Victoria Kalina was one of the dancers heavily featured on Season 1 of America’s Sweethearts: Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders in 2024. The season ended with the team members deciding whether they wanted to keep their uniforms, or return them and move on from being a DCC.

Kalina was one of the women who decided to hang up her uniform for good. Her retirement came after four seasons as a DCC (she first made the squad in 2019, then returned in 2020, took a hiatus in 2021, and came back in 2022 and 2023).

As a legacy team member — her mom Tina Kalina was on the squad in 1984, 1988, and 1989, and is also best friends with coach Kelli Finglass — Kalina often felt immense pressure to prove herself. While she initially planned to re-audition for the squad in 2024, she decided to move on after Finglass and head choreographer Judy Trammell told her they didn’t envision her in a leadership role.

Now, Kalina has moved on to even bigger things. Scroll down for an update on where she is today and more!

What is Victoria Kalina doing now?

After deciding to leave DCC in her past, Kalina moved to New York City to start the next chapter of her life. She moved to the Big Apple with dreams of becoming a Rockette dancer, and she auditioned in spring 2025. She didn’t make the team, but has a positive outlook going forward.

“This year is a ‘not now’ for the Rockettes but I can’t wait to continue to push this next year and continue to see what other spectacular things unravel in this magical city,” Kalina shared on Instagram.

In between her training for the Rockettes, Kalina has been exploring other avenues of dance. She teaches classes for Fusion Exercise and posts her own dancing videos to social media and YouTube.

Why did Victoria Kalina leave DCC?

Kalina did not have a great experience during her fourth year on the team, and watching that back on Season 1 of America’s Sweethearts validated her decision to not return. During her time with DCC, Kalina struggled with an eating disorder and depression, which led to her one-year hiatus from the program. When she returned, she told The Cut she “felt like a rookie again.”

“It started from the top with Kelli and Judy,” Kalina claimed. “They kind of had their distance with me because of our family relationships and everything. And so the girls also had that.”

Ultimately, after her conversation with Finglass and Trammell about the 2024 season, where they told her they didn’t see her being a leader in her fifth year, Kalina realized she didn’t want to move forward with the organization.

“As a fifth year, you should be on cloud nine, knowing just how the tenure pyramid falls,” Kalina told Today.com. “Fifth year doesn’t necessarily have expected leadership qualities, but you’ve been there. You know the rules. You know the expectations that you can trickle down to the younger tenure girls. And so I was really excited to step into that role, potentially. When I knew that wasn’t just in play for me in their eyes, in the middle of the conversation, I wanted to say ‘no’ right then. But I never want to make a rash decision. I wanted to sit on it. I wanted to process it.”

After talking it over with her mom, Kalina came to her decision. “She was like, ‘No, we’ve been around this organization. I’ve been around it. I’ve been in it. And as a fifth year girl, like they should want you to come back.’ And since I did not hear that in my conversation, I was like, ‘Yeah, I think it’s time for me to put my efforts and my talents somewhere else and try for something new.’”

Where does Victoria Kalina stand with Kelli Finglass now?

Kalina didn’t hide her frustration with Finglass and Trammell after her exit from the show. In her 2024 interview with The Cut, she replied, “No comment,” when asked how she feels about Finglass now.

She also said that her close personal relationship with Finglass actually made things more complicated for her on the team. As she explained to Us Weekly, “I think some people think it’s an advantage. It would be different if my mom was just on the team at the same time as Kelli, or even just was a cheerleader and I was simply a legacy. But I think that added [part of], ‘No, your mom is best friends with her’ is the complication. And I think people probably think that, ‘Oh, I’m gonna go over to Kelli’s house and be like, gimme the tea.’ But that’s definitely not the case. In fact, she’s trying to start from scratch with me, trying to push aside that personal relationship that we have. I feel like [she] gives me a cold shoulder so she wouldn’t ever play into that favoritism.”

At the time of that July 2024 interview, Kalina hadn’t “heard much from” Finglass, who was “heavily into training camp” for the new season. “She texted me saying, ‘Good luck in New York,’” the DCC alum shared. “Before the show came out, I did go to Mexico because I was in her daughter’s wedding. That was the last big connection we’ve had. I can’t see myself wanting to attend a DCC event anytime soon.”

America’s Sweethearts: Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders, Season 2, Wednesday, June 18, Netflix