S07.E08: ALDC Ain't Dead Yet

[OnceSane]

Quote

Abby brings the girls to a cemetery to get them in the spirit for a graveyard-inspired routine; the mothers are frustrated when Brynn is given a special part; Elliana and Lilliana are given head-to-head solos for the first time.

[hatchetgirl]

What is up with abby and these creepy, everyone's dead or dying routines?

[Chewy101]

What is up with Nia and her giant mouth. I feel like week after week she gets more and more boastful and demanding. She is so annoying.

I'm used to the moms mouthing off as the advocates, but when the kids talk back to their teacher, I'd knock them down a notch. Nia seems impossible to work with now. Who hires divas? She is now the Kendal.

[RedFire2000]

Ugh, Holly and Nia were so obnoxious at pyramid. Camryn deserved to be at the top of the pyramid. She was in the winning duet and was great in the group dance. And Nia was at the top last week, let Camryn have her moment.

Nia is turning into her mother with this entitled snobbery attitude.

[Jwd]

I thought the group dance was amazing.   I think it was one of the best group dances since this show began. :)  I also loved the little girl who did the dainty and dangerous dance.  She was great in that dance.  It was beautiful.  I feel bad for the little girl who did the Charlie Chaplin dance.  Between her mother and Abby that poor kids going to need psychiatrists for life. :( :(

[KaveDweller]

1 hour ago, MoonWalker said:

Ugh, Holly and Nia were so obnoxious at pyramid. Camryn deserved to be at the top of the pyramid. She was in the winning duet and was great in the group dance. And Nia was at the top last week, let Camryn have her moment.

Nia is turning into her mother with this entitled snobbery attitude.

Holly was awful at pyramid and I was disappointed to see Nia making the same type of comments. Yes, she led in the group dance, but Camryn also won and deserved recognition. These mothers complain when the same person is on the top weeks in a row, until it is their kid at the top. And it's not like Nia was at the bottom. 

I thought Liliana was really great in her dance. Eliana seemed to do better in the studio practicing than in her actual performance. Are they the same age? Eliana does do some really amusing talking heads though. Maybe she should do acting? I feel bad with her about her mother though. Maybe the woman is decent in other areas of life/parenting, but as a dance mom, she keeps making things harder for her daughter.

We have heard more about Maci's mother working with dead bodies than we have about any other mother's job in the entire show.

[PTVjones]

Completely different opinion. 

As a teacher, I teach my students about self advocacy. Obviously when you're speaking to an adult or an authority you need to be respectful but Nia and her mother were completely within their rights to call Abby out on something that if some how a "The Help" themed dance or ANY dance really that had Maddy as a lead would have Maddy at the top of the pyramid. That's just a fact. Period. 

Abby, who doesn't even know what an Uncle Tom is and I completely disagreed with Holly's comparison Camryn's character being an Uncle Tom, is so clearly trying to pit the 2 black girls against each other and obviously she's succeeding when it comes to the mothers. 

I don't see Nia's diva behavior as Nia hasn't had any special role on the team in months with the exception of the past 2 weeks is always backstage telling the girls how great they were. Soon enough she'll be 18 and on her own and if she'll have many Abby's to deal w/ in the industry and if she can hold her own then she'll go far. She already was casted in a fairly successful Off Broadway play and I feel like that wasn't even brought up on the show... 

[Chewy101]

As a teacher, I expect a private confrontation, and if a student mouths off to me in front of my class, they are out. Nia could have been correct in her argument, but what she was doing was pitching a fit and being disrespectful. You do not get far in the dance world behaving like that. I would have kicked her out of the room. 

Plus she isn't a good enough dancer to be a diva. She is average at best.  Holly always told her she was the best, but she isn't. And as for leading the dance, all she did to "lead" the dance was throw an apron on the floor and huff off. It wasn't even about dancing at that point. And pyramid is such a joke anyway. I doubt anyone is really keeping score. I like the kids who keep their mouths shut and let their moms be the idiots. The reality of dance is what creates the best lines. Camryn is beautiful to watch, while Nia is clunky and dramatic. 

Poor Eliana went through some hell this week. It's a miracle she is sane with that mother of hers. Although all of the mothers are wretched. If they aren't delusional about the level of their kids' talent, they are mouthy and critical and sabotaging their kids' performance and success.

Lily was great. I am actually finally enjoying the minis, because, for me, the juniors are not good enough for their age, and the minis are better for their age. Watching Lily do a solo that wasn't like those stupid routines Mackenzie used to do was nice. Mack and her ponytails and front walkovers never did it for me.

Edited January 18, 2017 by Chewy101

[holly4755]

Ok, I loved movies in the thirties, but black roles were very stereotyped back then.  I know where  Holly is coming from.  In the dance, there were two dignified maids, and there was the silly girl made played by Camryn. It was pure thirties stereo type. I can see where Holly would object to that role being rewarded instead of the dignity in the dance by Nia.  In the distant past when Lena Horne was a young girl her mother would not let her appear in a movie as a maid, she was adamant about it.  Almost every black actresses appeared as maids then.   Some times the stories are deeper than they are portrayed in this show. 

oh and I believe we learned from Kelly long ago  that there are sort of scripts on this show. but the dislike is real.

[BusyOctober]

I thought Melissa was a bad stage mom, but Yolanda not only takes the cake, she baked in a few handfuls of extra Cuckoo for Cocoa Puffs.  What. A. Loon. Her poor kid has way too many more years to live with that type of insanity.  I hope there are some normal adults in her life to balance out the situation...and a very large bank account to cover the therapy.  Abby must just be coasting to the finish line, because Kelly & Christi were way less mouthy than Yo-Yo and she didn't put up with it without blowing a blood vessel every week.  She hardly reacts to Yolanda's brand of crazy.

Why does the funeral home mom and her non-dancing kid continue to hang around?  If she isn't dancing, then the TV exposure they hoped for isn't happening.  Time to pack the bows, self tanner and hairspray and get back home.

[WildFlower87]

3 hours ago, BusyOctober said:

Why does the funeral home mom and her non-dancing kid continue to hang around?  If she isn't dancing, then the TV exposure they hoped for isn't happening.  Time to pack the bows, self tanner and hairspray and get back home.

For some strange reason, the producers want Maesi and her mom around, but Maesi adds nothing to the team nor does she fit. She hasn't impressed me. She seems like a one trick pony sassy hip hop/jazz or doing acrobatic flips. She has poor technique as well. She messed up in the hip hop dance, her solo didn't place, and Elliana and Lilliana outdance her in the mini trio from 2 weeks ago.  She ran on stage did 5 flips and ran off the stage for the clown dance.

I rather had Daviana and her mom stay but the producers didn't want her. She was a better fit for the team.

[Sassafras]

Random antidote:

Yolanda and I share a couple of friends in Boulder and I've had to be around her at various events. I despise her and have some decent dirt on her, but I'll just share this since it relates to this subject. 

One time I ran into her at a Halloween event. She and Elli were wearing the same outfit and Yolanda was all "I always dress up like her for Halloween!  We like to wear matching costumes!"

The woman is a loon. Ugh. It's always about her. 

[hellohoping]

Wow. Yolanda is completely barking mad. It's hard to watch... harder than Christi, who I thought could be disgraceful, because Yolanda seems to actually be bad for Elliana. And Elliana seems a sweetheart and a lovely little dancer, I wish her mum could just support her rather than push and berate and suffocate. A case of trying to live through her daughter, but with absolutely zero self-awareness of how mad she's coming across.

And I agree with the comments about Nia. Bang out of order. Advocating for oneself is fine, but she was just gobby and rude. And bratty and spoilt. If I was Abby, or any teacher, I wouldn't have accepted it. 

Nia and Holly have been unjustifiably entitled for a couple of years now. I'm sure Nia assumed she'd be celebrated for being such a grown up, wise, self-advocating young woman but that's not how she came across at all. And what's with Holly's "why is Brynn leading the dance, why not Nia or Kendall?".... because Nia & Kendall are clearly the worst freakin' dancers on the team, and "team" includes the minis.

ETA: Sassafras I'd like to hear more dirt! 

Edited January 18, 2017 by hellohoping

[RedFire2000]

That field trip was pretty ridiculous. Alright girls throw some dirt back into this freshly dug grave that these grave diggers probably spent a couple of hours digging. Alright good, do we feel connected? Okay, lets go! Seriously what graveyard would say ya lets bring teenage girls from a reality TV show to feel connected to some grave diggers...

[RedheadZombie]

I think Ellianna is my new favorite.  I wish we could keep her and be rid of Yolanda.

[KaveDweller]

17 hours ago, PTVjones said:

Completely different opinion. 

As a teacher, I teach my students about self advocacy. Obviously when you're speaking to an adult or an authority you need to be respectful but Nia and her mother were completely within their rights to call Abby out on something that if some how a "The Help" themed dance or ANY dance really that had Maddy as a lead would have Maddy at the top of the pyramid. That's just a fact. Period. 

Well sure. But Maddie was almost always at the top of the pyramid. Abby trying to diversify is not a bad thing. And I bet if Maddie was the lead and put at the top of the pyramid and Nia or Kendall were in a winning duet, Holly and Jill would have complained. 

I actually did expect Nia to be at the top too. But it didn't seem worth complaining.

37 minutes ago, MoonWalker said:

Seriously what graveyard would say ya lets bring teenage girls from a reality TV show to feel connected to some grave diggers...

I guess it's true that everyone in LA wants to be famous.

[MaryLennox84]

Elliana is headed straight to the eating disorder clinic--she needs to reserve her spot now. Okay, I know its not funny to make fun of such serious illnesses, but as a recovered anorexic, I can spot an anorexic family dynamic 100 miles away. Same with Maddie, tbh, though she may have outgrown her perfectionism. 

[Amers]

Elliana is the only child on this show with what I would call star quality. She just has an it factor about her. She funny, a good dancer. Unfortunately her mother is going to ruin any chance she has at really achieving anything if what we see isn't scripted. No child should say she's sorry to her mother for a dance. 

[Absolom]

Ratings:  962K viewers and a .33 rating.

With those numbers if the show isn't dead, it should just about be, IMO.

[Rabbittron]

19 hours ago, Sassafras said:

Random antidote:

Yolanda and I share a couple of friends in Boulder and I've had to be around her at various events. I despise her and have some decent dirt on her, but I'll just share this since it relates to this subject. 

One time I ran into her at a Halloween event. She and Elli were wearing the same outfit and Yolanda was all "I always dress up like her for Halloween!  We like to wear matching costumes!"

The woman is a loon. Ugh. It's always about her. 

You're not the only one who knows her in real life ?

[Sassafras]

6 hours ago, Rabbittron said:

You're not the only one who knows her in real life ?

I'm so sorry. ? 

[Rabbittron]

28 minutes ago, Sassafras said:

I'm so sorry. ? 

I'm sorry to you also.?

[Meowwww]

I think the difference between Abby on the show and Abby on social media is telling.  She is SO over the show, openly criticizing it.  

[NoirDetective]

Holly is ridiculous and ugly. She really has completely lost herself compared to the start of the show. It's a fucking picture taped to a mirror, you hosebeast, not love.

Someone's put the bug in their heads that Nia should be the new HBIC since Maddox left, I guess based purely on seniority? But the reason she's the last of the original girls is she sucks too hard to move on and her mom won't walk away from Abby for any abuse. And fatass Nia didn't do the shovel jump because she's obviously much heavier! They could barely hold it with Brynn. 

The moms telling Yo she has to smile for the camera throughout the performance was revealing. Not sure looking insane and telling us the sky is purple is any better than saying a dance could've been improved, but whatever.

I hope before she heads to the clink Abby gives some of these chicks a parting "I always hated you and your child is awful. You should go back to Pittsburgh."

Man, that would be sweet.

[holly4755]

well, I don't see that happening, because Nia has had more success than Kendal, who Abby does manage and success is what draws Abby, I kept hearing a rumor that Nia was leaving the show, but it never seemed to happen, I wonder if she is appearing more because of contract changes?. I wonder who will appear next season? 

[Absolom]

According to people who have actually worked with Nia and Holly, they are delightful people and very easy to deal with and non-demanding.  They are respectful and polite.  I would expect the DM scenes have some producer element involved based on what I've heard.  Nia apparently relates to the in-person audiences extremely well.

[Chewy101]

Eh, I think everyone can behave themselves once in awhile. Nia still seems to be getting too big for her britches, to me. She has been bragging up a storm all season in the floating head segments. And I have no idea what jobs she is getting. We know she can't carry a note, and her body is all wrong for professional dancing jobs. I think people have thrown her a bone here and there because she is a Kardashian and tweets about everything. She is basically a sandwich board for producers- proof they can polish out anything to stay relevant with the trends the week, and she will speak endlessly of them in social media. I don't believe Nia would be anywhere in this business if her Momager wasn't so noisy on Abby's show.

Holly has a PHD. And yet she has Nia on a train wreck path.

[hellohoping]

The point is quite right that when Maddie would say 'I think I'm the best' and so forth she was branded arrogant and too big for her boots by the viewers, whereas Nia will say 'I can do this, this, this and this... and she can only do... what is it? Errr... acro?' in that "sassy" (or extremely rude?) way and be praised for it. Yes, she's got a lot of the audience behind her - more so than Maddie back in the day - mainly because she's NOT good and there's a "you go girl!" mentality. If a genuinely talented kid said the same things, or acted the same way as Nia did in that pyramid, everybody would dislike them for it. 

Imagine if Maddie had been all raised-eyebrows and backchat when she came second row in pyramid, with no regard for the poor lass who got to the top for the first time!! It just wouldn't have happened. 

Nia's entitled attitude with the fact she's not actually a great singer (unarguable average at best) or dancer (same thing) and it's all a bit of a poor show really. But for some reason she gets away with it in the viewers eyes because 'underdog'. 

[KaveDweller]

58 minutes ago, hellohoping said:

If a genuinely talented kid said the same things, or acted the same way as Nia did in that pyramid, everybody would dislike them for it. 

Everyone has their moments though, both good and bad. Especially teenagers. The nicest kids still say something rude occasionally. These kids are unfortunately on a reality show where everyone gets to see their bad moments.

Now, the mothers have been having them for several years though. With no good ones in between.

[NoirDetective]

16 hours ago, Absolom said:

According to people who have actually worked with Nia and Holly, they are delightful people and very easy to deal with and non-demanding.  They are respectful and polite.  I would expect the DM scenes have some producer element involved based on what I've heard.  Nia apparently relates to the in-person audiences extremely well.

Uh...this might mean something were I not actually able to, you know, see and hear them with my own two eyes and ears. Others found them to be that way -- allegedly, second-hand-- I do not.  

But if true they must be hella stupid to let the show make them look crazy, as "niceness" may well be the only asset either has going at this point.

[hellohoping]

13 hours ago, KaveDweller said:

Everyone has their moments though, both good and bad. Especially teenagers. The nicest kids still say something rude occasionally. These kids are unfortunately on a reality show where everyone gets to see their bad moments.

Now, the mothers have been having them for several years though. With no good ones in between.

Yes that's true and I never disliked Maddie's confidence, on the contrary I admired it. I just saw her getting a lot of stick for it whilst Nia gets praised. I admire Nia's confidence too really, the difference is though that she hasn't got an ounce of Maddie's talent but seems to have a hell lot more entitlement and occasionally rudeness towards other dancers. 

[tessat]

Everyone has an opinion - that you are entitled too but I still love Nia. Did I like what transpired - no - but in the past the leader of the dance - usually Maddie was indeed at the top of the Pyramid. Say what you like - but whether people think she can dance, sing, act ect.. the girl is a people pleaser. There are many singers that really can't sing - but with good acoustics, a catchy tune and a good manager - they become household names. Those that retain their true self - are even more popular with the common folk - ex: country singers and I believe Nia always has and will continue to be true to herself.

I enjoyed the dance but wish all the "leader bs" would quit. Let them all take turns at showcasing their talents. Yolanda needs to go - she's worse than Abby. Lilliana was very good but I wasn't a fan of her make-up. Must really get Yolanda mad knowing Lillianna and not Elliana did the Sia video. 

[holly4755]

8 hours ago, NoirDetective said:

Uh...this might mean something were I not actually able to, you know, see and hear them with my own two eyes and ears. Others found them to be that way -- allegedly, second-hand-- I do not.  

But if true they must be hella stupid to let the show make them look crazy, as "niceness" may well be the only asset either has going at this point.

well, you have seen the edited version. Still find it less offensive than what a lot that I have seen on this show, but this is bizarro world, so I have low expectations for this show. very very low ones. 

[realdancemom]

The whole pyramid thing is scripted and it's supposed to cause drama.  However, based on the show, if the group lost last week, Abby would have blamed Nia.  I don't think she had much of a solo since it was more acting at the end but she would have been blamed anyway.  Since they won, then she should have been at the top.  Camryn and Brynn were in a duet.  I do think that Camryn stood out more in the duet since she was sassier but neither one was supposed to have more of a role in the duet.  So it doesn't make sense that Camryn was first while Brynn was third.  Since the whole thing is just silly, I wouldn't have said anything since Camryn has never been at the top so just let her have her moment.

Yolanda is a coco.  With Maddie, I was worried she might have a breakdown because she was hard on herself.  With Eliana, it's Abby and Yolanda that is causing her to be anxious.

I don't think Maesi is a good dancer.  Previously, I mentioned that the two minis danced better in their trio.  I hope she is learning even though she is mostly observing.  I guess she has learned to be quiet so she can stay.  Abby was treating her like dirt in the graveyard and having her just hold the shovel during rehearsal.  

[Rabbittron]

One thing about Yolanda is what you see on the show is her in real life.

[CoolMom]

On 1/18/2017 at 6:30 PM, MoonWalker said:

That field trip was pretty ridiculous. Alright girls throw some dirt back into this freshly dug grave that these grave diggers probably spent a couple of hours digging. Alright good, do we feel connected? Okay, lets go! Seriously what graveyard would say ya lets bring teenage girls from a reality TV show to feel connected to some grave diggers...

Hollywood Forever when I heard they were going to the cemetery I wondered if this was the one.  Over Christmas break my husband and I watched a show about how people use "get rich quick" schemes and end up in jail.  This cemetery was mentioned because the son of a man running a Ponzi scheme bought it and revamped it even showed movies on a screen and people sat on the graves having picnics. 

All that to say it doesn't surprise me that they allowed the show to film there because they use the money to keep up the cemetery.

ETA: Wiki link with more info on the interesting history of the cemetery.

Edited January 21, 2017 by CoolMom

[Chewy101]

On 1/20/2017 at 5:46 PM, KaveDweller said:

If a genuinely talented kid said the same things, or acted the same way as Nia did in that pyramid, everybody would dislike them for it. 

Agreed. I don't think the talent OR the wannabees should be mouthing off like that. The talented take their lumps and discipline and go on to win the next one. Only the brats pitch fits and demand things they don't deserve. Nia is NOT GOOD. Holly needs a new hobby!

 

22 hours ago, NoirDetective said:

On 1/20/2017 at 11:08 AM, Absolom said:

According to people who have actually worked with Nia and Holly, they are delightful people and very easy to deal with and non-demanding.  They are respectful and polite.  I would expect the DM scenes have some producer element involved based on what I've heard.  Nia apparently relates to the in-person audiences extremely well.

Uh...this might mean something were I not actually able to, you know, see and hear them with my own two eyes and ears. Others found them to be that way -- allegedly, second-hand-- I do not.

All of these people who say they know these peeps and want to weigh in on their character... Character is not based on word of mouth, it's based on their behavior in the present. Holly and Nia are nightmares. No talent, all argument. 

[tessat]

Quote

 

We all know the show is scripted - how much is scripted is what we don't know but that segment could have been scripted for fan reaction and they certainly got it on this forum.

[Absolom]

I have a simple solution to the issue of belief, scripting, lying, etc.  I will no longer pass along information from people who work on this show. 

[holly4755]

Look, Absolom, People watch this show in different ways, I take things with a grain of salt after seeing the behind stage scripting video by Kelly. Ialso watch a lot of reality TV for my own weird reasons, and have talked to people who have appeared on shows and appeared more than once myself, but just as a filler audience person /background stooge because I live near NYC.  So I am pretty cynical about stuff, others are watching for entertainment and take it as a show and react to the characters portrayed in the show.  I would not take any comment personally as we have different experiences and are coming at it from different points of view. I know what I say is supposition and expect others to do the same.  When I do actually and rarely know something for fact, I state where it is coming from.

[Chewy101]

On 1/21/2017 at 0:58 PM, realdancemom said:

The whole pyramid thing is scripted and it's supposed to cause drama.  However, based on the show, if the group lost last week, Abby would have blamed Nia.  I don't think she had much of a solo since it was more acting at the end but she would have been blamed anyway.  Since they won, then she should have been at the top.  Camryn and Brynn were in a duet.  I do think that Camryn stood out more in the duet since she was sassier but neither one was supposed to have more of a role in the duet.  So it doesn't make sense that Camryn was first while Brynn was third.  Since the whole thing is just silly, I wouldn't have said anything since Camryn has never been at the top so just let her have her moment.

The whole pyramid drama is nuts. It's fun to watch, but it's proof that Abby likes to wreak havoc, and no decent adult would fall into it, so God help their kids. This whole drama would be more fun to watch if these people didn't seem to believe they had real careers ahead of them.