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.
