Cardi B Is The Only One Allowed To Have Acrylics In Ballet Class
Much of the rapper
Cardi B’s early success might be traced to the VH1 reality series
Love & Hip Hop: New York, which brought her singular personality to crowds around the nation. Her drive and undeniable flow have brought from that point to the best of the charts, nailing hit immediately after hit, from “Bodak Yellow” to the slickest song of the summer, “
WAP.” Right now, at the height of her game, she’s making her return to the small screen — the smallest screen, in fact.
Cardi B launched her new, eight-episode reality series
Cardi Tries on Wednesday (December 17). As its title suggests, the show will follow the rap star as she challenges herself
Simple Life-style with sports, stunt vehicle racing, sushi-slinging — basically, anything she hasn’t tried before. The initial episode takes Cardi to a dance school in Los Angeles helmed by the legendary actress and choreographer Debbie Allen, where she takes a spin (and a
plié) at ballet class. "Have you done ballet before?" Allen asks Cardi at one point, to which the rapper responds, "I used to be a stripper.”
Hilarity ensues from then on, with a lot of the traditional Cardi-isms fans have come to expect from the Grammy-winning artist. To make our minds and souls for new episodes airing every Thursday through February 4, MTV News recapped everything we learned watching the initial episode of
Cardi Tries.
Even Cardi B struggles with choreography.
This was a shock to hear! A travesty, even — that Cardi, who singeth of making it drop, from the best, simply can’t dance. I wouldn’t believe it had she not admitted it herself at the outset of the episode. “I got two left feet,” she says. “I don’t have no rhythm.” She’s joined by members from her glam team, including makeup artist Tokyo Stylez and wardrobe stylist Kollin Carter. “She’s not lying about the two left feet,” Carter affirms. “She won’t have rhythm for, like, three weeks. Then the last week is like, rhythm just pops from out of nowhere.”
Ballet shoes feel like condoms on your feet.
That’s how Cardi describes the sensation of slipping her toes into the interchangeable flats backstage at the Debbie Allen Dance Academy, though which of the two is more protective, the shoes or their rubbery counterparts, is unclear. You wouldn’t catch me hitting the subway in those flimsy babies, nuh uh! They don’t have red bottoms — well, in some cases, they could ostensibly be imagined “bloody shoes,” given the medium’s physical strain — nevertheless they’ll do for dance class.
There are apparently no ballet classes in the Bronx.
Well, at least according to Cardi B. Prior to her music career taking off while she signed to Atlantic Records in 2017, Cardi was a stripper, and she remains delighted of that history, even appearing in the 2019 film Hustlers alongside Jennifer Lopez. However it seems she didn’t have much formal training prior to that gig. Once Allen asks if she’s ever used first position — a generic ballet stance where dancer poses with their heels with each other — while working the pole, Cardi responds in kind. “You know, Debbie Allen, I think that there was no ballet class in the Bronx,” she jokes. A fast Google search reveals more than a few.
Ballet class will teach you better French than Emily in Paris.
For real, how much does Emily Cooper actually learn during her internship at Savoir? Yes, I can mention, "Oui," also, girl. By complicated herself with this new experience, Cardi learns a thing or two about another culture, as well. Allen explains that plié means to bend, a translation that serves as an astute name for a move that refers to bending and straightening the knees. “It looks so simple and beautiful,” Cardi says of the move, “but this is complicated as hell!"
Debbie Allen has soft hands.
Storied dance instructor and Grey’s Anatomy star Debbie Allen has mentored the stars of Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom, Hamilton, and beyond; she’s traveled the world as an ambassador of the art, and at 70, she’s still molding its future. Although she also, we discover, has very soft hands, as Cardi points out while the instructor shows her a couple of added generic moves. I wonder what moisturizer she uses!
The only person allowed to have acrylics in ballet class is Cardi B.
Cardi B is usually rocking an extravagant set of acrylic nails, to the point that her nail artist, Jenny Bui, was herself the subject of a Drag Race “Snatch Game” skit. Yet once Cardi arrives at Allen’s studio equipped with royal blue stilettos, the instructor is quick to let her know that it’s simply not practical. You can take an eye out with those things! Fortunately for Cardi, Allen made an exception. "My nails give me a character,” Cardi says. “I could look like a bum, right? Although my nails show that I got money."
Cardi B can (maybe) drive now.
So, it's unclear. A lot of
fuss was made any time it was revealed that Cardi B, who recently paid for her spouse Offset a Lamborghini for his
birthday and has plenty of luxury cars of her own, couldn't drive. Come on, she grew up in the Bronx; what New Yorker
can drive? Nevertheless a look into Episode 2 shows Cardi B hitting the racetrack to take a stunt vehicle for a ride with Michelle Rodriguez of the
Fast & Furious franchise. Seems dangerous — guess we'll have tune in next week to be able to see what happens.
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