Law Mom

Luna, I think I hear you saying that dance is a bad career choice because it doesn't offer much money or fame, but most professional dancers don't choose it for those reasons. They choose a dance career because they love to dance. No, there aren't a lot of dancers who are household names but that doesn't matter to them. It beats having an office job!

I thought there was a new maturity level in Chloe's dancing that was nice to see. She is definitely way ahead of the curve for her age, and I say that as someone who has seen literally thousands of competition dances. Good for her!

OMG, Mr. Sheffield retired from Broadway to the Hamptons! I bet the Nanny would put Victoria in her place! So many tired cliches this week. The sauna lockin,the puddle electrocution, the mama hallucination conversation. I'm hating the Louise story and the clueless David story, which doesn't leave me with much.

I laughed when the file was a manila folder with 12 pieces of paper in it. That would be epic. Something the Season 1 writers would do. Not this crew. No, Emily never killed anyone directly. That's been a key part of her character, that she does what she needs to so that karma can do its job. It's ridiculous to pin the deaths of Amanda, Declan, etc. on her. Is it her fault that Amanda murdered Frank to protect Emily's cover way back in Season 1? Emily didn't ask her to do that. So yes, lots of people have died, but Emily is not to blame. Did Emily seriously think Charlotte was going to help her out? She tried to kill her like four days ago! Maybe the crescent tattoo guy was hired by David, first to almost run him over and thus prove to Victoria that he still has enemies, and then to keep an eye on stupid Charlotte. The voiceover referencing "evil" could have been about Charlotte, not the guy. Probably not tho. Boy, just when I thought Daniel and Margaux were getting along and having a mature, adult relationship, he screws Louise and then is so RUDE to Margaux. Oh my God what a douche. I hate him. I hope Louise stabs him with an ice pick. I'm still mulling over the David thing. I feel that with each new person he talks, to--Jack, Nolan--he's kind of testing them, giving them an opportunity to speak up. When Jack didn't say anything, David made a point of saying he was a good man. What did that mean? That he thanks him for protecting his daughter's secret? Or was it sarcasm, as in I know you are lying? And Nolan tried to warn him that something was going on, is he just going to ignore that? Maybe Nolan did tell him but they decided to keep it a secret from Emily for now and next week's fight is just for show. "Clarke blocking" for the win.

I think the problem we are having with Victoria is that she's gone from a character we love to hate to one we just hate. Conrad had that quality in spades and that's why we all miss him. I'm convinced David has a plan. At least it's more fun watching the show if you believe that. While it is possible that we could find out that Louise has a carefully planned long-term legit revenge scheme, I don't think the actress who plays her knows about it yet because she is definitely playing her as plain crazy. When Daniel agrees with her she's sweet and smiley, but the second he says no, her expression quickly gets scary. If she was really in control, she's be able to pretend to be sweet all the time. Emily surrounded by Jack and Nolan--her real family-- was very touching. I am very much looking forward to Daniel's reaction when he finds out Emily is Amanda. We've already seen Charlotte react with hatred, so I predict we will see a contrast and that Daniel will be more forgiving, maybe even enough to switch sides.

What would happen in a real competition? In real competitions it all depends on who shows up. Big name competition companies in large cities are far more competitive than small comps in the boonies. I remember in the old days, back when dance videos were hard to find, KAR started posting overall winners videos and the quality level varied greatly from city to city. In a tough comp, neither ALDC nor Candy Apples would place very high. I think her younger dancers are more advanced than most of their peers, but I see the younger kids today generally seem more advanced than my daughter was then. I never saw 9 year olds like Mackenzie, but our old studio now has several who would easily outscore her. As the girls get older, they stand out less because everyone else catches up. So Maddie was a phenom at age 7, and is well above average today at age 11, but by the time she is 16 I think she will be just a typical advanced level dancer. She will still be good, but every decent comp studio has a dozen or more high school girls at that level. The only difference is she got their earlier, so that drew attention.

Hi! I'm another TWoP refugee. I like this place so far. I used to be afraid to post over there because I once got banned for saying Abby Lee Miller from Dance Moms should take a course in child development and that was deemed "rude." I have two girls; my older one did cheer through middle school but stopped to concentrate of her sport. She ended up getting a scholarship to a Div. I school but it turned out to be incompatible with her major so this year she is sports-free, hallelujah. My younger one is the dancer in the family, did the whole studio company thing. She started dancing in kindergarten and competing in 2nd grade, but she really discovered her calling when she made the high school varsity dance team as a freshman, and went from being just a "filler" kid to a shining star (in this mom's opinion). She's a senior now and hopes to dance in college, though some of the schools she is applying to have very, very competitive teams. We both love MTT and it's one of the few shows we watch together, so I wish it was on every week of the year.

OMG, Insomnia, I don't think my life will ever be the same. I need this on my phone so I have it with me at all times.

Are they seriousy trying to rehabilitate Daniel? All this talk about how he's through playing games, him blowing off Victoria, and his more mature relationship with Margaux, like we're supposed to believe he's grown as a person all of a sudden. I'm sorry, but less than a year ago he shot his wife because he eavesdropped that she wasn't pregnant. Just shot her on their wedding day with no discussion, like he couldn't have gotten a quickie annulment under those circumstances. And then after he shot her, this douchebag spends her whole recovery time mocking her about it, and flaunting his affair with that ex-girlfriend until her mom grounded her. The same guy who has known about the conspiracy for a couple of years now and has done nothing about it. Nope, not ready to forgive him until gets a job folding shirts at the Gap for $10/hr and apologizes to Emily for everything and then dies heroically. And then only maybe. Interesting that Emily told Victoria that no one knows about the fire except her and Charlotte, when Jack also knew. I guess she's protecting him. Louise is a Class A crazy person. There is a good reason why her mom had her committed and doesn't give her access to the money. Nolan is looking fine these days.

David has to be playing Victoria. He has to be, because the only other option is that he is not right in the head, and that doesn't make sense either. So let me get his story straight. After he was stabbed in prison by the white haired man he woke up in the water tower where he stayed for the next ten years, supplied with food, flannel shirts, and plenty of chalk, while the white haired man and David's wife lived happily in the woods? And even though he was locked up that whole time, he has some sort of knowledge that he can't share with Victoria because it would put her and their family at risk. Then recently he got out of the tower with the help of that other guy from the last episode that he said "It's time" to, arranged for Conrad's escape, and killed him. Then he went to Emily's house, came across Victoria instead, and knocked her out. This would be a pretty big conspiracy, because they would have had to find another body, and not just for burial, but for autopsy. David Clarke was pretty famous, so the medical examiner was either in on it or the substitute body looked exactly like him. Did he have a twin? Or maybe this is the twin? If there's a twin, I'm out.

I wish I weren't so OCD, because then I could stop watching right now. Instead I have this sick compulsion to see the series to its bitter end. The dance off was lame. Most of the ones you see at comps are much, much better. Picture Kalani if that gives you an idea. And Nia, showing up your opponent does not mean pretending to kick them in the face. Jeez, that is not cool. It's obvious that Maddie will dance, and probably take Chloe's spot. Abby will fail, fail, fail in LA. She will have an initial group of wannabes sign up, but the bread and butter of most studios are the little kids that take combo classes and maybe jazz a couple of times a week, and I don't see her finding that many Brentwood moms willing to subject their precious little ones to this monster.

Given that Kelli and Judy ostensibly hadn't yet made up their minds going into the last day who would be on the team, did they have different team composite photos at the ready so they could pull out the appropriate one when it was time to make the announcement? So one with all 36, and one with everyone but Ashley, and one with everyone but Caila, and one without Caila, Breelan, and Ashley, etc., etc., etc... Just how many prints would they have needed? That would make a good math problem for the Texas textbooks :) Loved that there was more dancing in this episode, and more girlfriend realness. If I had my way I would swap out Caila for Chandler. Also, after seeing some of Chandler's college pics, I would grow out her hair, as it softens her look a bit. She does smile big, which creates some lines, so maybe a teeny bit of botox? I hate even suggesting it, but I like her. I think she's sweet and adorable and a good dancer. Looking back over this thread and recalling some comments made again and again, it's usually about us wanting more--more dancing, more coaching, more veterans, more personal lives, more football season, more calendar. Even when it's less, such as less Kitty, it's the nastiness we want less of, not the dance class. That's why it's sad to me that the season is over already. I feel that an 8 episode season barely scratches the surface of the potential material, and given the little time we were given, so much of it was wasted on stupid Vivian drama, boring Melissa mentoring, and repetitive random rookies not making the cut. I'm left vaguely unsatisfied. And yet I still love the show and find favorites to root for every year, and dammit every single season is a two hanky finale. Not a year goes by where I haven't cried when they announce the team, and again when they take the field for the first game. Every year! I'm such a sucker.

I agree, TobyBelle. I've said that they should practice the entrance earlier, but you are right about the boots, too. And the advice about shutting the car door was terrific! Very constructive. I like watching the veterans coach the rookies. Wouldn't it be fun to see more of that?

I guess I'll start by going through the girls one at a time: Alexandra: Yeah, I teared up, too, even though I already knew. It seemed like everyone liked her. A class act. Ashley: I do like her, but she seems so delicate. I guess I shouldn't judge, because I'm a cryer, too, but even Melissa seemed kind of surprised that she was crying outside the coffee shop. Breelan: Once again, when they briefly showed her smiling, she looked pretty and natural, and not at all scared. I still think she's getting a bad edit for TV drama's sake. Chandler: So correct me if I am wrong, but for five weeks they didn't really have a problem with Chandler's dancing, but the last week when they went into the stadium she struggled with fluidity and got cut? Because there wasn't enough time? It seems to me her movement issues were easily fixed. Perhaps they should go to the stadium earlier or more frequently. Also, I'm pretty sure her smile can be corrected by an orthodontist. I like her; she's another class act. PS I want her abs. Victoria: I like her, too. She seems very real, like a regular, pretty girl who can dance and string two sentences together. Why are bright, attractive, talented, normal girls so hard to find? Vivian: I know this has kind of turned into the Vivian show, but that's only because she is reality TV gold. I just wish she was on some other show. More fake smiles and fake crying, ugh. She's so rehearsed; she reminds me of the pageant kids on Toddlers & Tiaras mugging at the judges. I thought it was interesting that Kelli never actually said that it was her last night. Vivian just assumed and walked out. Still not enough dancing for me. Also, when they do show dancing, they edit it with really fast cuts so it's very hard to tell who's who. It bugs. And finally, I agree, something needs to change if they want to up the talent level. I say it every year, but they should be swarming with excellent dancers. Look how many great high school and college dancers there are in Texas alone, let alone the rest of the country. Why aren't there at least 100 ridiculously talented girls with no flaws trying out every year among the 500? Maybe they should loosen the purse strings a little bit.

First, I'm so glad I found this forum, and it's nice to see some familiar folks from TWoP. Hi! So Vivian. I've watched the show with my daughter but no online feedback so my opinion hasn't been influenced by outside sources at all, and I am relieved that I am not crazy. Last year I felt bad for her for getting cut for the shape of her legs, but this year, wow, something has gone terribly, terribly wrong. I think I realized something was off when she tried the lyrical solo. After last year's solo disaster you'd think she'd have learned a lesson, but no. And then I saw that in every interview she comes across as completely phony. She never stops smiling and doesn't seem capable of a sincere emotion. She went from doing yoga three times to constantly to weekly in one breath. Phony! Oh, so she had a hamstring injury this whole time but a couple of weeks ago when Kelli asked everyone with injuries to raise their hand, I don't remember her speaking up. Phony! It all boils down to an egocentric person who doesn't listen. Perhaps a narcissistic personality disorder? I think she needs help. Now on the other hand we have Alexandra, who I love as a person so much. She's so darn real. Smart, attractive, strong and lean, with legs that go on for days. Only thing is, her dancing and kicks are just not good enough. Wishing it so doesn't make it happen. At first I thought it's not fair that they have kept her around so long when they clearly can't put her on the field, just to have diversity on the TV show. But if they do cut her (I don't know--trying to stay unspoiled!) maybe they haven't wasted her time. If she is cut but comes back next year, nothing could compare to the training she's received at TC. The fact is, though, if they want more diversity on the team, their best bet would be to do some scouting and offer top prospects a free plane ticket to tryouts. Considering all the screen time Breelan gets, I still don't feel I really know her. I suspect she is getting a relentless "scared little girl" edit. Whenever you spy her in the background while the camera is focused on something else, she is smiling and happy looking. Last, I agree about showing more dancing. I've complained about this for years! I was excited when they said they were doing a lyrical this week because I was hoping they'd show my homegirl Melissa who is a brilliant lyrical dancer, but no. You know that concert they do every year with the show team or whatever it's called? They should televise that, or at least sell a DVD. I'd totally buy it.