Dancing Queen - General Discussion

[Meredith Quill]

A place to discuss particular episodes, arcs and moments from the show's run. Please remember this isn't a complete catch-all topic -- check out the forum for character topics and other places for show-related talk.

[Guest]

Premieres October 5th on Netflix!

[Stenbeck]

Always and forever....ALYSSA EDWARDS!

[Ciarrai]

Halfway through the first episode and I am so happy right now! I love a good dance show and it's a huge bonus when it includes one of my favourite queens.

[Keywestclubkid]

I’m at episode 3 and It feels like two separate shows got meshed into one I dont hate it it just feels disjointed 

[meatball77]

Totally, it's a show about a drag queen dealing with her life and a show about a dance studio being run by a director that encourages crazy moms.  Both are good.  It works for some reason though.

The moms are insane but it's easy to see why he encourages it.

[Grammaeryn]

I finished all of season 1 (shitty day avoidance). I loved how patient and honest Justin is with the kids and moms. Marcella needs time and/or therapy. I could have done without the music video montages every episode. Also, the changing hair colors and cuts on the kids and moms had me struggling to keep up. I’ll definitely be back for season 2.

[Stenbeck]

Finished episode 2 and I love it.

Granted, Alyssa Edwards is my ALL TIME favorite drag race contestant. I love seeing the man behind the queen, and Justin really is a great guy. Make that money!

The dance moms are hilarious.

[Hellohappylife]

I’m 5 Episodes in and I’m already going to be sad when it ends! I love Alyssa Edwards/Justin 

It’s interesting to see the more personal side of his life outside of drag. I didn’t know his mom died in 2014 the same year as mine so that was kinda comforting to see that it’s still something we both struggle with. His home life /family past is something a lot of people can relate to. It’s hard to come from a family who thinks you’re “stuck up” or better than them just because you chose a different path. You can tell he’s guarded & doesn’t want to get close because they’ve take advantage of him in the past. 

The dance mom’s are just crazy,... there like the crazy moms on toddlers and tiaras there’s no need to put down other children cause your kid didn’t make it. I like that Justin is real. You can’t win everything. Better to learn young so reality doesn’t slap you in the face later.

 

hope there is a season 2!

Edited October 7, 2018 by Hellohappylife

[savannah31401]

I love everything about this show! It is nutty me because I grew up in North East Dallas which is very close to Mesquite. I am happy to see all my favorite gay clubs are still going in Oak Lawn!

[cyberfruit]

I'm enjoying this show, even if I feel like sometimes Alyssa's dragsona is finally a little flat in the talking heads. I love me some Alyssa, I have for years, but maybe that's something to retool in the second session.

[Guest]

I had to laugh at Justin, standing in the front yard of his childhood home, telling his secretary/friend, "I was 18 years old when I left. I walked down the driveway and said I'm never going to look back," while his secretary was all, "Yes, good for you for never looking back."

Yes! Good for you for never looking back while you're standing in the front yard...looking back.

ETA: OK, the continuity of the house storyline drove me nuts. When Justin first met his realtor there, the house clearly had dark brown floors. On 'moving' day, the floors had been ripped out and Justin talked about having a Halloween party. Then, at the Halloween party, the same dark brown floors were magically back! 

As for the big "Los Angeles" dance competition—from my generous estimation, there were maybe three other teams there in a very small venue. They all talked about going to Los Angeles to compete in this big competition—but it didn't seem big at all and I have to wonder if they producers put that whole affair together for the cameras. 

I like the show. I like Alyssa and I like Justin. But it seems to be more of the same old reality show set ups that made me sour on watching reality shows years ago. There's nothing really real going on.

That being said, I can't remember his name but that male dancer? So good. More dancing and less manufactured intrigue, please. 

[Keywestclubkid]

19 hours ago, Giant Misfit said:

I had to laugh at Justin, standing in the front yard of his childhood home, telling his secretary/friend, "I was 18 years old when I left. I walked down the driveway and said I'm never going to look back," while his secretary was all, "Yes, good for you for never looking back."

Yes! Good for you for never looking back while you're standing in the front yard...looking back.

ETA: OK, the continuity of the house storyline drove me nuts. When Justin first met his realtor there, the house clearly had dark brown floors. On 'moving' day, the floors had been ripped out and Justin talked about having a Halloween party. Then, at the Halloween party, the same dark brown floors were magically back! 

As for the big "Los Angeles" dance competition—from my generous estimation, there were maybe three other teams there in a very small venue. They all talked about going to Los Angeles to compete in this big competition—but it didn't seem big at all and I have to wonder if they producers put that whole affair together for the cameras. 

I like the show. I like Alyssa and I like Justin. But it seems to be more of the same old reality show set ups that made me sour on watching reality shows years ago. There's nothing really real going on.

That being said, I can't remember his name but that male dancer? So good. More dancing and less manufactured intrigue, please. 

It really does seem like they shot 2 separate shows and then when one didn't work they just meshed them together it was hard to keep up with and care about the dancers because you were jerked away for 20 min on something that had nothing to do with the kids and when you got interested in Justin they would do some random music video out of nowhere and then go back to the kids it was like editing ADD if it comes back I hope they focus it more on one thing with out all the random shit thrown in 

[WhineandCheez]

Alyssa Edwards is my favorite queen.  I had no idea this show was on, I squeeed for like 15 minutes when I saw it on the Netflix homepage.  I'm enjoying it, I just get tired of Dance Moms living their life thru their kids.  Been there--done that via several other shows.

[Guest]

35 minutes ago, Keywestclubkid said:

they would do some random music video out of nowhere and then go back to the kids it was like editing ADD if it comes back I hope they focus it more on one thing with out all the random shit thrown in 

You speak the truth. The random music videos were the worst. I thought when Alyssa went to the club to do a show, they'd actually show a portion of her show and not her line dancing in a music video. I also had no love for the bowling video either.

I think on paper the back and forth with Alyssa commenting on what Justin was doing was a good idea. In execution, however, it never translated properly. 

Also, the little kids are completely obnoxious actors. The less I see of them the better. 

[Ciarrai]

On 10/8/2018 at 5:25 PM, Giant Misfit said:

ETA: OK, the continuity of the house storyline drove me nuts. When Justin first met his realtor there, the house clearly had dark brown floors. On 'moving' day, the floors had been ripped out and Justin talked about having a Halloween party. Then, at the Halloween party, the same dark brown floors were magically back! 

 

The floors were actually covered in cardboard during moving day. I assume the dark brown floors are underneath the cardboard.

I have no idea why I went back to look for that, but I did.

[rlc]

Please, no more Ainsley, and way less of the obnoxious moms.

[zenithwit]

Just finished the first season.  Since it ended on a cliffhanger, I'm assuming that they are expecting this show to do well or that it's insanely cheap to produce and they are planning to do a second season.

I agree that the episodes formats were lacking.  In theory, I loved the idea of Drag Race meets Dance Moms but the execution felt disjointed.  I almost wished there was more structure to the episodes.  Or maybe if they focused on one storyline and had the other one more as a subplot?

Liked seeing the cameos from the other drag queens.  It's interesting that this was released around the same time as "A Star is Born" (with Shangela appearing in both).

And I loved JJ dressing up as Alyssa Edwards for Halloween.  That was super cute.

[ClareWalks]

Love Alyssa and the kids are good, but I hate these pathetic moms who have to live through the glory and achievements of their kids. I don't think these women realize how tragic they are. In one ep when Ainsley's mom said "what do we call second place? LOSER," and Ainsley started crying...jesus christ.

[Ciarrai]

My heart broke for Brooke when she had five points docked for the wrong music. She tried so hard to hide her upset.

Justin's sisters are trainwrecks. Yikes. The one who had a seizure while driving? There's no way she should have a valid license right now.

[Xantia]

On 10/15/2018 at 11:09 PM, ClareWalks said:

Love Alyssa and the kids are good, but I hate these pathetic moms who have to live through the glory and achievements of their kids. I don't think these women realize how tragic they are. In one ep when Ainsley's mom said "what do we call second place? LOSER," and Ainsley started crying...jesus christ.

In a few years time there'll be the follow up show where the kids are discussing all the therapy they've needed after that sort of toxic competitive attitude.

Like others I'm enjoying most of the kids dance routines - I'd be interested in more about their day to day lives, how they balance dance with school, etc.

The story of Justin's family trying to reconcile and move on from past hurt is so real to me, those fights they have in front of the camera are the same kind of fights I've had with my siblings - those parts read to me as the most natural, unscripted and unmanipulated by the reality producers (I suspect his sisters would tell the production crew exactly where they could shove any 'suggestions').

[rlc]

So, don’t judge and I promise I am nothing like these moms, but my daughter does competitive dance. Not sure exactly how many hours a week these kids spend at the studio, but for some perspective, my daughter is 7, and currently attends classes three afternoons a week for 7 hours in total. Competition season begins much, much later in the year than the show implies, and the kids work on their routines for months to perfect them. My kid is not dancing a solo this year or taking additional acrobatics classes- kids that do either of those things spend more time (and money) at the studio. One of the boys on her team is at the studio 6 days a week (insane, even by my standards). It is hard work, like any sport, and these kids are incredible. At our studio, there are no Ainsleys or kids of her ilk, and parents are not allowed into the practice studios. We are restricted to a waiting area, or, encouraged to drop them off and come pick them up at the end of class. I should also mention that this was her choice- she loves to dance, and loves being on stage, especially in front of judges. She’s a natural performer, and has been asking to do this since she’s three.

[zenithwit]

22 hours ago, rlc said:

At our studio, there are no Ainsleys or kids of her ilk, and parents are not allowed into the practice studios.

I have always wondered with these type of reality shows if there is some legal reason why the moms are in the room and on camera with the kids.  I remember one episode of Dance Moms where a couple of the moms were boycotting the show (I know,I know, that was like every other episode) and the girls were in the studio but had to be hustled into a side room because their moms were not present.

[Guest]

On 10/16/2018 at 11:12 PM, rlc said:

At our studio, there are no Ainsleys or kids of her ilk, and parents are not allowed into the practice studios. We are restricted to a waiting area, or, encouraged to drop them off and come pick them up at the end of class.

Yeah, I have to believe that all of the drama on this show was staged for the cameras. I just caught the last episode where Justin starts fighting with the one girl's mother and thought, "Oh, no. You'd be out of business in five seconds if this kind of nonsense were a daily occurrence." Even at that last recital they had with all the mothers on the stage clinging to their children, I nearly died of second-hand embarrassment for them. 

And was that supposed to be some kind of cliffhanger? I could care less if he picks Martha Plimpton, Jr. or that girl who looks like she could make a living from being credited as "benign teenage girl #2" in any CW-based teen drama. 

I really had some high expectations for this show that I probably shouldn't have. The best part for me was Gabe who was a lovely dancer and just as lovely a person. Best part: his mother was nowhere on the scene. 

Here's an Instagram post he made of himself dancing:

[Adultosaurus]

I'm a Mom of a competitive cheer kid and we have a closed gym - the Moms aren't allowed in practices at all (for good reason). These Moms ruin this show for me (but I still love it)

[Adultosaurus]

Y'all - sorry to hate on a child but Ainsley and her Mom need to go.

[jennylauren123]

Moms, and I am one, need to learn to let their kids live their lives. And moms get to live their lives, too, which does not mean living thorugh your kids. As the old saying goes, get a life!

I can think of some things that Ainsley's mom could do to show her kids what living a healthy life means. And that means physically and emotionally. That's being a good role model. You try to live a life that your children, and you, can be proud of. These moms, many of them, are ridiculous. Do they have jobs? Careers? Hobbies? Interests?

[Ciarrai]

I want this show to come back now. I could use a good dose of drag queens and dance mom drama.

[Chalby]

Is this the show I'm currently watching? I am really enjoying it, and the Canadian dancer is a quite the character. She's not following the "Canadians are nice" trope, lol.

[Chalby]

Nuts, sorry gang. I thought this was Dancing Queens - a show that follows 5 women who compete in ballroom. Oops, thanks to another viewer, I now understand the show follows 6 queens. I'm really enjoying it.

The Ontario dancer loves to get "into" the minds of her competitors, and make them start to doubt themselves.

Edited June 14, 2023 by Chalby

[CrazyInAlabama]

No, the Latin ballroom dancer show is Dancing Queens, with the six women they follow, now on Tuesdays on Bravo (maybe it was Netflix at first?). 

[kacesq]

I'm watching this show too! It needs a forum.

[Chalby]

On 6/8/2023 at 4:37 AM, CrazyInAlabama said:

No, the Latin ballroom dancer show is Dancing Queens, with the six women they follow, now on Tuesdays on Bravo (maybe it was Netflix at first?). 

Is it called The Ballroom Dancing Queens, or just Dancing Queens? I wish there was a forum because I have so many questions.

[CrazyInAlabama]

The Bravo show is Dancing Queens, about Latin ballroom dancing.