by Gina Scarpa

 

Last night, on America’s Next Top Model, the girls were whisked away to Las Vegas where they did a photo shoot with Cirque du Soleil.  Ashley, a dancer, was very excited for the challenge but the judges felt that she ended up falling flat in her photo.  She was told that she has a natural ability to move her body, but that it didn’t translate when she modeled.  She was eliminated from the competition and today, she spoke to RealityWanted about her experiences on the show.

 

Q. Gina, RealityWanted: Was this the first time you’ve tried out for America’s Next Top Model?
A. Ashley: This was definitely the first cycle I’ve ever tried out for.  The height requirements were not for girls 5’7 and under so I knew I didn’t fit.  I had no reservations once I found out it was for girls 5’7 and under.  There was no second question.

 

Q. Gina, RealityWanted: Was it overwhelming to meet Tyra Banks for the first time?
A. Ashley: It was.  There were a lot of tears the first time I met her.  That was when I found out that she had picked me.  I was like, “Wait!  Hold on, go back.”  I felt like I was in the Twilight Zone.  I was trying to bring myself back into reality.  It’s such a strange experience to meet someone who you have looked up to.  Being feet away from touching them, it’s a strange experience.  It was very cool to meet her for the first time and talk to her.

 

Q. Gina, RealityWanted: Going into the challenges on last night’s episode, you must’ve been excited, especially since you’re a dancer.
A. Ashley: I was extremely excited.  I think I was one of the only girls that knew Lil Mama and the Jabawockeez.  I knew exactly who they were and I was psyched to see them.  I have followed them since America’s Best Dance Crew.  I knew some kind of dance challenge was coming.  I didn’t know it was going to be in groups.  Once that happened, that changed things.

 

Q. Gina, RealityWanted: Do you think you would’ve fared better if it was a solo challenge?
A. Ashley: Hands down, I would’ve done better if it was a solo challenge.  I think all of the girls would’ve done very differently.  At the end of the day, you don’t have to worry about other people.  I had to do a lot of changing and rearranging of the movements, making things easier and more elementary, so that the girls could get it.  I would’ve rather worked by myself.  I had to try my best!  It felt like 20 minutes that we had but I think it was an hour.  The time went so quickly.  Everyone was looking at me, thinking I was going to be the best.  I felt pressure because I knew people’s eyes were going to be on me.

 

Q. Gina, RealityWanted: Who stood out to you as your biggest competition?
A. Ashley: The one person who I felt was the most competition was Nicole and I felt that from the very beginning.  I would always tell her that she had a great look and there’s just something about her that was amazing.  I wasn’t really worried about any of the other girls but in terms of competition, she would be the girl in my sights.

 

Q. Gina, RealityWanted: When you found out you were going to Vegas and working with Cirque du Soleil, what was your reaction?
A. Ashley: I was super psyched!  I thought it was gonna be a lot of fun.  We didn’t know that we were going to be working in groups at that point.  When we got there, we were just amazed because we were in Vegas.  It was amazing to get on a plane and just fly anywhere!  It’s just cool.  We didn’t know why we were going there but once we got into the theater and we saw them on the stage, everybody was freaking out.  I thought it was going to be a really amazing photo shoot but I guess not, for me. 

 

Q. Gina, RealityWanted: Looking back at that photo shoot, what do you think you could’ve done better?
A. Ashley: It’s so hard to say because I didn’t feel as though I did that poorly to be eliminated.  I will stand by that until the very end.  I don’t care.  Going into elimination, I didn’t feel scared.  I didn’t feel that way at all because the photo shoot went so quickly and Jay wasn’t really saying anything to us.  He was talking to me, though, telling me to try things and by the middle, I felt like I was on a roll.  I didn’t feel like I was just standing there.  I was moving.  It was a lot harder being in the bottom two and then it was even more of a shock when my name wasn’t called.

 

Q. Gina, RealityWanted: Did being on the show help keep you motivated to pursue modeling?
A. Ashley:  It definitely did!  I’ve been in the performing arts since I was 4 years old, in terms of singing, acting, and dancing.  That’s been my life.  I’m so used to performing and the stage and all of that.  I feel like, now that I was on the show, it made me feel that this is something I want to do.  I might not ever do a runway show or there may be certain things I’m restricted from, I feel I can do whatever I put my mind to.  If I want to stick with this, I think I can.  I’m excited to move forward with modeling.

 

America’s Next Top Model airs Wednesday nights at 8pm ET on the CW.

 

(Image courtesy of the CW)

Follow Gina at twitter.com/ginascarpa

 

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