'Gilmore Girls' Hints At A 'Bunheads' Crossover

In the months leading up to the highly-anticipated Gilmore Girls revival on Netflix, fans have been speculating about anything and everything that could happen on A Year In The Life. Although Amy Sherman-Palladino's ballet series Bunheads was short-lived and seriously underrated, many Gilmore viewers (including this one) are huge fans. Emily Gilmore (uh, I mean Kelly Bishop) starred in Bunheads alongside Sutton Foster and Stacey Oristano — both of whom have been announced as guest stars on A Year In The Life. Naturally, this has sparked hope that there will be some sort of crossover between Bunheads and Gilmore Girls in the revival. On Nov. 19, dancer and Bunheads star Julia Goldani Telles revealed that she'll appear on Gilmore Girls and now I'm starting to think that a crossover isn't as far-fetched as I once believed.

Aside from Telles' posts on Instagram and Twitter, there has been no official announcement regarding her Gilmore Girls role — as of Nov. 22, it's not even listed on her IMDb page. I'm sure that showrunners are aware of the rampant speculation surrounding the revival, so I have to wonder if they kept Telles' involvement under wraps in order to quell rumors that viewers will get the Bunheads crossover that so many of us desperately want. After all, nothing beats an amazing surprise.

After watching the revival's trailer approximately 100 times, it definitely appears that ballet will play an important role in at least one episode — after all, ballerinas can be spotted twice during the short, fast-paced trailer. They're shown dancing at Miss Patty's, but it's notable that the dancers in the trailer are older than the wee ones depicted in the original series. This has prompted me to speculate that Sutton Foster's character, a struggling actress whose big break is the Stars Hollow Musical, has taken on a teaching role at Miss Patty's and will train more serious teenage dancers in the revival. In an interview with Vulture, Foster confirmed that her scenes take place at Miss Patty's.

Details about Oristano's role are also scarce, but Telles' involvement in the revival is what really makes me think there's crossover potential. Although Oristano starred on Bunheads, she didn't play a dancer — but Telles was cast on the series (her very first acting role) largely because of her strong ballet background.

Before being sidelined due to an injury, Telles trained at prestigious dance academies including The School of American Ballet in New York City and was prominently featured in ballets including Sleeping Beauty, Nutcracker, Don Quixote and Swan Lake — which is no easy feat in New York City's incredibly competitive ballet world. Since there are definitely multiple ballet scenes in A Year In The Life, I think it's safe to assume that Telles will have the opportunity to show off her acting and dancing chops. Check out her amazing dancing in this scene from Bunheads:

If Telles looks familiar, it's because she currently stars as Whitney Solloway on Showtime's The Affair — and her widely-praised performance proves the 21-year-old is a woman of many talents. So, not to get selfish or anything, but I really hope Telles gets plenty of screentime in the revival. Although we don't know what brought Foster, Oristano, or Telles' characters to Stars Hollow, I'm beginning to wonder if there's been some sort of dance renaissance in the town over the past 10 years. Luckily, we don't have to wait much longer to find out.

Image: Netflix