S05.E26: Where in the World is Abby Lee Miller

[Lemons]

I don't think there is anything soft about Kalani, she just isn't and never was a stick.  

 

Kalani actually was a "stick" when her mother had her on other reality shows when she was younger.  Just like all of the 10 - 12 year olds that are popular on youtube are "sticks". 

 

And ballet is not the only dance form that requires a certain body type.  Like it or not, if these girls want to be dancers, body types will matter and they will be judged on it.

[NextIteration]

Like it or not, if these girls want to be dancers, body types will matter and they will be judged on it.

 

Tell that to Misty Copeland, or just about any female with Ailey, Complexions or many, many other contemporary companies.

 

Dancers will always be typecast but there is not a one size fits all in the dance world.

Edited July 12, 2015 by NextIteration

[Lemons]

Tell that to Misty Copeland, or just about any female with Ailey, Complexions or many, many other contemporary companies.

 

Dancers will always be typecast but there is not a one size fits all in the dance world.

 

Misty Copeland has a perfect body type for ballet. Why mention her?  Ailey company dancers have very specific body types, strong and muscular.  The dancers in Complexions have killer bodies, super strong and muscular.  The reality is that some strong dancers won't make it because of the body type they were born with.

[Lemons]

She was told over and over again that her body was the "wrong" type. Further, an instructor's callous comments to her triggered a cycle of binging that

 

 

I think Misty Copeland's "struggles" have been grossly exaggerated.  She started late and was immediately noticed.  Almost every top ballet school offered her a scholarship as a teen.  So apparently the people who told her she was the wrong type didn't matter.  She went to San Francisco Ballet School on full scholarship.  She became professional very early on.  Her legs are muscular but perfect for ballet.  Ballet dancers are now more muscular than in the past.  At 5'2", she certainly isn't that much under the average height. 

 

I think these dance competitions and YouTube "stars" are glorifying the prepubescent look.  Look at all the girls in these videos.  They all have very thin, very child like bodies.  Once they go through puberty they seem to disappear.

 

Speaking of health, I think it's despicable what is being said here about Maddie and her future "mental health" issues.  She's a young girl and acts like a young girl.  I think they all have great personalities, including Maddie.

[Clemgo3165]

Honestly I don't see an issue with referring to Kalani as "soft." I don't see it as body shaming to say that she currently lacks the definition you usually see in kids who dance competitively, and no, I'm not saying she's fat, far from it. For me, it makes me curious as to whether or not she's getting the practice time she needs to achieve her goals or if the show is a distraction.

I think the comments about Maddie come from concern for her well-being. She's a young woman who is being told over and over again by Abby and her mother that she's the best ever. Throw in a TV show, travel, videos, guest appearances, red carpet walks, etc. and you have the standard recipe for a future basket case. I hope that she has somebody on her side to keep her grounded, but we're not seeing that on the show. I hope her drive will carry her through.

[NextIteration]

I wouldn't have come on as strong as I did if I hadn't seen the same kind of post insinuating that Kalani is fat several times over several threads on this board. I'm tired of it.

 

That's where I was coming from as well, for the record.

 

@Clemgo3165 - it could just as easily be from going through puberty as it is from less training.  Some girls hardly change at all and others completely transform.  Going back to the example of Misty Copeland, she didn't go through it until she was 19, which is when she started having body issues.

[Clemgo3165]

I wouldn't have come on as strong as I did if I hadn't seen the same kind of post insinuating that Kalani is fat several times over several threads on this board. I'm tired of it.

 

 

I think that interviews and what we've seen on the show provide evidence that Maddie is being set up for a huge fall.

 

I hadn't seen the fat comments, or if I did I've ignored them because Kalani is most definitely not fat. As NextIteration said, it could be puberty - her body has changed quite a bit in the last year or so. But having gone through puberty myself while dancing and having watched my cohorts do the same, the muscular definition didn't change, just the shape and height of the body. It wasn't until I stopped dancing regularly that I lost that definition, which is I why I'm struck by Kalani's current body type.

 

I too think Maddie is being set up for a fall and worry about her because of it. It doesn't seem as though she has anyone in her life to keep her grounded and give her a soft place to land when her 15 minutes are up.

[NextIteration]

@Clemgo3165 - there is no question I think, that Kalani has had less training in the last year than in previous years, just the commuting back and forth would probably affect it; so you have a point.  I think though that we've seen her body completely transform since her appearance on AUDC.  Here she is in 2012 for comparison, she didn't have a lot of definition then, either, compared to some other girls.

[Clemgo3165]

She's definitely grown up since then. She did have some definition at that point, but you're right, not as much compared to some of the other girls. Still there was some in her lower legs and in her arms. Growth and lack of training time are probably the answer.

[hatchetgirl]

I would never say Kalama is fat ever. She's absolutely beautiful. I do think she has a soft beautiful body but i also think that she isn't working the way she used to which is what we are all saying about all the girls. I hope kalani stays a strong beautiful dance. I don't have a dancer body in any way shape or form. I just find it interesting the differences. I obviously didn't explains myself well.

Agreed on the beautiful Misty. She was told she didn't have the body. She is very muscular and not as scrawny as most ballerinas. I think she is just lovely.

[turbogirlnyc]

Am I the only person who doesn't think Kendall is beautiful or even exceptionally pretty?  I think her chin is too pointy. As much as I dislike Maddie, she is becoming very attractive  Of course, none of them can match Kalani who is a real beauty.

 

Nope. I completely agree. Her eyes are extremely wide-set. And flame away at me for saying something negative about a "child". I barely visit this forum so whatever. Besides Nia, the only kid I've ever seen with both inner and outer beauty was Chloe. I don't think I ever heard a negative word come out of that child's mouth.

[Darknight]

Kalani is short and stocky. I don't see her as fat, but puberty wasn't nice to her. Especially when you compare her to Maddie and the other aldc girls. She has the face and body of a grown woman. Which is why she looks stupid next to a dancer like Mac Z or Kendall

[methadonna]

Because my DVR is OBVIOUSLY smarter than I am and only recorded enough of each Dance Moms ep last week for me to click on its title and have it immediately ask me if I wanted to save or erase it, as if it hadn't recorded any minutes of it, despite its also claiming to have recorded the full 63 minutes (spooky, right? Like it was trying to tell me!) ... I only just got to watch this one today. And, after reading the "It was supposed to be Kendall's week" thing all, well, week, another possibility/consideration crossed my mind.

Could the notion of its being [oneofthegirls]'s week be, like, a thing? Like, might it be something more along the lines of that the production-planned/pre-show storyboarding, which seems to be set to highlight/focus on/champion a different girl each week, has come to be called--whether on an official basis or more informally--"[Whichevergirl]'s Week"?

I have zero insider knowledge (nor, I assure you, am I a Jill apologist of any sort; I don't think she's particularly villainous in the scheme of things, but her sheer lack of wit offends me) but there was just something about her tone and mannerisms, particularly the first (or one of the first; who knows, editing-wise) time she said it: it differed SO greatly from what I'd been expecting after reading it here. Yes, maybe I'd just built it up to unattainable, cartoon like levels of entitlement, but I heard none in her voice at that point. Rather, what I could more realistically picture based on what I heard was confusion, like someone REPEATING something they'd been told they could expect and were now realizing was not going to occur. I can believe it goes kinda like this. (Especially for poor, dumb, gullible Jill, who has has gotten Kendall involved in some (crap) thing that Is Totally Going To Help Make Her A Star like eleventysix weeks this season, only to have it crapped on by the very team who obviously set it up for her in the first place).

So, whether it's a term used each week for whichever girl is sort of the star of the ep, or maybe it was just something some Shiri [Candy]Appleby production type sent to string her along, like when KendallKKK's Adventure's in Autotune got nary half the fanfare of Nia's so they were all, "Well, the week it drops, THAT will be Kendall's Week (ie, an ep in which she is slated to be storyline-center? To win? Whatever?) anyway, so that will just make it a double whammy" and dumb Jill shuts up again until ... jinkies! Foiled again? Not our Jillsy. She figures it out quickly this time, when, whether, by design or -- I think -- by reality getting in the way of their little "reality" show, plans change, and she says it: " this was supposed to ..." (well, you know the drill, unless you're slower than Jill). Because: it was. And, rather than get her to shush with using the line and potentially giving away the schedule, the brilliant Shiri CandyAppleby figures out that, out of context, to anyone not "in the know," it just makes Jill sound like her usual asseipe, stage mom self, and it's a lot easier to get her to say it more than to make it verboten (which would also be acknowledging the ... reality of what she was saying). [see also: send in the clown/Holly. And, voila: another dozen or restatements of above. And Holly thinks [x] week will be Nia's...].

[leighroda]

I hope this is the right episode I watched them in a row so I may have confused them. So, I have this "quirk" you may call it, I really like song lyrics, and find meaning in songs. I didn't notice the first time i saw Maddie's golden girl solo, but the second time I was thinking the song didn't really seem to make sense in relation to the golden girl theme, then I was like "wait is this a song about God?" Sure enough I did some research and it is in fact about God. I mean people take their own meaning from songs all the time, but something about this just kinda weirded me out. Probably because it does seem like Abby would equate Maddie's to God.

[Fiero425]

On ‎7‎/‎8‎/‎2015 at 11:38 AM, NextIteration said:

 

Generally speaking, Holly gives the appearance of getting more foolish by the season.  But maybe she sees it as being sly as a fox, I sure wouldn't allow my child to be exposed to these shenanigans.  That said, the meeting with CoCo Jones looked like fun and a positive experience for  Nia.

Holly lost her halo when Christi and Kelly weren't there to balance out her supposed level-head! She started to act entitled and felt Nia was more deserving of consideration even though her dancing hadn't improved! ;-)