Michele Standefer

On season two of Netflix’s America’s Sweethearts: Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders, viewers were introduced to Dayton Bramhall, a Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders (DCC) hopeful with a unique backstory.

Dayton, 27, has DCC roots that run deep. Her mother, Shelly Bramhall, not only was a cheerleader herself for five years in the early 1990s but also became an associate choreographer for the team following her tenure. She’s worked there ever since as a choreographer and event planner, meaning her daughter grew up in the organization.

Cameras followed Dayton as she attempted for the third time to make the team in 2024, sharing her story of chasing the goal for herself despite her mother’s legacy. They also captured the heart-wrenching scene in which director Kelli Fineglass, who has known Dayton since she was a baby, informed her that she would not be moving on to become a DCC. Dayton vowed to come back and audition again in 2025. But as she shares with Glamour, her attempt this year also ended in disappointment.

Below, Dayton Bramhall shares her story of growing up as a DCC legacy, watching her journey unfold in front of the world, why she’s moving on, and what she wants to do next.

Dance has always been a part of my life. I started dancing at the age of three because my mom was teaching, and she needed someone to watch me. So my only option was to go to the dance studio with her, and I picked up on it and loved taking class. When I was six or seven, I was old enough to be a junior DCC, so I got to perform at halftime shows. My first halftime show ever was Destiny’s Child, so I always say I got to perform with Beyoncé. But I think my love of dance has come from all walks of life, not necessarily just the Cowboys.

Wanting to be a DCC had always been a no for me, especially when I got into my teenage years. I did not want anything to do with DCC; I wanted to go a completely different route. But when I turned 18, I was living in Dallas and going to school. I decided I still wanted to dance, and DCC was an opportunity. I knew it was something that would be challenging, but not so far out of reach. So I decided to do it. I don’t necessarily like to say it was a dream of mine, because I don’t think it ever was, but it is something that’s always interested me. I just didn’t know if I really believed in myself enough to go for it.

When I decided that I wanted to audition for the first time in 2017, I think everyone was shocked. I will say my heart was not in it 100%. I was doing it just for an experiment. I was not ready. I had no idea what I was doing. The first year of working for it and not getting it made me realize that I really did want to pursue it and try. I saw how challenging it was for me, and I wanted to prove everyone wrong who thought I couldn’t do it. That year I didn’t make it to training camp, and that pushed me to come back and aim for that goal, which I eventually did that next year in 2018. But then I got cut from training camp.

In my first year auditioning, I was featured on Making the Team, the DCC reality show before the one on Netflix. I was really shocked seeing myself on television, but also by how I came across. I can come across as pretty dry sometimes, and seeing myself in that way, I was like, Okay, I see what everyone means. So the next year I tried to come back and get out of my shell and really put in the work and be more grown up and mature.

My second year on the show was really negative for me because I felt like the storyline was that I was in my mom’s shadow. I had reiterated so many times that I was doing this for myself, and [that this was] a goal for me. My mom would support me if I did anything. This just happens to be something that is her world. They made it a lot about how I wanted to be just like my mom, and well, that is true. I love my mom. I think she’s amazing, and she has so many great attributes. But I am my own person. That took a big toll on me. I had some confusion in my identity for a good few months after seeing that.

My mom was always supportive no matter what. It’s really frustrating because I think it comes across to other people as her being a helicopter parent or being very controlling. She wants what’s best for me, and I think she wants to step in and try to save me or try to fix things for me. A lot of our conversations at that time were me being frustrated with that and me saying, “I need to be my own person. I’m a grown woman. I can handle this on my own.” But that turned into, “No, I really need you, and I actually understand where you’re coming from.” Now that we are in this position of our lives being [available] for everyone to talk about us and to perceive us, we’ve bonded over that. A lot of our conversations have been conflicted at times, but for the most part, she’s extremely supportive and always just wants to know that I’m doing okay, if I’m happy, and that I’m content with myself.

After getting cut, I decided to go dance on a cruise ship. I then ended up in Houston and put dance aside for a good three years. I was working very standard, regular jobs. I worked at a hair salon, at a boutique, and at a nail salon. I was being a normal person, which did not work for me. I was getting so bored. I was getting out of a long-term relationship that was not the best environment for me. I was really scared to start teaching dance because that’s something that my mom was doing, and I didn’t want to go down that route of “You want to be just like your mom” again. So that was something I was really scared to go near.

I decided to teach fitness; once I started doing that, I really found joy in helping other people and seeing their progress. That motivated me to do that for myself. I thought to myself, What do I really need to achieve to get over this hump? I thought, If I never give DCC another shot, I will regret it for the rest of my life because it’s eating me alive. I thought, Do this for you. Do this in your way. Show yourself you are not your mom or whoever everyone else wants to compare you to. That’s really what got me to get on that horse right away.

So in 2024, I went for it. I was like, I’m going to go for it, dance again full time, and give this a shot. I’m going to give it everything I have. I made it all the way until the very end of training camp last year, which made me incredibly proud. I was of course upset that I didn’t make the team, but I was so proud of myself because I essentially did what I went there to do. I went there to work hard and prove myself and really change and grow as a dancer and as a person. And I feel that that’s what I did.

I know my mom was very, very surprised when I told her that I wanted to give it another shot. I didn’t tell anybody other than my family, and my best friend who’s actually the daughter of Kelli, the director of DCC. I tried to keep it in a close circle because I knew that if everyone knew—all my mom’s friends, all of her former teammates—they would be extremely supportive. But I think the support would build up to making me feel a bit of pressure.

After not making it in 2024, I was disappointed but extremely proud. I overcame so much in those three months of training that I hadn’t overcome in six years. Being there was very healing and very challenging. But also knowing that I could make it to the very end—that was an achievement in itself for me. I put in all that effort, and I did the work, and I did the best I could. I felt very satisfied in myself regardless of the outcome.

I decided to try out again in 2025. All year, I worked my booty off. I danced every single day. I started teaching dance this year, so I was eating, sleeping, and breathing dance all year. I worked so hard at getting the NFL DCC style down so that I could dance bigger and with more power and have better kicks.

I brought everything that I possibly could. I put in all the effort I possibly could, but the universe had other plans. I was cut before training camp. They sit us all down in the bleachers and call everyone by number. And if they call your number, you run onto the field; if not, then you just leave. So this year, I just left.

It’s okay. My mom was there—she was working. So I saw my mom and Kelli’s daughter, my best friend. My dad had flown in so he was there. A lot of alumni helped out at finals, so all of my mom’s friends that she cheered with were there to comfort me right as I was leaving. I didn’t feel like I was a failure. If anything, I felt like everyone was so proud of me, and they were just so happy that I gave it a full fair shot.

In the end, what they wanted this year is not what I brought to the table, which is perfectly okay. Their vision is constantly changing. All the girls that made it to training camp here were incredible, and the girls that didn’t make it were incredible. I think that they had a really hard time choosing who they would like to bring to training camp.

Before auditioning this year, I had the opportunity to watch season two of America’s Sweethearts, which featured my audition process in 2024. I decided not to because I didn’t know how it was going to affect me. It was the best decision I could have made because I think that it really would’ve messed with how I was thinking. I was so focused this year, and I really wasn’t watching any TV at all.

When I did watch it, it was an interesting experience to see myself on a show again. I don’t think they portrayed me in a bad light. I do wish that they would’ve shown my highlights, because I had more of them than I had bad moments. Last year’s training camp was extremely positive. It was so healing for me. It was very encouraging, very uplifting. Everyone was so motivated, so excited to be there, and in good spirits. Seeing it in a different light was a little shocking to me. It was so focused on the same storyline of me following in my mom’s footsteps and being micromanaged by her. That’s not what I experienced.

My situation is very niche. It’s not easy to understand that I’ve grown up going to a dance studio, my mom worked there, and I enjoy dance too. People see it as, “You were forced to dance because your mom works there.” I had many opportunities to do anything else. I love to dance. My mom is extremely supportive of whatever I want to do. If I told her I wanted to go be a surgeon tomorrow, she would be over the moon for that.

I’m deciding right now what I would like to do next. I know I still want to dance. I have so many options now, which is very nice. The world is my oyster. The biggest thing I would love to do is dance on Broadway and in the West End in London.

This audition was definitely my last with DCC. I am closing that chapter and opening up a new one. I am so glad that I gave it another shot because I’ve learned so many things about myself. I’ve grown so much these past two years, just from this experience alone. That was enough for me, and now it’s time to move on to the next thing and grow somewhere else.

Originally Appeared on Glamour