Victoria Kalina in America's Sweethearts: Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders ; Victoria Kalina poses for a photo in December 2024 in New York City.
Victoria Kalina in America's Sweethearts: Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders ; Victoria Kalina poses for a photo in December 2024 in New York City.
Season 2 of America's Sweethearts: Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders premiered on June 18
The new episodes followed up with former DCC Victoria Kalina, who moved to New York City after leaving the squad
In 2025, she auditioned for the Radio City Rockettes
Victoria Kalina won viewers’ hearts during season 1 of America’s Sweethearts: Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders.
The Netflix docuseries — which premiered its second season on June 18 — follows the legendary professional cheerleading squad from the grueling audition process to the end of the Cowboys' NFL season.
During season 1, Kalina, a fourth-year vet of the team, emerged as one of the show's breakout stars. Throughout America’s Sweethearts, the cheerleader opened up for the first time about her history with depression and an eating disorder, plus her complex relationships with the DCC squad.
Though Kalina often struggled to connect with her fellow teammates, her experiences hit home with fans of the show. Her willingness to be vulnerable even impressed executive producer Greg Whiteley, as he told PEOPLE.
“She did not back away from a single question that was ever asked of her, and, in fact, would go further,” he said. “And I just found her to be incredibly courageous, vulnerable and sort of a perfect documentary subject.”
So what has the dancer been up to since leaving the squad? Here's everything to know about where Victoria Kalina is now.
Who is Victoria Kalina?
Victoria Kalina in November 2024.Victoria Kalina in November 2024.
Victoria Kalina in November 2024.
Born Oct. 27, 1999, and raised in Texas, Kalina is the daughter of Greg and Tina Kalina, the latter of whom was a Dallas Cowboys cheerleader herself in the 1980s.
Kalina had dreams of following in her mother’s footsteps for as long as she could remember, as she told The Times in July 2024. To help make those dreams a reality, her mom began sneaking Kalina into dance classes meant for older children when she was just 2 years old.
“A lot of dancers at that age cry [when they] leave their mommies,” Kalina recalled. “I was like: ‘Bye, Mom!’ I loved it.”
Kalina continued her training throughout her childhood and teenage years, spending 10 years dancing competitively, according to Sports Illustrated. Throughout that time, she also participated in Junior DCC and DCC Dance Academy Camps, according to the organization.
After getting cut from training camp in 2018, Kalina ultimately joined the DCC in 2019, where she remained until 2023. She took a hiatus during the 2021-22 season to deal with her mental health, which she discussed on America's Sweethearts.
“Once Netflix had started filming us ... I wanted to promise myself to be completely me, be completely open to anything,” Kalina told Glamour. “I wanted to promise myself to be fully honest with who I am.”
She continued, “What I’ve learned, and I hope what other people have learned too, is that being your whole self, honestly and truthfully through and through, is going to connect and hit people harder than when you put up a front.”
Why did Victoria Kalina leave the Dallas Cowboys cheerleaders?
Victoria in America's Sweethearts: Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders.Victoria in America's Sweethearts: Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders.
Victoria in America's Sweethearts: Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders.
At the end of America’s Sweethearts season 1, Kalina approached DCC director Kelli Finglass and choreographer Judy Trammell about her future with the team — particularly, if she would be named a group leader for her potential fifth and final season. (Per DCC rules, women can only be on the team for five years total.) But the coaches told Kalina that this wasn't likely.
Ultimately, Kalina decided to not audition for a fifth year with the DCC.
“Yes, I could prove them wrong and yes I would love to, but I don’t need to,” she told the America's Sweethearts cameras. “I know I proved them, like, over and over, time and time again. I don’t need to do it again.”
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Kalina later revealed to Glamour that she had fully intended to come back for a fifth year prior to her meeting and was left feeling "blindsided."
“I was fully ready to step into season five for my veteran year,” she told the magazine. “I had my audition song ready to go. I had my trip planned for choreography. I had everything set and ready. I had my costume designed. It was all on track.”
While it wasn’t the ending she had envisioned for her DCC career, Kalina said she was at peace with her decision to retire.
“Just because my journey wasn’t what I expected or wanted it to be, or because it stopped at a different time than I wanted, doesn’t mean that it wasn’t fantastic,” she told Vanity Fair in 2024.
What did Victoria Kalina do after she retired from the Dallas Cowboys cheerleaders?
Victoria Kalina poses for a photo in July 2024.
Victoria Kalina/ Instagram
Soon after ending her career with the Dallas Cowboys cheerleaders, Kalina revealed that she would be pursuing another dream of hers: becoming a Radio City Rockette. The former cheerleader announced her plans to move to New York and begin training for the auditions in a June 2024 YouTube video.
“I’ve always known that after cheering for the Cowboys I wanted to continue my dance journey in New York City,” Kalina said. She explained that she always "admired" the Rockettes and planned to “just hop in and train my little hiney off.”
By July 2024, Kalina left her childhood home in Texas, moved into an apartment in New York and began training with a former Rockette to prepare for the spring 2025 auditions.
“I didn’t want to [lose my] momentum,” she told Vanity Fair.
Did Victoria Kalina become a Rockette?
Victoria Kalina in April 2025.
Victoria Kalina/ Instagram
Kalina did not become a Radio City Rockette during her first audition. In April 2025, she revealed on Instagram that she was not cast — but wasn't deterred by the news.
"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🤩," she said.
Kalina remains determined to one day grace the stage at Radio City Music Hall.
“Every time I watch them, I get chills, if not cry,” she told The Cut in 2024. “That’s where I want to be.”
Where is Victoria Kalina now?
Victoria Kalina poses for a photo in July 2024.Victoria Kalina poses for a photo in July 2024.
Victoria Kalina poses for a photo in July 2024.
Despite not making the Rockettes in the spring of 2025, Kalina is staying in N.Y.C. and continuing her training.
“✨SPECTACULAR✨ If I had to give a word for the past 10 months living in my dream city - that would be it," she wrote on Instagram in April. "Spectacular moments, spectacular friends and people all around, spectacular dancing and a spectacular experience to keep the momentum going🎄🫶🏼."
In addition to her dance training for the Rockettes, Kalina teaches dance classes and private lessons at Ripley-Grier Studios, per The Cut. She also fills her time with classes and workshops for herself, either at Steps on Broadway and Broadway Dance Center, as she told Dance Spirit in 2024.
While Kalina hasn't yet earned a spot in the Rockettes’ famous kickline, she is still auditioning elsewhere — for Broadway shows or other productions that need a dancer, as she told Vanity Fair.
“I feel as though I am right where I am supposed to be,” Kalina told Glamour. “New York City and everything that has come together so far has been just so smooth. It’s meant to be.”