had not only ordered more episodes of the reality show which started airing on July 23 and will air throughout the end of September.
If you’ve seen the show you know that in addition to the dedication and hard work these young girls bring to their practices and to the stage, it’s watching their leader, Dianna “Miss D” Williams guide them to first place trophies and console them when they come in second…even if they don’t deserve it.
I had a chance to speak to Dianna, who I inadvertently called Miss D, repeatedly like she was my coach too earlier this week. We chatted about how she keeps the girls’ dance moves clean, why she makes the parents stay outside during practice, comparisons to Abby Miller and how her past as an adult film star has helped her in mentoring her Dancing Dolls.
MN: When did you first know you not only wanted to be a dancer but had the ability to teach dance to others?
It wasn’t until my junior or senior year in high school when I was a captain of the auxiliary at my high school. I realized then–I was only fourteen, I graduated from high school when I was 16– and I realized then this is something I can do but I wasn’t really sure if this was really something I wanted to do as a life choice, as a career. But as the years went on, I just kept coming right back to it. In 2001, when I moved back to Jackson, I was offered a job teaching for the city of Jackson, running the entire dance program, meaning putting together all the recitals, all the performances. I had to teach every single class, which kind of prepped me for where I am right now. Teaching kids is difficult, you have to find a way to get them to understand what it is that you’re saying, what it is that you want them to do, especially smaller kids. But I have a lot of patience and I’ve always worked with kids. I worked for the city and their summer youth program, with kids that are as young as 5, all the way up to 12. And then my grandmother has a daycare.
MN: How do you walk the fine line with making sure the moves aren’t too provocative for the Dancing Dolls?
The Baby Dancing Dolls, the slow dance? They’re never going to do it. Never, ever, ever ever, ever. I feel like the age between 5-10, they’re just too young to be dancing like that. When it comes to the older girls, they’re given just a little bit more leeway but not even still. There’s a fine line that I draw with certain things that they are allowed to do and aren’t allowed to do. I basically make conscious decisions because I’m a parent myself ‘Would I want my daughter to dance like this? Would I want my daughter moving this way and that way?’ And because a couple of these kids are teenagers, they’re going try certain things and try to slide things in. And it’s happened. They did something at one competition that I did.not.like. And they didn’t catch it on camera but they got yelled at about it. I just try to make sure that I’m watching closely, very, very closely what it is they’re trying to do. And I make sure I keep my choreography clean.
Source: Lifetime
We all know what it’s like to be a teenager trying things. On the show and in subsequent interviews, Dianna has been open and candid about falling off track during her later teenage years. She was living in California after high school and decided she needed to participate in adult films to make it. And while some might let this type of past keep them from mentoring children, Dianna has said that it’s actually helped her in coaching.
Being a person that has made mistakes in life, I use my life as a walking, talking blueprint as of what not to do. I tell the girls, also that it’s something that you can utilize as a lesson of what God can bring you from. A lot of times, as teenagers we can say, ‘You shouldn’t do this, you shouldn’t do that.’ And they’re looking at you like ‘Womp womp. You’re an adult, you just don’t want me to do it because we’re not supposed to.’ But most of the time kids don’t understand that we’ve done this before. We’ve kissed boys, we’ve snuck out of the house. I don’t know many people that haven’t. Everybody’s done something, nobody’s squeaky clean. And for me, these were things that I felt like I needed to do at that time. And not realizing that later on in life, here I am sixteen years later, they could come back and try to almost haunt and literally take me out.
The girls know about my past. We’ve talked about it. They know about why I did what I did and why I felt like I needed to and what I should have done. And I explain to them that I didn’t have the support that system that they have. So they should really take advantage of the opportunity that they have. Not just myself but they have every parent that’s there. And believe it or not Selena is all about Sunjai but she’s also about all the other girls as well. She looks out for Kayla, Crystianna, Camryn, all the other girls that are on the team. All the parents look out for each other. I know Mimi is one of the biggest people that is an advocate for making sure the girls are ok, not just [Camryn] but all the girls as a whole. There’s a 103 of them y’all. And they all look out for each other. So the girls know that my life is something that you should use, and say if Dianna did this– maybe it’s not the best decision to make. I should use what I’m trying to do and compare it to what she did and say, ‘You know what, let’s not do that. Let me try something else.
MN: How has it come back to haunt you?
People try to utilize things that are negative to try to hurt you. And it’s been, for me, that whole situation has been something that I have been dealing with since I made the choice to do it. Moving from California to Mississippi, was a choice that I made to try to change my life and better myself to do things differently than what I was doing at that particular time. And when I say physically, grief and emotions can literally make you sick, physically. It can physically make you ill. And at the time when the opportunity presented itself, for the show, I originally said no because I felt like my past was going to hurt my kids. There was absolutely no way that I could allow something that I did to hurt somebody else’s child when I’m all about uplifting. That’s not the point. And after talking to the producers about my life and making decisions that could benefit somebody else and getting over it basically. That’s when it all kind of came full circle. I prayed about it. I talked to my husband about it, who was aware when we started dating. I mean, I’m an open book. And it’s the best choice that I could have possibly made, not because of the show but for me because I’m so at peace with myself right now. But it took a minute for me to even get to that point. So that’s what I mean, I was literally sinking behind it.
Abby Miller from “Dance Moms” often catches a lot of flack for being too hard on her dancers. How do you find the balance between correcting but not being too hard on them?
I don’t compare myself to Abby Lee Miller at all. You know her set coaching style is her style. And if that works for her studio, that works for her. My style works for me. But I’m still a tough coach. I don’t see anything wrong with the way Abby pushes her girls. She’s just pushing them to be amazing. I don’t see anything wrong with that. She’s just pushing them in different ways than I would. So with my girls I’m all about pushing but encouraging in the same breath. I’m going to yell at you and tell you what you’re doing wrong. Then I’m going to tell you how to fix it, then I’m going to get up and physically show you how to fix it. But I try to make sure that the girls understand, in the same breath, that I care about what you look like as a dancer. And sometimes you have to say it out loud for them to get it. As a kid, I didn’t grow up hearing those words, ‘I love you’ a lot. So for me, even though my mom showed me love, hearing it was better. So, as a coach, you can fuss and yell and scream, but you need to get up and actually show them what you’re doing. And that’s what I do with my girls.
Source: Lifetime
How did the parents feel when you came to them with the reality tv show?
I don’t think the parents were nervous about it, for several reasons. One of the biggest reasons is because they know that I am extremely over protective. And if I felt like it was going to be a good idea or something that could potentially turn into something amazing for the team or for each child individually then they’re definitely all for it. They’re definitely all for it. Now, everybody wants their daughter to be a shining star, who wouldn’t? But at the same time, those the decisions that were made about who’s cast does not fall on me. So that was the good thing for me, I could take myself out of it. I wouldn’t have to deal with that part of it. But I think overall, the parents were really excited for this opportunity.
One thing that always strikes me and makes me chuckle is that the parents stand outside to watch practices. I know you let them in for a short period of time, do you ever anticipate letting them in again?
Well, initially the parents were allowed inside because there was a lot of favoritism floating around. Because me and Mimi are friends and people think that if Camryn gets this or that it’s because we’re friends and she’s picking on my child. You know that kind of conversation. I’m one of those type of people that believe in ‘I can show you better than I can tell you.’ And if you see that your daughter is not doing what she’s supposed to do, then you’ll understand why she’s being cut. It worked for probably two weeks but one day I let them in and they were just so loud. The parents would not be quiet and were very distracting to the girls. And I said, ‘Get the hell out.’ And they were looking around like ‘What the hell?’ Get out now. You go or take your daughter with you and both of you go. Everybody kind of went out the room and were kind of confused. And I remember Mimi saying, we were scared, we didn’t know what to do. I said y’all was talking too damn loud, you couldn’t hear me say shut up. You were back there running your mouth. And that situation is what really set it off and they’ve been standing outside ever since. It’s been a couple of years now.
It seems like the girls actually prefer their parents outside, do you see that?
I do. I can see that. They need to know that it’s ok for them to make a mistake without their parents being that drill sergeant and that barking ‘hey that’s not right, move your feet this way, move your feet that way.’ I’m the only coach that’s in the building. I’m the only dance teacher in the building. I’m the person that’s in charge. I don’t need any sideline helpers. There are no assistant coaches, I got this. And the girls realize that when their parents are outside, they can make those mistakes freely and know that it’s ok to mess up. And one thing I try to explain, to the parents too, is they can take the yelling and screaming from me because I’m their coach. As a mom, you’re the nurturer. You’re the person who’s going to say, ‘Oh, it’s ok. I love you regardless, don’t worry about it.’ And when you start barking and yelling, who do they have to go to? If you’re yelling and I’m yelling who’s that person whose going to provide comfort?
What can we expect from the remainder of this season and next?
You’re going to see a lot of changes in the dance style. You’re going to see a lot of changes in the leadership styles of all the girls. You’re going to see Crystianna (pictured in the center above) start to speak more than she probably ever has in her life. You’re going to see the girls grow as dancers. You’re going to see the parents grow more attached to their dancers and also start to respect me and my decisions a lot more. You’re going to see a lot more drama. Oh God. A lot more drama. A lot more stand battles, a lot more wins a lot more loses. There’s a lot more of everything.
You can watch “Bring It” on Lifetime, every Wednesday, including tonight, at 9/8c.
