Dance Moms

Synopsis

Primarily set in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and later in Los Angeles, California, Dance Moms originally followed the Abby Lee Dance Company's Junior Elite Competition Team of dancers ages six to thirteen as they traveled week after week to various dance competitions, winning awards and preparing for nationals, while at the same time being prepared by Abby Lee Miller to be "professional, employable working dancers." The series depicted the doting mothers as rivals of each other on behalf of their daughters, often arguing with Miller and each other, and sometimes closing ranks against rival teams. New dance performances—which ranged from solos, duets, trios, and group dances—were creatively conceptualized by Miller and her dance instructors every week, with input from the show's producers, while the choreography was done by Miller, her staff, and occasionally a guest choreographer. Various rival dance teams, such as Candy Apple Dance Center, Broadway Dance Academy, and Studio 19, spurred the team's competitiveness. The show's success was often credited to the drama and conflict between Miller and the moms, along with the weekly dances and the close relationships among the girls, as viewers watched them dance and improve their skills.

The show features Miller as an extremely strict dance team coach who, over the series, relied more and more on criticism—sometimes personal—to motivate the girls, with an emphasis on hard work and competition against teammates. Every week on the show, Miller used a pyramid of individual headshots to rank and gave feedback to each girl, which was decided by the previous week's performance, attitude, effort, the behavior of the girl, and the behavior of her mother. Miller had never used a pyramid in her studio before Dance Moms, and when once asked about it, Miller stated, "I've never done that in my life. That has nothing to do with me. That's the show; they came up with that whole process."

In season 5, Miller relocated the team to Los Angeles to help build her reputation on the West Coast, while the team continued to participate in weekly competitions. The focus shifted to include preparation for careers in the acting and music businesses.

During the second half of season 7, several dancers and their mothers left the ALDC to form "The Irreplaceables." Miller left the show several episodes later, followed by the remaining ALDC dancers and mothers.

In July 2018, Miller announced her return for season 8 of Dance Moms. Executive producer Bryan Stinson announced the show would be casting a whole new team, with final callbacks being in September 2018. On January 12, a new team was selected, consisting of eight dancers. A promo for the new season was released in February, revealing that the show would be set around Miller's diagnosis of Burkitt's Lymphoma while returning "back to her roots" with a new team. The season is set in Pittsburgh, in the same studio where the show began in 2011. Season 8 premiered on Lifetime on June 4, 2019. Although Miller and executive producer Bryan Stinson had both announced plans for a ninth season of Dance Moms, the series did not move forward after controversy involving Miller led to her separation from Lifetime.

Cast

Abby Lee Dance Company

Abby Lee Miller is the director of Reign Dance Productions (formerly Maryen Lorrain Dance Studio), which houses the Abby Lee Dance Company, of which she is owner and chief choreographer. During season 7B, Miller left the show because of her pending sentence for committing fraud. As a result, the cast fractured into separate dance teams with separate coaches. She returned for season 8.

Gianna Martello is an instructor for RDP covering all genres of dance, and is also the assistant choreographer for the ALDC Junior Elite Competition team. Martello studied dance under Miller's tutelage through Reign Dance Productions.

Melissa Ziegler-Gisoni is the mother of Maddie Ziegler, age 8 at the start of season one, a lyrical/contemporary and tap dancer, and Mackenzie Ziegler, age 6 at the start of season one, an acro/hip hop dancer and singer (formerly under the stage name Mack Z) from Murrysville, Pennsylvania. Maddie was known to be Abby's favorite student during her time on the show, which caused tension between the other moms and Abby. Maddie and Mackenzie studied dance at Abby Lee Miller's studio through Reign Dance Productions from the early ages of four and two, respectively. They were original cast members of the show and left during season six.

Christi Lukasiak is the mother of Chloe Lukasiak, age 9 at the start of season one, a lyrical/contemporary and ballet dancer from Mars, Pennsylvania. Chloe began dancing at the Abby Lee Miller Dance Company at age two. They were original cast members of the show but left the show following the season four finale. They returned to guest star for the season 7A finale and season 7B before leaving the show once again following the season seven finale.

Holly Hatcher-Frazier is the mother of Nia Frazier, age 9 at the start of season one, a contemporary dancer and singer (under the stage name Nia Sioux), from Pittsburgh. Appearing in seven of the eight original seasons, the Fraziers were the show's longest-running cast members. They were original cast members of the show and left the ALDC during season 7 to form "The Irreplaceables". They officially departed the show following the finale.

Kelly Hyland is the mother of Brooke Hyland, age 13 at the start of season one, and the oldest dancer of the original group, an acro/contemporary dancer and singer, and Paige Hyland, age 10 at the start of season one, an acro/jazz dancer and model from Murrysville. Kelly had been a dancer at ALDC when she was young, and was even taught by Abby herself before quitting to become a cheerleader. Brooke and Paige began dancing at Miller's studio at age 3. The Hylands were original cast members, but left the show in the middle of season four following a physical altercation between Kelly and Abby, and even some altercations with imprisonment and jail time.

Rival studios

Candy Apples Dance Center (Canton, Ohio) is owned and operated by Cathy Nesbitt-Stein, the mother of Vivi-Anne, who danced with the ALDC in season 1. The CADC has been the main rival of the ALDC throughout seasons 1–5 along with season 7. Over the five seasons of Dance Moms, show producers added several dancers who were well known in the dance competition world and/or had auditioned for Dance Moms in the past, making the "Candy Apples" a team that existed only for television (the real-life Candy Apple team ceased to be featured on the show). Partway through season 5, the CADC was completely recast for one week (see below).

Studio Bleu Dance Center (Ashburn, Virginia) is coached by Gloria Hampton, the mother of Kaeli, who danced with the ALDC as a guest team member briefly in season 3. Studio Bleu's competition team, which the ALDC competed against several times, was portrayed as a respected and formidable opponent in several episodes.

Murrieta Dance Project (Murrieta, California) is owned and operated by Erin Babbs, who has been an occasional guest choreographer for the CADC in seasons 4 and 5. MDP competed against the ALDC several times in season 5. In season 7, Chloe Lukasiak joined MDP and danced with the team for a short period of time before leaving MDP to join "The Irreplaceables".

Broadway Dance Academy (Fenton, Michigan) is owned and operated by Jeanette Cota, the mother of Ava, who guest starred as part of the ALDC "Select Team" in season 4. The real BDA team competed against the ALDC several times in season 5 before leaving the show (except for Ava) to be replaced on the TV team by the four dancers from the former CADC team.

Beginning with the start of season 5.5, BDA competed as "Candy Apples" for one week, after which they resumed using their actual name. This team (consisting of Haley Huelsman, Tessa Wilkinson, Chloe Smith, Ashtin Roth, and Ava) won the Overall Group competition, handing the ALDC their first Nationals loss in the group overall category.

Studio 19 Dance Complex (Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania) is owned and operated by Tammy Croftcheck & Katie Watts. Studio 19 has been the main rival of the ALDC for Season 8.

Episodes

Notes

Controversy and criticism

Several episodes featured controversial costume choices made by Miller. Due to heavy criticism, the season 2 episode "Topless Showgirls", which aired on March 6, 2012, has been removed from rotation due to complaints from audiences and some of the parents. The episode features the young dancers performing a burlesque-style routine and wearing sequined, flesh-toned bra tops and tights in an effort to make them appear nude. Miller defends her costume choice, saying, "Everyone in the industry knows the girls are completely covered and everything's harmless." Lifetime confirmed pulling the episode. The episode is not included on the season's DVD and is not available on any streaming services.

Kelly Hyland was arrested in early January 2014 on charges of assaulting Miller during a dispute backstage at a dance competition held in New York City during filming for the show's fourth season in November 2013. Hyland appeared in court with Miller on January 21, 2014, and pleaded "not guilty". Former Dance Moms Star Christi Lukasiak later revealed that Miller had accused Hyland's fifteen-year-old daughter, Brooke Hyland, of being on drugs. On a January 29 appearance on The View, Miller announced that Hyland and her daughters Brooke and Paige Hyland were no longer contracted with and would no longer appear on Dance Moms.

On October 13, 2015, Abby Lee Miller was indicted in Pittsburgh on charges of concealing her income from her performances on the show in 2012 and 2013. She was charged with bankruptcy fraud, concealment of bankruptcy assets, and false bankruptcy declarations in hiding some $755,000. In June 2016, Miller pled guilty to the charges, and entered a plea deal with the IRS. In May 2017, Miller was sentenced to one year and a day in prison (paroled after 8.5 months), followed by two years of supervised release.

On June 2, 2020, Miller posted a black square to Instagram on Blackout Tuesday. This caused Adriana Smith, the mother of Dance Moms season 8 dancer Kamryn, to share on Instagram that she and her daughter left the show because of their experience with Miller. "A statement from her that sticks in my mind to this day during my time on DMS8 is 'I know you grew up in the HOOD with only a box of 8 crayons, but I grew up in the Country Club with a box of 64—don't be stupid,'" Smith wrote on Instagram. The following day, on June 3, 2020, another Dance Moms mother, Camille Bridges, accused Miller of treating her daughter Camryn differently because of her race and that the environment was "extremely hostile". She told E! News via e-mail that Miller "tried to spin Camryn as being the poor one and there on scholarship. She would say the most terrible things on camera. It was a traumatic experience that I wish on no one." Miller has since deleted her Black Lives Matter post and on June 4, 2020, she issued an apology to "Kamryn, Adriana, and anyone else I've hurt." It was announced that on June 5, 2020, Lifetime decided to sever ties with Miller as a result of the allegations of the racist remarks she made. The network canceled the Abby's Virtual Dance-Off competition reality series announced in April.

Spin-offs, tours, and podcasts

The first Dance Moms spin-off series, Dance Moms: Miami, set in Miami, Florida, at Victor Smalley and Angel Armas' Stars Dance Studio, premiered on April 3, 2012, but was cancelled in September 2012 after one season.

A sister program titled Abby's Ultimate Dance Competition followed Miller and other dance professionals judging twelve young dancers aged 6–13 years on different styles of dance, hoping to find the most versatile dancer of the group. The series premiered on October 9, 2012, and ran for two seasons. Ray, Siwa, and Hilliker made their debuts on the show before joining the ALDC Elite Team on Dance Moms. On June 24, 2014, another sister program premiered, titled Abby's Studio Rescue. The series followed Miller as she assisted various dance studios across the United States, improving them in areas such as choreography, layout and staffing. A single season of the show was produced.

In July 2014, another spin-off titled Raising Asia starred Asia Monet Ray, a guest team member for several episodes of the third season of Dance Moms. The show followed Ray, her model mom, bodybuilder dad, and younger sister Bella Blu, helping Asia to pursue her dreams of fame in show business.

A British version of Dance Moms titled Dance Mums with Jennifer Ellison premiered on October 20, 2014, and ran for two seasons. Jennifer Ellison hosted the series, set at her Liverpool dance school, Jelli Studios. In 2016, it was reported that Ellen DeGeneres was developing a film based on Dance Moms, though nothing ever came to fruition. In 2018, the Irreplaceables (excluding the Bridges and Fraziers) embarked on the Irreplaceables Tour. The tour included masterclasses, dances, meet & greets, and fan Q&As.

In April 2020, it was announced that another spin-off, Abby's Virtual Dance-Off, would be set to debut in mid-2020. The 12-episode show would consist of taped submissions from dance contestants, with Miller judging via video conference, in keeping with social distancing practiced during the coronavirus pandemic. However, Lifetime pulled the show on June 5, 2020, and cut all ties with Miller after former cast members Camille Bridges and Adriana Smith accused Miller of using racist and condescending language towards their daughters during previous seasons of Dance Moms.

Reunion special and season nine

On November 1, 2023, Lifetime announced a reunion special titled Dance Moms: The Reunion, which premiered on May 1, 2024. The reunion features Brooke and Paige Hyland, Chloe Lukasiak, Kendall Vertes, Kalani Hilliker, and JoJo Siwa, as well as their respective mothers, Kelly Hyland, Christi Lukasiak (who makes a short, virtual cameo appearance), Jill Vertes, Kira Girard, and Jessalyn Siwa.

Controversially, original cast members Maddie and Mackenzie Ziegler and Nia Frazier did not participate in the reunion, nor did their mothers, Melissa Gisoni and Holly Frazier. This was discussed on the reunion episode and criticised by some cast members. Notably, Jojo Siwa stated, "Them not being here is kinda like, 'let me erase my past, pretend it never happened, shove it down the drain,' when it's like, that's why you are who you are." Nia Frazier stated publicly on her TikTok account why she didn't choose to appear in the episode. "The reason is quite simple. I just didn't want to do it. Some people think it was because I had sorority stuff. Nope, I didn't. Some people think it's because I'm in school. I am in school, but it wouldn't have been an issue. I just didn't want to do it. That's a good enough answer, and that's a good enough reason."

Miller and executive producer Brian Stinson have teased a season nine of Dance Moms. Miller has stated that Kendall Vertes, Kalani Hilliker, and JoJo Siwa could appear on the upcoming season. It has since been stated that Miller's rendition of season nine and the official season nine are two separate shows.

On April 17, 2024, Christi Lukasiak announced via Instagram post that following the premiere of the reunion special, she is hosting her own show, titled Dance Moms: Epic Showdowns.