In March of 2005, OrwellProject.com interviewed Cycle 4’s Sarah Dankelman-Dore following her appearance on the show. The interview discusses the girls in which she clashed, whether she’d do it all over again and her plans for the future. Here is the text from the article (written by “Admin”):
Exclusive Interview With Sarah From American’s Next Top Model
How did you come to be on America’s Next Top Model?
Sarah: “I decided to go and audition in NY. I received a call back for the semi finals and managed to get on the show. It is something I have wanted to do for a couple of years.”
Have you always wanted to be a model?
Sarah: “Friends and family have always pushed me to do it. I have a love for the fashion and modeling world.”
How do you think your ANTM experience will change your future?
Sarah: “I am hoping for a positive change. I worked hard to get there so I believe something will work out.”
What advice would you give to aspiring models trying out for the next season of ANTM?
Sarah: “Learn your trade. Practice posses, watch the style network and don’t go in unprepared. There wasn’t a lot of coaching so make sure you know what to do.”
Is there anything you saw that your competition did well or something you learned not to do because of another example?
Sarah: “I did a pretty good job. At the second photo shoot I was having a bad day, I wish I had stayed a little more focused. It wasn’t easy to walk in front of Tyra and being o n TV.”
Knowing what you know now, would you do it all again?
Sarah: “Yes. I would do it again and take all the knowledge I learned from the show.”
Sometimes it’s hard to become friends with the competitors, did you find that true? If so, which contestant did you clash with most and why?
Sarah: “I didn’t clash with the girls. I made some friends such as Noelle and Rebecca, and hopefully we will work together down the road.”
What was your favorite part of the show?
Sarah: “I enjoyed the photo shoots, just getting a chance to have your makeup done really makes you feel like a princess.”
Do you normally watch Reality shows?
Sarah: “I love Reality TV! I like the Real World.”
What are your future plans?
Sarah: “I am pursuing representation but laying low currently due to my contractual agreement. I would like to do some commercial print work in the NY area. Just look for me o n billboards! “
To learn more about Cycle 4‘s Sarah Dankleman-Dore, visit her bio page here.
Source: OrwellProject.com
Photo: CW
In March of 2005, Reality Shack interviewed Cycle 4’s Sarah Dankelman-Dore following her appearance on the show. The interview discusses her runway walk, photo shoot challenges and her plans for pursuing modeling in the future. Here is the text from the article (written by Cori Linder):
Interview with Sarah from “America’s Next Top Model” Cycle 4
Her runway walk didn’t impress Miss J (or anybody else); but Sarah, a waitress from Baltimore and the second girl eliminated from the fourth cycle of AMERICA’S NEXT TOP MODEL, didn’t let a walking style prevent her from making one more step towards her goal as a model.
You were chosen among thousands of girls to appear on the show. What do you think the judges saw in you?
I think it was a combination of strong facial features and an outgoing, fun personality. They saw that I was somebody who was easy to work with and really interested in pursuing the industry.
You had some problems with your runway walk, and the girls tried to help you improve it. Do you think their motives were sincere?
Honestly, I really think they were sincere. What people in America don’t see at home is that we all get really close on the show and care about each other. I mean, we talk all day and night and get to know each other. We care about one another, and I don’t believe that in this season there are any backstabbers. Everybody is really genuine.
At the 1-800-FLOWERS.com shoot, you didn’t want to give out tips to help the other girls. Was this because you didn’t want to give them a competitive edge, or is it just because you plain didn’t like them?
It had more to do with everybody having to go into the shoot without knowing what to expect. I mean, I had no idea what to expect before I took my pictures. Because this is a competition, it’s only fair that each girl experience the same thing. This is different than somebody helping me with my walk.
During the judging, Rebecca collapsed. Did you know about her condition beforehand? Do you think this will hinder her later on in the competition?
Some of the girls and I definitely knew about her condition and we had discussed it earlier. As I said, we were a close group and talked all day and night for weeks. It’s actually a good thing we knew because when the paramedics arrived, we could share the information with them. I don’t think her condition will hinder her at all.
Tyra said, “We feel you melting. We see such a strong face. We wonder if this girl can see her loveliness, if she believes in it…” What would you tell her?
I honestly think it was very presumptuous of her to say that. When I heard it, I thought it was ridiculous, and so did the other girls. I do believe in myself. I mean, I moved 200 miles away to pursue this career because I believed in myself. It’s interesting; I always thought Tyra was a model, not a psychiatrist.
In your closing statement, you said you had more natural talent than the other girls but felt once again you weren’t good enough. Have you changed your opinion about yourself since the show?
It was actually shocking to hear Tyra say that, and it hurt my feelings. I do believe I have more natural talent than some of the others. With the girls, like Michelle and Brittany, I felt that the show was trying to pull talent out of them. As for me saying that I didn’t feel good enough…A lot of things I said were taken out of context. I actually do believe in myself.
What’s next for you? Are you still going to pursue modeling?
Absolutely. I see this show as the biggest stepping stone for my career. I’m living in this area and starting to make connections.
Miss J tried to help you on your runway walk. What would you tell him about his walk?
Miss J has a fabulous walk and is the best teacher out there. He was the only one to actually sit down and talk with us on a conversational level for almost 4 hours because he really wanted to help us. He was just very personal that way.
To learn more about Cycle 4‘s Sarah Dankleman-Dore, visit her bio page here.
Source: Realityshack.com
Photo: CW
In March of 2005, Reality News Online interviewed Cycle 4’s Sarah Dankelman-Dore following her appearance on the show. The interview discusses her past modeling work, her audition experience and feelings regarding her elimination. Here is the text from the article (written by Phil Kural):
“People Got To Learn Nothing About Me” — An Interview with America’s Next Top Model 4′s Sarah
Sarah was the second girl eliminated this season on America’s Next Top Model. What did she think of the experience? How many people cared when Michelle “came out?” Why was Sarah eliminated? Phil Kural tackles all these questions right here!
Like I said last week, I love interviewing the first few girls eliminated, since they don’t mind dishing the dirt. Just like Brita, Sarah had some gripes, and in my mind, they were pretty justified. Find out right now why she applied, what she thought of her walk, and what’s in her future.
RealityNewsOnline: Why did you originally audition for the show? Did you send in a tape or attend an open casting call?
Sarah: I had went to an open call in NYC. It had always been a dream of mine to be a model, so I figured ‘what the heck,’ and here I am!
RNO: What do you think you had that made you stand out from the rest of the girls?
Sarah: It was a mix of look and personality. I think the judges like my natural look, and I wasn’t shy about who I was. I think they figured I would be good for reality TV.
RNO: Michelle had said that she was scared to tell the girls she was gay for fear of people judging her. Did anyone seem to have a problem with it?
Sarah: No, nobody had a problem with it. I mean, in today’s society, it’s not a shock if someone is gay like it was years ago. When we first heard that she had this “big secret,” some of us thought she was going to say she used to be a man. Now THAT would have been entertaining! But no, it was no big deal at all.
RNO: When you were eliminated, you had said that you had more talent than some of the other girls, Brittany in particular. From what we were shown, though, you do realize that your walk was one of the worst, right?
Sarah: Basically, the two-second phrase that I said was taken out of context. First, I said I had more natural talent than some of the other girls. I mean, seriously, all the girls’ walks sucked. We had to walk about 25 times before the judges, and you only got to see one time. I think that all the girls had potential to be great models, but I feel that stripped down, and without all the makeup, I was one of the most natural beauties there.
RNO: Did you have any kind of modeling experience before you were on the show?
Sarah: I had done some little things in the past. I had modeled in Stuff magazine and did a few catalogs and minor runway shows. Nothing all that extravagant though.
RNO: How long after Rebecca collapsed did it take for the panel to continue with judging? Was Noelle the only one that knew of Rebecca’s condition prior to the incident?
Sarah: It took about four hours for everything to start up again. I mean, you have to realize that the girl went to the hospital and came home! The only girls I think that knew about her condition were Noelle, Lluvy, Kahlen, and myself. Us five girls were pretty close.
RNO: In retrospect, is there anything you could have done to stay around longer?
Sarah: You know, I think I did okay! Yes, I know that on TV I might have looked a little bad, but once again, you don’t get to see everything. The one thing I will say, and this is advice to girls that apply in the future, is be yourself. Know who you are and exude confidence. If you have any bit of doubt in you, the judges will see it and eat you alive.
RNO: Most of the girls I have interviewed from seasons past have said they knew when they were going to be eliminated. Did you know it was going to be you, or were you blindsided?
Sarah: Oh, I knew it was me going home. Before the judging began, I didn’t think it was going to be me, but when they were doing their evaluations, they had nothing nice to say to me, so I knew it was going to be me going home. You have to prepare yourself so that you don’t turn into a mess when you are eliminated.
RNO: Do you think it was fair that Rebecca got to pick five girls to share in her reward, when some of those that had the best walks weren’t rewarded?
Sarah: It was absolutely fair. It’s a reality TV show, and they are all about the drama. Progress should be rewarded, I agree, but Rebecca could have chosen any five girls, so I didn’t feel bad.
RNO: Knowing what you do now, when it comes to modeling and the industry, do you still have a desire to be involved with it?
Sarah: Absolutely. I moved to NYC from Baltimore a few years ago in order to follow my dream, so my goal is to use the show as a stepping stone into a modeling career.
RNO: What was the reason the judges gave you for your elimination? On TV, it was very unclear as to why you were being let go.
Sarah: They told me it was a confidence issue. I mean, I had a bad walk, that was pretty apparent, but we were getting no feedback. I doubt that Tyra Banks was born onto a runway. She had to practice, and she got feedback. When it came to telling us what was wrong, they had no problem doing it. However, there was no advice on how to get better!
RNO: Was it a shock to you that Brita was the first girl eliminated, especially since Brandy was so hard to work with on the first shoot?
Sarah: Oh, I was shocked! As were most of the other girls. Brita was a beautiful girl, and how Brandy got to stay before her I’ll never know. They told Brita she wasn’t photogenic, which is crap. I’ve seen Brita’s portfolio and the girl is amazing. Her body is rock solid muscle. Her clothes, makeup and pose in her photograph should all be blamed on the crew. They knew they were setting her up for failure. That girl is VERY photogenic, and to compare to someone as mediocre and bitchy as Brandy is just wrong.
RNO: Who is your pick to win the competition now that you have been eliminated?
Sarah: You know, I have no clue. The judges confuse me all the time with what they are looking for. Brita going home first and me leaving second proves that. I have no clue who will be eliminated next.
RNO: Do you feel that you were edited fairly, or was there another side of Sarah that the viewer didn’t get to see?
Sarah: America didn’t even really get to know me! I feel like I was only shown for like two seconds. I mean, I can’t say that I was edited poorly, but it wasn’t accurate either. There is only so much you can show or portray on TV, and I just feel like enough of me wasn’t shown.
RNO: What are your plans now? Do you want to continue on the modeling path or are your ready to pursue something new?
Sarah: Well, like I said, I do plan on using the show as a stepping stone. A few people have asked me about acting, and I love being in front of the camera, so I guess we’ll see where it all leads to!
RNO: Thanks again, Sarah!
To learn more about Cycle 4‘s Sarah Dankleman-Dore, visit her bio page here.
Source: RealityNewsOnline.com
Photo: CW
In May of 2005, Baltimore City Paper interviewed Cycle 4’s Sarah Dankelman-Dore following her appearance on the show. The interview discusses an average day on the show, the girls in the house and what panel was like. Here is the text from the article (written by Anna Ditkoff):
The producers, designers, and judges on UPN’s reality TV hit America’s Next Top Model take beautiful, bubbly girls and make them cry, dress them up in silly outfits, tell them they’re fat at 120 pounds, and turn them into empty shells on which to hang clothes. But this season Baltimoreans had even more reason to tune in: One of our own was in line for the title. Sarah Dankelman, a 22-year-old former makeup artist and current waitress/bartender who grew up in Hamilton before moving to Parkville, strutted onto our TV screens filled with the brash confidence often associated with Mobtown. Plenty of harsh comments from the panel of judges soon broke her down; she was the second girl cut after being told by supermodel/host/series co-creator Tyra Banks that she had melted. With the ANTM season finale looming on May 18, Dankelman got on the phone from her new modeling base of operations in New Jersey and—with help from Taffy Miller, an account representative at mPRm Public Relations, the company that handles publicity for the contestants, who listened in—spilled what it’s really like to try to be fierce on national television.
City Paper: How did you get on the show?
Sarah Dankelman: I went and auditioned in New York at the open call. It sucked, actually. I was there for 12 hours or something ridiculous like that. There were over 1,000 girls there. It was a lot of sitting and waiting, but it was worth it anyway.
CP: Had you watched past seasons of America’s Next Top Model?
SD: A little bit. That’s how I got interested in the show. But it’s not like I studied the past seasons or anything like that.
CP: Were you concerned about being on reality TV?
SD: Not really. I’m kind of an extrovert. I don’t mind the attention.
CP: What was an average day on the show like?
SD: A lot of waiting around, up very early in the morning, and we went to bed very, very late at night. Not a lot of people see that or understand that, but we went to bed at, like, 2 a.m. every morning and got up at, like, 5 a.m., so it was long days and early mornings. The photo shoots took all day. They were very long, especially in the beginning, when it was, like, 14 girls. It was little bursts of activity and then a lot of waiting.
CP: How did you guys entertain yourselves during your downtime?
SD: We would all just kind of laugh and talk about our lives back at home and get to know each other and, you know, play games and stuff.
CP: What kind of games?
SD: Um, I don’t know, like, board games.
CP: It seems like the contestants are cut off from the rest of the world. How controlled were your movements? Did you feel like a prisoner?
SD: No, not really. First of all, we were hanging out all together, so we were having a good time. They fed us and took care of us and stuff. So, no, it felt like just being a model.
CP: What were the other girls like?
SD: For the most part, I got along with all of them. I think they did a really good job picking a cast that got along really well. Everybody had some little things that were good and bad, but for the most part I really liked everybody.
CP: If I name the girls will you give a brief impression of each of them?
SD: Uh, sure.
CP: Brittany.
SD: Over the top. Everything, the way she talked, the way she dresses, with her makeup, her hair, everything. Everything she did or said was just out of control, way over the top.
CP: Christina.
SD: Kindhearted. Very, very sweet. Very, very, very sweet. We got along very well.
CP: Kahlen.
SD: Hysterical. She was the funniest person I’ve ever met. She cracks me up. I loved hanging out with her. I miss her already.
CP: Keenyah.
SD: Who?
CP: Keenyah.
SD: Hmmmmm, I don’t know. I didn’t really get close with Keenyah. I want to say she’s a bit of a follower. She kind of stuck to Brittany and that was it. She just did everything Brittany did and said everything Brittany said and went everywhere Brittany went.
CP: What about Michelle?
SD: Well, let’s see, Michelle. I think she’s also very immature, very standoffish. Um, attention hungry.
CP: Was it a big deal when she came out as bisexual?
SD: Not to me. I don’t care what that girl does in her private life. I couldn’t care less. For her to say that she’s scared to come out of the closet because she’s afraid that people will judge her, and then she does it on national television—I mean, come on, give me a break.
CP: Naima.
SD: There’s something about Naima that I just could not stand. Maybe it was just the way she talked. I don’t know, but [she] just seemed so fake to me. I mean we got along I guess, a little bit, talked and stuff, but she’s probably one person I won’t keep in touch with.
CP: Tatiana.
SD: She doesn’t really stand out in the crowd too much, kind of kept to herself. Sometimes she just had a habit of putting her foot in her mouth.When Brita got cut, we were all kind of waiting around in the room for Brita to pack up her stuff before we could go back into the loft, and I think she said something along the lines of, “I hope she hurries up because I’m hungry.” Meanwhile, this poor girl just got kicked off the show and she’s in there packing her bags, you know? But she always had the best intentions.
CP: And what about Tiffany?
SD:Tiffany was awesome. To be classified as, like, the bitch, you know she really wasn’t. You could tell she was trying really hard to work on her attitude. I think she definitely deserved to be there—she was gorgeous—but I just don’t know if she could ever shake off her past and kind of move on from it, shake that ghetto-fabulous girl.
CP: Do you think the girls were portrayed differently on the show than they are in real life, yourself included?
SD: Obviously when you see a few seconds of somebody’s life you aren’t going to get an accurate portrayal of who they really are.
CP: You got some flack on the show for your runway walk. How is walking on a runway different from walking in general?
SD: I guess it’s just kind of like your attitude. I mean, when you’re walking on the street you’re not trying to sell a $50,000 dress.
CP: Some of the situations seemed very contrived. Do you feel that posing in a stadium or at a Kmart helped you learn how to walk on the runway?
SD: Not at all. Nobody taught me anything. They just put us in some God-awful shoes and told us to walk. I mean, if that’s teaching or learning, I have no idea how. I felt really pissed off actually, because past seasons the other girls had one-on-one actual direction, and meanwhile they just make us look like idiots and then . . .
Taffy Miller: Um, Sarah, let’s keep it positive, OK? Thanks.
SD: (laughs) Uh, I don’t know. No, I don’t feel like I learned anything.
CP: What were the photo shoots like?
SD: The photo shoots were really awesome. We had really, really good makeup teams and hair teams and stylists. They made us all look amazing. They were long, long days, but it was worth it. The pictures all came out gorgeous. I mean, that’s what we’re all there to do is be models, so that was the best part.
CP: What were the judging panels like?
SD: They were long. You only see a little bit of it on TV, but it was a long day and very nerve-racking, but I only had to go through two.
CP: Can Janice Dickinson smell fear?
SD: I don’t think so. Everybody thinks she’s so horrible, but she’s really not that bad. It’s kind of her job to get up there and hassle us.
CP: Were you able to get to know Tyra Banks at all?
SD: No.
CP: Not at all?
SD: No.
CP: Were you surprised when you were eliminated?
SD: I was a little. I kind of had a feeling after the judging panel before the elimination that I was going to go. I was surprised, yeah. I thought that I would make it a little further than that.
CP: Are there things you wished you had done differently?
SD: Yes. I guess just maybe practice walking more or posing in the mirror.
CP: There’s been some backlash against you after you left the show. What’s it like being judged by so many strangers?
SD: It kind of makes me laugh a little just because people don’t know me, like, at all, you know? But I just take it with a grain of salt, because the only people’s opinions that really matter to me are modeling agents. I kind of prepared myself for that. I knew that it wasn’t going to be all hugs and kisses.
CP: And I guess it didn’t help that you said there are “5 million fat girls sitting at home online in chat rooms talking shit about me” in an interview on TVRules.net. Do you regret saying that?
SD: No. I mean, all these imperfect people want to, like, get online and hide behind their computers and, you know, judge us. I just think it’s ridiculous.
CP: Have you been watching the show?
SD: Yeah. It’s cool. It’s funny to watch it, like, “I know all these people.” It’s weird. I like being able to root for my favorites and see the drama. Watching yourself on TV, it’s a little weird. I couldn’t believe my posture. I was like, “Oh, my God, sit up straight.” It was horrible.
CP: Who of the remaining girls do you think should be America’s Next Top Model?
SD: I don’t want to answer that. I like them all. I wish everybody the same amount of luck.
CP: Do you never want to hear the word “fierce” again?
SD: Yes, absolutely. That’s funny, because all my friends say that to me all the time. It makes me crazy.
To learn more about Cycle 4‘s Sarah Dankleman-Dore, visit her bio page here.
Source: CityPaper.com
Photo: Mel Guapo
