Dance Moms in the Media

[Rhondinella]

Link away!

[Rhondinella]

This is interesting.  Among other things Abby Lee claims that they originally were casting for a "Dance Dads" spinoff, but the producers decided instead to take the best from that group and make them into Cathy's Candy Apples dance troupe.

What?  You thought any of this was real?

[Rhondinella]

Someone elsewhere mentioned that the Pennsylvania high school where that stabbing took place is in the Hyland/Ziegler neighborhood.  Not clear if Brooke goes that that HS or not. But here's the article about it.  If anyone knows more about any possible connection to Dance Moms, please post it here.

http://abcnews.go.com/US/stabbings-reported-franklin-regional-high-school-pennsylvania/story?id=23253018

BTW--to whoever posted that, I forgot to note your name before I deleted the thread you started.  I meant to send you a note.  Anyway, just know we usually don't want threads just for individual media mentions like this.  Prefer that it be in the general media thread.  Ok?  Thanks.

[leighroda]

That is the school Brooke goes to.

[Rhondinella]

Interesting.

[leighroda]

Her brother Josh also goes there too.

[Corazi]

I checked Brookes Twitter. She's been tweeting all day so I don't think she was injured in it at all. I imagine that emotionally she's a mess right now.

Edited April 9, 2014 by Corazi

[Rhondinella]

Wow, that Abby is just a peach!  Article here about eyewitness testimony which claims that Abby actually pulled the judges of the last competition into a room after announcing Chloe's win and tried to convince them that she did not deserve the win.  Fortunately the judges called her on her bullshit and the judgement stood.

She is possibly the most unpleasant person I've ever seen, and certainly not one who should spend her life working with children.

Oh, and there's this: 

 

Renowned dance coach and Dance Moms star, Abby Lee Miller is  on the road, looking to transform dance studios on the brink of disaster in the all-new series, Abby’s Studio Rescue, premiering Tuesday, June 17, at 9pm ET/PT.  Each week, the show follows Abby as she dishes her tough love and no-nonsense advice while giving dance studios a second chance to finally bring home the gold.

Ugh.  But I love Dan Feinberg's take on the story:

Each week, the show follows Abby as she dishes out tough talk/screams at people/generally freaks out while giving dance studios a second chance at survival. . . .  A studio owner since 1980, Miller knows running a business can be full of challenges and she is ready to give them the tools they need to take their studios and dancers to the next level. That, or she's just open to belittling a bunch of depressed strangers. Whether it’s fine-tuning choreography, finding  the right staff, scheduling classes, tweaking dances, dealing with overbearing moms or even renovating the studio space, "Abby’s Studio Rescue" will help them all raise the bar while destroying their self-esteem.

 

Just when I thought I couldn't love Feinberg more. :-)

[wanderwoman]

There's something truly ironic about Abby giving advice on saving the studio to hard-up studio owners.  Wasn't she under the threat of bankruptcy before the show bailed her out?  You can't tell everyone to get their own reality series, Abby.

[Uke]

Hi all! Coming over here from the Dancing With The Stars forum.

It was announced Monday night that Abby Lee was going to be a guest judge on DWTS.  I only watched Season 1 of Dance Moms and only sporadically since then so I'm wondering if you would know...

I recall Abby justifying her tough treatment of the kids because she was training them for careers and made a big deal about how her students are now working on Broadway, on tv, etc. Have any of her grown students come forward telling of their success in the dance world?

I'm expecting a real nightmare when she hits the judges' table and starts critiquing, particularly the pro dancers.  Back when Dance Moms first started, DWTS pro Mark Ballas caught an episode of Dance Moms + called out Abby for her "horrific" teaching tactics and treatment of young children in a series of tweets. Other pros (including Louis, Lacey, Derek, there may have been others) joined in calling her teaching abusive. Abby then hit the talk show circuit defending herself and being particularly cutting towards Mark & Derek.  Mark & Derek are still teaching stars to dance and are competing in the current DWTS season.  DWTS fans seem pretty irked at the prospect of Abby Lee being brought in to judge.

That's why I'm asking. Does anyone know of her qualifications, beyond being a reality show personality and owner of a dance school?  Has she ever been a dancer? Does she actually choreograph for the kids? Does she have a bunch of successful working former students?  Talk to me LOL! What do you know? Thanks!

Edited April 23, 2014 by Uke

[spanana]

I don't think Abby's qualifications really matter because her teaching style is still abusive, successful students or not, and I'm cringing at the idea of her guest judging DWTS for the reasons you mentioned.  I expect the DWTS pros are not going to take very kindly to her as they are also dance teachers and in some cases teach young children.  So I think they will very gladly make their feelings known and try to bring Abby down a few pegs if needed.  Especially if she goes after any of their celebs. 

[Rhondinella]

It was announced Monday night that Abby Lee was going to be a guest judge on DWTS.  I only watched Season 1 of Dance Moms and only sporadically since then so I'm wondering if you would know...

 

 

I didn't know, cause I don't watch DWTS but I may have to tune in for that ep.

Does anyone know of her qualifications, beyond being a reality show personality and owner of a dance school?  Has she ever been a dancer? Does she actually choreograph for the kids? Does she have a bunch of successful working former students?

 

Well, she claims to have successful working former students, as does her website.  That has profiles of dancers who have worked and are working on Broadway and other professional settings, and at least one who has worked on TV (dancer on Smash).  How much of their success is due to her directly is not clear, of course.

As for her background, I'm not sure if she ever was a dancer herself.  Maybe when she was younger?  But her mother was a dance teacher, and so she became one.  Yes, she does choreograph many of her own numbers, although as others have pointed out, she's not a very creative choreographer, at least not with what we see the competition team do on a weekly basis.  Tends to be the same 10 moves over and over again.  Of course, that could be because she insists on the girls leaning new competition routines in 3 days or less, and that wouldn't be possible if she threw them a lot of new moves all the time.

Of course, she's not the only (or even main?) teacher.  There are lots of underlings that we occasionally see working with the students.  Abby usually comes in to give "notes" on their routines after they've worked it out for a while with another teacher.  Although that may be SOP in dance studios, I don't know.

[Rhondinella]

it was Christi that proposed the show.

 

I did not know that.  Very interesting.  Wonder if she's still glad she did?

[Absolom]

I'm guessing Christi has had several times she's rethought that decision.  It's been said that before the show Abby was only the owner and director of the studio and spent very little time actually teaching.  I think as an owner she'd be tough to deal with but since you can go months without talking to the studio owner, the parents put up with her.  She had a record of hiring good teachers which is where the kids actually developed.  It's not an accident that they seemed to slow down developing when the show began. 

[Rhondinella]

That's interesting, Absolom.  I didn't know any of that.  It would explain a lot.

[Uke]

Thank you for your replies! 

 

I went to the website you referenced, Rhondinella.  A few have worked or are working on Broadway, touring with pop stars, tv shows, etc.  But it seemed an awful lot of them got jobs on cruise ships, at Busch Gardens and at various Disney theme parks (surprised to see Disney Tokyo listed numerous times-hmm who knew!).  But as you said, it's unclear how much of their success is due to Abby directly vs. Abby's studio teachers.  Also Abby may have recruited some of them who were essentially trained elsewhere (i.e. Asia who I heard was recruited from another school for Abby's competition team and performed on DWTS). I can only wonder how many of her students become turned off to dance as a result of her teaching methods.   There doesn't seem to be a whole lot of joy in dancing from what I've seen.

 

I agree, Spanana, Abby's qualifications really don't matter because her style is still abusive. And after the stupidity we saw with Redfoo this week, her qualifications don't matter for "judging" either.  I just came here to learn a bit as there's so much conversation and protesting going on about bringing Abby on to DWTS. 

 

I'm not sure if the pros will talk back to Abby or not. Maks might, Sharna maybe. But I think her real targets will be Mark & Derek and I think both will just smile at her. They're both too heavily credentialed to justify her critiques with any response.   I expect Abby will throw around every technical term she knows to show how smart she is, though I'm guessing she has little-to-no experience with ballroom. Though I pity the poor couples who are assigned a contemporary or jazz that week.

 

Anyway, thank you everyone!

[leighroda]

I heard a while back that Maddie was chosen to be in Sia's new music video for the song "chandelier"... It hasn't come out yet, but the song is about binge drinking... So I'm not really sure how appropriate it is to be featuring Maddie. In all fairness though, the video isn't out yet, so I don't know the context of her part in the video, but I do question Melissa's parenting in allowing her to take such a role. In the clips I've seen Maddie is wearing a nude leotard, it kinda skeeves me out, but again I don't know the actual context so I guess we should wait and see.

[Absolom]

I'd be more shocked by Melissa showing what to me is good sense than by questionable judgment.  She seemed to take some lessons from Asia's mother during the time Asia was on the show.

[leighroda]

The video came out today I'm not sure if this link will work but you can search for it in YouTube if it doesn't... It's "chandelier" by sia.

[rl27rl]

Great.  Yet again, another reason for Abby to idealize Maddie.  Poor girl.  I see her burnt out before she's 16.  How quickly Abby is to forget that Chloe got a lead in another video . . .

[Corazi]

I like this video more than I thought I would. I think the nude leotard seemed to work well for it, instead of making her looked naked, it make her look like a mannequin which enhanced some of the creepy roboticness of some of her motions. It was definitely nice to see her doing something other than Abby's repetitive choreography with her patented "Maddie face".

 

Great.  Yet again, another reason for Abby to idealize Maddie.  Poor girl.  I see her burnt out before she's 16.  How quickly Abby is to forget that Chloe got a lead in another video . . .

Agreed. Good for Maddie that she did this but the way Abby reacts to these things is going to ruin the girls.

[Rhondinella]

Well this is an interesting article/interview.

 

Basically Abby admits that the going around the country to "find a replacement team" was actually intended to find the next contestants on "Abby's Ultimate Dance Competition."  However, the network put that show on hold for the moment (stating that it was a harder sell overseas) in favor of the new "Abby's Studio Rescue" show.  So then they had to do something with the kids they'd found so they created "a replacement team" from them.

 

Kinda similar to how they recruited kids and parents for the "Dance Dads" spinoff, and then ended up using them as Cathy's new Candy Apples team when the show didn't go through.

[Absolom]

That's very interesting and I'm glad to hear AUDC is on hold.  I hope it's permanent. 

[Lemons]

Great.  Yet again, another reason for Abby to idealize Maddie.  Poor girl.  I see her burnt out before she's 16.  How quickly Abby is to forget that Chloe got a lead in another video . . .

The video that Chloe "had the lead in" was a promotional video that all the Dance Mom girls were in.  Chloe looked just like the singer, so she got the part as the young version of the singer.

Apparently Sia had seen the girls on Dance Moms and was impressed with Maddie.  She requested Maddie for her video.  It was a lot more "professional" than the video that all of the girls were in. 

It was nice to see Maddie perform outside of the usually cheesey dance competition routines.  Dance competitions where 7 year olds perform lyrical with angst looks and reaching for the heavens.  Ugh.

[leighroda]

Maddie performed chandelier on Ellen today, I noticed they had her wear shorts.

http://www.ellentv.com/videos/0-23htfdr8/?sm=social_20140519_24210844

[Corazi]

Wow. The dance looked better than it did in the video. It's not the typical pretty and perfect Maddie-dance that we always see. I really like how different it is and how she seems to really be feeling her character. If they showed her do more dances like this on Dance Moms instead of just repeating the same set of moves over and over again then I think people would be able to see that Maddie really is talented. As it is on the show, they're telling us that all the time but we never really get to see how talented she is. With that said, this style is clearly not really her forte, you can see that she makes a few technical errors in it, but if she keeps practicing then I think she'll definitely be able to fix those.

 

The nude leotard came off much worse in the Ellen performance. She looked like a naked little girl with short shorts on and it was a bit uncomfortable to watch. I'm sure they have their own stylistic reasons for having her wear that but I found it a bit inappropriate. 

[Absolom]

I thought the underwear look was worse than the original video.  A near to nude bikini might have looked better.  I still don't care for the dance.

[leighroda]

I posted too soon...but I was going to say I think the shorts make it worse in the sense that it draws attention to the apparent nudity, then it kinda looks silly because it's like nudity on the bottom=not ok but topless= cool.

[Corazi]

I didn't even think of it like that but that's so true! The shorts are a really weird choice.

Edited May 21, 2014 by Rhondinella
Duplication

[Lemons]

I agree Corazi,  Maddie really shines when she's able to dance something that's not competition style (so stale)!

She was amazing and the singing was amazing. 

[rl27rl]

Yeah, still don't like the dance.

[NextIteration]

Oh boy, Asia gets her own half our show when Dance Mom's returns on July 29th.

[Absolom]

OK, I'll say it - family of fame whores.

[RealityCowgirl]

Oh boy, Asia gets her own half our show when Dance Mom's returns on July 29th.

Oh, good lord. Well, there's the pleasure of imagining some of the heads of other fame whores on this show exploding with the news.

I'll take that. Since I won't be watching.

[Rhondinella]

Well, I have to say, of all the girls Asia would be the one I'd be most interested in watching a show about.  Not that that's saying much.  But still, she is a very charismatic young lady and excellent performer.  If the show focuses on her parents taking her around to auditions, and give a behind the scenes look at what it takes for kids to make it in the entertainment industry it could actually be interesting (kinda like Show Biz Moms and Dads, which I still miss).  But the fact that the press release indicates her "body-builder father" will also be featured means they're probably going to focus more on the family itself.  I'll try one ep to see which it is, but that may be all.

[rl27rl]

Does anyone know what the outcome was from the trial of Kelly Hyland's charges of assault?

[Rhondinella]

Well, I found this:

 

Hyland updated fans on the court proceedings Monday, posting to Twitter, “My trial was today… still no outcome.”

 

 

From this article.

[NextIteration]

Sigh.  I guess the bullying thing about Chloe's eye I presume might have happened after all.

 

Looks like this might be the last of it as well. [Note from mod: warning, that article contains info some may consider a spoiler (although mild) about the upcoming season]

Edited July 26, 2014 by Rhondinella
removed spoiler tags; thanks, but unnecessary

[RedheadZombie]

Oh boy, Asia gets her own half our show when Dance Mom's returns on July 29th.

 

I just saw the trailer, and I hadn't been warned.  I don't know if I can even hate-watch this.  I'm uncomfortable with my level of dislike for this little girl.  I especially despise her mother - guess this is why she had the mole removed from her face.

[HighQueenEB]

Update on Kelly's lawsuit.  Sounds like there should be more news next week.

 

http://deadline.com/2014/08/dance-moms-lawsuit-abby-lee-miller-lifetime-kelly-hyland-819658/#respond

[wanderwoman]

Sigh.  I guess the bullying thing about Chloe's eye I presume might have happened after all.

 

Looks like this might be the last of it as well. [Note from mod: warning, that article contains info some may consider a spoiler (although mild) about the upcoming season]

WhO the F does Abby think she is? Let's be realistic for a moment- and I trulg, truly hope some Abby spy reads this to HER outloud- Abby is NOTHING without those girls. If it wasn't for those beautiful children and their parents, she would be a morbidly obese child abuser on the edge of bankruptcy (or bankrupt). She's not a dance teacher. Dance teachers actually know how to dance and model technique, attitude, and proper training behavior for their students. They build children up. Abby sits on a chair and screams criticisms and insults AT CHILDREN! That's why her accreditation was taken away. The governing body was appalled by her methods. She only keeps the designation of accreditation for her studio because the ACTUAL instructors are dedicated to their craft. Abby isn't even a good choreographer! If you look at Maddie's routines, they are the same moves repeated over and over again- same moves, different song. She plays to Maddie's strengths while saddling Chloe, Nia, and Kendall with routines that accentuate their weaknesses. Rather than teach them corrections (which, face it, she's too obese to perform herself), she screams at them. She's a hack.

People who abuse children do it because they enjoy the imbalance of power. It makes them feel big. Choosing a favorite isn't uncommon for bullies. They need approval from someone and, to be honest, the Zeigler girls don't seem to have much in terms of role models. Abby couldn't ever be Nia's favorite because Nia has a strong family to encourage mature, unconditional love and self worth. Chloe has her parents and others dedicated to her emotional well being. Abby chooses to make Maddie and Mack the chosen kids because they adore Abby's attention and they have to get stability from a dance studio rather than a vested family and community. Abby is a bully. Picking on children about their abilities and appearance is never acceptable. Capitalizing on that abuse is abhorrent. I don't care how many promotional gifts Abby gives those girls. Gifts will never be substitutes for an adult's protection and trust.

[JerseyGirl]

The video came out today I'm not sure if this link will work but you can search for it in YouTube if it doesn't... It's "chandelier" by sia.

 

121,758,682 views.  Amazing, I don't think I've ever seen a music video with that many views (not that I watch them all the time).

[JerseyGirl]

Sia's Chandelier, which Ziegler stars in, has received nominations at the 2014 MTV Video Music Awards for 'Video of the Year' and 'Best Choreography'.

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maddie_Ziegler

[Rhondinella]

Great.  And if it wins anything Abby will find a way to claim credit.  You know she will.

[JerseyGirl]

Great.  And if it wins anything Abby will find a way to claim credit.  You know she will.

 

Well, in Abby's defense, Maddie has been studying at her studio since she was what, 2 years old?

[wanderwoman]

Well, in Abby's defense, Maddie has been studying at her studio since she was what, 2 years old?

Sure. Maddy has been studying at the studio. But, in Abby's book, she admits that she doesn't teach the girls. She choreograph their numbers. That's not instruction. The instruction is handled by prior students and they use a written curriculum that Abby claims to have created (although, in actuality, she just pilfered the lesson plans from classical disciplines and workshops). Abby likes to claim that she molded Maddy and recognised her talent early. But, in reality, Maddy was just one of many in the toddler class that was taught by a teenager Abby hired. In the book, she explains that, when Maddy was five, the staff came to her to talk about this kid that caught on quick and had great technique. Abby allowed Maddy to take class with some of the older kids and Abby choreographed a few solos for Maddy because her mom started helping out around the studio. So, Abby doesn't teach Maddy. She choreographs routines for her. There's a very big difference.

Interestingly, in the book, Abby says that she had wanted the production/show to be about her older dance group. Ultimately, according to Abby, the producers were more interested in certain moms and, thus, the "Junior Elite" team was created. Prior to the show, they weren't a group. Brooke danced with the older kids. Makenzie was in the beginner's classes and not on any team. Maddy, Chloe, and Paige did several trio's and won often. Chloe was on one of the teams and a ballet stand out. Nia took class and performed with one of the other groups. So, the show chose the elite team because the moms were interesting.

A couple things from Abby's "book".

1. It's horribly written. It starts and stops in odd places.

2. Abby is fickle as he'll. Melissa is supposed to be her buddy. Honestly, though, Abby calls her "a dimwit", a bad mother for an unnamed incident, and says she's a control freak. Abby calls Christi "a classic mean girl...clawing her way to the top one meet and greet at a time". She blames Christi for all the drama and says she plots against people with Chloe to destroy other dancers. Chloe also gets accused of being needy and greedy because she monopolized the set tutor on the bus trip getting her schoolwork done. As if that's a bad thing. She says Jill and Kendall are vain, indecisive, and stuck up. Nia and Holly are "bookish" and that seems to intimidate Abby. Kelly is labeled "shoulda, coulda, woulda" and Abby childishly says that Kelly is an alcoholic. "Brooding Brooke" is, according to Abby, miserable and throwing her talent away. Paige is the "party girl".

3. Abby is clearly juvenile about "the blondes". It's bizarre how she seems to have a grudge against blondes.

4. In the episode where Maddy forgot her Dance, Abby explains that she was so devastated because she feels Christi, Chloe, and the producers set up Marcie to fail. She claims that she had taught Chloe her entire solo and only got Maddy's up to 64 counts. Then, she claims production created drama and made the cast get on the bus to go to the competition. At the comp, she told Gianna to finish teaching Maddy, but then production sent the girls to film and Gianna went to explore the city, leaving Maddy to finish learning the routine in the dressing room. Of course, then, the filming boom crane was too close to Maddie on stage and, coming out of a turn, "the camera boom was less than 12 inches from M's face". MADDY couldn't do the next move because the camera was in the way so she forgot the rest and ran off. Here's the problem. The dance shown on the show pulls out as Maddy forgets and there is no camera near Maddy!

Abby said she got so upset because Maddy deserves to win because she works harder than anyone else.

It's interesting that when Chloe has to go on stage with untaught, unfinished routines, Abby doesn't give her the same slack.

I'm only halfway through the book and I'm appalled.

[JerseyGirl]

The video for "Chandelier" won best choreography at the VMAs

 

Maddie at the VMA's:

 

 

She was there with Melissa and Abbey.

[Diane Mars]

It's not media related, but could't find any other place to  post it, and I don't think it needs it's own topic, but I found the "rules" to attend the "famous Nationals" as audience :  http://events.sacbee.com/calabasas_ca/events/show/370958789-in10sity-dance-la-nationals-invitational-featuring-dance-moms
 
EDIT : Found somenthing a kind of "weird" here : https://www.facebook.com/8CountDanceAcademy/posts/823276981017484 (" We compete tomorrow at the Dance Moms Nationals!!! Come watch us at Calabasas High! You can buy tickets until 11pm tonight with the link below. Our competition schedule is on our website's homepage www.8CountLA.com under the "What's Happening" section! The competition starts at 9am! 5-6-7-8 COUNT!")

 

and here : https://www.facebook.com/8CountDanceAcademy/photos/a.176564949022027.43772.147353805276475/819192901425892/?type=1&relevant_count=1 ("#tbt to Dance Moms Nationals 2 years ago! We're so excited to announce that we've been invited to compete in the @in10sitydance Dance Moms Nationals against @therealabbylee next Saturday, July 5th in Calabasas!!! You can buy tickets to come watch the competition with this link http://in10sity-dance.ticketleap.com/dancemomsla/. We'll post this link and the schedule to our website once we get it. 5-6-7-8 COUNT!!!")

 

So, the competition we see are "ALDC invitational competitions" only (so YES, when Cathy's there, she's been invited !), and none of the real ones.

Edited September 25, 2014 by Diane Mars

[CakeLeigh]

I can guarantee you no "official" nationals would use a high school as a venue. They are usually held at large hotel convention centers and are never invitationals. "Nationals" typically last 5 or more days and involve 30 or more studios.

[limecoke]

So even the "nationals" are fake.  Oy.