Courtney Cook (2024)

Biography[]

(13.5)

• [“Where are they now?” segment] She was a DCC from 2011 to 2012. Says we may remember her having to leave training camp in Season 8 for an unexpected medical reason. She had a big setback, but she's rebounded. She came home to Utah after retiring from cheerleading, and will be graduating from the University of Utah this year. She says the DCC taught her that it’s not the end result that matters, but rather what matters is the strength that allows you persist through trials.

Confessionals[]

Total: 32

Season 5: 13 (T4th most)

Season 6: 16 (6th most)

Season 7: 1

Season 8: 1

Season 13*: 1

Season 5[]

(5.1)

• [Sprays shoes] That’s a little trick I do. Hairspray on the bottom of my shoes so I don’t face-plant in my audition.
• I’ll be back tomorrow.

(5.2)

• Everyone is here in their special costumes and their dances made just for them. Everyone’s a little bit more intimidated and everyone knows it’s time to step up even more.
• [Invited to training camp] This is the end of Utah, so this is life-changing.

(5.3)

• It’s all kind of like settling in now that this is it, and it’s real, and it’s time to work, and it’s time to work hard.
• It just hit me. I was looking around at all the pictures and all the veterans and the rookies, and this is it.
• It just went downhill from there, so that’s not good.
• [With Mandy Correa, about jump split] It looks like it hurt, and it really does. I can already feel a bruise coming on.

(5.4)

• [After office] I knew this was something I need to work on. I just need to commit a hundred percent and make sure I can do that.

(5.5)

• [Makeover, after spray tan] I’m a little more confident now. It’s just like after you put your makeup on in the morning, except now it’s all over your body.

(5.6)

• [Cameo shoot] The Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders uniform, it’s not mine, and it just makes you want to work that much harder and just make sure that you do everything that you can to really get your own uniform.
• [Before office] I’m hoping it’s not my last night, because this is my dream and this is everything I’ve wanted, but we’ll see.
• [After cut] I’m gonna be disappointed to see my family because they have put a lot of work into helping me, and so, I feel like I’ve disappointed them and a lot of other people that [starts crying] have supported me.

Season 6[]

(6.1)

• [With Brittney Schram and Elizabeth Reuter] Last year, all of us were in training camp together just down to the last week, and we got axed. – Courtney/ We got the boot! – Brittney/ Almost, but not quite. – Courtney
• Last year, I was cut from training camp, sadly, because I rush when I dance. [Flashback] When Kelli told me not to give up, I knew I just, I could do it one more time. I can do it.
• They pulled the board out with everyone’s numbers, and 120! I made it to semifinals. So, hopefully, it just keeps getting better and better and better.
• I really, really want to make the team, this year. If you have faith in yourself, and you have confidence, hopefully you can make it happen.
• Felt like I was, like, off.
• [With her mom, who says she thinks it’s going to be a good year] I’m not going to say it, but she thinks it.

(6.3)

• I’m used to doing the kick squad because it was pretty much the same thing I did last year, so it wasn’t new to me, but it was getting back into gear time. I missed one and Judy yelled at me.
• [With Emma Mary] Kelli and Judy have high expectations. [Flashback] You should show up today knowing and being ready to perform that dance.
• [With Emma Mary] They said they want to see it perfect tonight. So, practice makes perfect.

(6.4)

• This is not my first time to feel this excitement and nerve to try on the uniform, but it’s still just as special.

(6.5)

• Today, we’re here at Albertson’s here in Dallas. And we’re here to do some kind of mystery activity with Jay.
• I kind of am addicted to food, but I’m addicted to working out too, so it all balances out.

(6.6)

• [Cameo shoot] Really happy right now, it’s done, and I’m sad, but just I’m so happy because it’s one step closer to my dream.

(6.8)

• I am finally a Dallas Cowboys Cheerleader, and it feels amazing.
• It’s all just settling in now just that this has really happened and it’s a done deal, and I’ve made it.
• [Flashbacks interspersed] Last year, when I got cut, there was no way I was coming back. I was so heartbroken and I had never experienced any disappointment like that in my life. I know that all those tears that I shed before, it was all worth it.

Season 7[]

(7.9)

• I’m laying in the sand and holding an awkward position. It’s kind of hard to remember all of the little angles and things he says to do. Got a chance to see the pictures, and I was so happy with them. I mean, I have just learned so much today. I loved it.

Season 8[]

(8.2)

• [Panel interviews] They laughed at me looking at the table, I know. But I mean, last year they laughed at me for talking too fast.

Season 13[]

(13.5)

• "Where are they now?"

Commentary[]

Season 5[]

(5.1)

• We need to relax that hair a little bit, but I like the fact that she’s curly and different. She’s unique. – K/ Yes, she’s very different. She’s got a great figure. – Charlotte

(5.3)

• [Dancing] Courtney! Your curls are acting like you! Count! – J
• Courtney, you’re a little rushed. – K/ Personality, which is fun and never stops, da-da-da-da, just like that. That’s how you were just turning. You were not with the music at all. – J

(5.4)

• Courtney, you and Ashley have the same problem: you cannot count. – J/ I’m sorry. I’m trying to kind of gauge with the girls around me. That’s what I’ve been working on, so… – Courtney
• Courtney’s going to have to pull out her showmanship to make our team. It’s like our dances are foreign to her, and she’s going to have a little bit more of a tough time than I thought she would have. – J

(5.5)

• It’s all wrong. Look at her. It’s not on the right beat. But I like her. – J
• Courtney, you’re just rushing, rushing, rushing the whole thing. – J
• Courtney doesn’t know her dances right now. She rushes the music. So, she still has a long way to go. – J

(5.6)

• [As she’s rushing] I just don’t think she hears it. – Kitty Carter
• Courtney, she’s having so much trouble that I’m not sure that she has what it takes. – J
• [Judy has her repeat the last eight-count] I don’t know how to get the beat in your head. I see your mouth counting it, but everyone else is dancing to a different beat. – J
• Courtney Cook, she’s gotten mixed reviews in rehearsals. I still thought she was cute as a bug but she’s on the bubble now. – K
• This one I just don’t think’s gonna ever get it. – Kitty Carter/ Kitty, she’s one of the most fun to watch people in a sea of audition candidates. – K/ I know. She’s gorgeous. You’ve had her six weeks. The more you talk about it, the more disheartening it is, I think for everybody. – Kitty

Season 6[]

(6.1)

• She’s ahead of them one eight-count.
• [Semifinals judging] I was surprised. If she was here last year and knew what to do, she should be leading it out there, and she wasn’t./ She really can dance. She cannot dance team. – J

(6.2)

• Courtney does really well in her interviews. She has a little spark that a lot of the other candidates don’t have. And the judges really like her in the interview process. – J
• If Courtney does not show the ability to dance with precision and rhythm in our group dance, that will kill her. – K

(6.3)

• Courtney, count. You had one less kick. – J
• Courtney Cook is better on her beat. – K/ No, I’ve been… – J/ Yes she is, Judy! – K/ Every now and then it hits right. – J

Season 7[]

(7.8)

• Courtney’s low. – K
• Slow down, Courtney! – J

(7.9)

• I’m actually enjoying watching Courtney tonight. – K

Season 8[]

(8.2)

• [Panel interviews] How can we send her out on an interview if she won’t make eye contact? That is not her normal behavior. – K

(8.3)

• [To the veterans before the opening meeting] Courtney will not be joining us this season. And she’s in the right place by being with her family. She needs her family, and she needs a little bit of guidance from doctors. So, that’s as much as I want to say about it for her own privacy, but… we lost a teammate today. So, when this meeting breaks, if you do anything, send Courtney a text message that you support her. – K
• [Confessional interspersed within main discussion] I just received an e-mail from Courtney’s mother that Courtney is literally on an airplane and traveling home to be with her family for personal reasons. – K
• You know, I’m very emotional about it because Courtney came to… we’ve watched her kind of grow up. [Flashbacks] Courtney will definitely be missed on this team, and I wish her well and I hope to see her soon. – K
• She just may not be at practice, but she’s still going to be Courtney and be one of our best friends. – Sydney Durso

Office Visits[]

Season 5[]

(5.4)

• [Second of four] Kelli asks her how she feels, and Courtney says nervous. Kelli says that’s normal, and Courtney says this is really new to her, and she’s just trying to learn how everything’s done, the “yes, ma’ams,” and things like that. Kelli says “yes, ma’am” is not her problem. Courtney says she thinks she knows what her problem is, and asks if it’s the rushing. Kelli says it is. Her timing is disconnected from the music and the dancers around her. Courtney says she thinks it’s probably because in the last couple of years she’s been doing solo stuff, so she’s just getting used to feeling the girls around her. Judy says she doesn’t think she would be doing it right even if she was dancing by herself because she just doesn’t hear the music. Kelli says she has to have these routines committed to her memory so they can see her style. Courtney says she can do that. Kelli says they have to see that next week, and Courtney promises she’ll do her very best.

(5.6)

• [Fourth of four] Kelli says she’s been honest with her; she’s been probably her favorite in the whole audition process, but now they’ve reached a point where now they don’t think it’s gonna match on a field. She’s ahead or behind or ahead or behind, but not with the music. She’s sorry, they’ve given this, as a group, as much time as possible, but tonight’s going to have to be her last night. They’ve got to move on. A crying Courtney thanks them, and says this has been her dream, and she thinks they have a great organization and just the standards that they hold the girls to, and she really looks up to that. Kelli says she hopes she re-auditions, and Judy tells her not to give up. Kelli says she’s a performer, she’s memorable, and everybody loves her. [Courtney thanks them and leaves] Kelli tells Judy that she’s sick of breaking people’s heart.

End of Journey[]

Season 5[]

(5.6)

• Fifth person cut from training camp (5^th out of 10, 39 left after cut)

Season 8[]

(8.3)

• Leaves the team for personal reasons before the opening meeting (1^st of 8 to leave during training camp, 46 left afterwards)

Other[]

Season 5[]

(5.1)

• Introduces herself to the judges at preliminaries

• Shown being invited to finals

(5.2)

• Shown messing up on the routine
• Shown being invited to training camp

(5.3)

• She is shown stumbling while Kelli gives a confessional about it being obvious who needs work

Season 6[]

(6.1)

• She is shown on screen when Kelli mentions seeing some familiar faces in her introduction speech
• Shown introducing herself to the judges at preliminaries: 19 years old from Utah
• Shown walking into semifinals and chatting with Brittney Schram and Elizabeth Reuter
• Shown being invited to finals

(6.2)

• At panel interviews, she’s asked for her celebrity crush, and she says Justin Bieber after trying to justify it
• Later at panel interviews, she’s asked by Charlotte if she knows what her weakness are, and Courtney replies it’s her dancing and her rushing. Just being more calm…
• Third-to-last person shown being invited to training camp

(6.3)

• Shown talking to Brittney Schram as they walk to the opening meeting of training camp, remarking how they can’t believe it’s already been a year.
• Has a scene practicing outside of rehearsal with Emma Mary

(6.8)

• She’s shown looking at her locker room photo, which is then highlighted

Season 7[]

(7.3)

• She’s on the winning team for the skeet shooting competition (with Angela Rena, Melissa Kellerman, and captain Meagan McVay)

(7.5)

• She is part of the “Mathletes” with the other Group 4 veterans for the bowling outing (Angela Rena, Jackie Bob, Meagan McVay, Melissa Kellerman)

(7.10)

• She’s revealed to be in the swimsuit calendar for July

Season 8[]

(8.2)

• At panel interviews, she’s asked what her biggest contribution to the DCC is. She says it is that she likes to have fun and keep it light and keep their team positive and having fun. Charlotte asks where she was looking during that answer, and Courtney says she was looking at that light, and says it helps her think. Kelli tells her that they need her eye contact, but admit it did slow Courtney down, because now she back to her normal pace that she's looking at them.
• Shown being invited to training camp

(8.3)

• Kelli somberly announces her departure from the team in a special veteran’s only meeting before the opening meeting, which is followed by flashbacks of her from her time on the show