Hi, honeys! I’m home! No idea what I missed in last week’s actual Dance Moms episode — but it looks like maybe a new opener and Payton landing herself on crutches are top of the heap?
Looks like we were also the overall high-scoring group, but outside of that, things were no good. As in “It’s all fun and games until someone loses an eye” not good, according to Abby. Someone lost an eye?! Maybe I need to watch after all, because Abby doesn’t explain. Or you guys could tell me what happened in the comments section below. That would work, too.
Pyramid time.
Payton is bottom of the bottom, because she has yet to admit that she got hurt because she was goofing off — which Abby knows to be true because Payton’s story has changed so much. And also because she heard Payton was mocking the ballet routine onstage and that’s what made her fall. She heard it from, like, everybody.
Leslie defends her kid and says even though everyone else told Abby the same story about what happened, Payton merely turned around and fell over a prop. If Abby’s using it as an excuse to kick her off the team, she should just do it and get it over with. Always a smart thing to say something like that to Abby. Payton’s off the team. Leslie says Abby will come crawling back like she always does.
Even though Payton and Leslie are gone, Abby keeps yelling a while about backstage safety. Then she reveals Kendall is next on the pyramid because SHE IS OUT OF CONTROL.
No she’s not, says Jill. Kendall looks like she’s choking back tears, but she holds it together enough to tell Abby that she has a card for her. Abby tells her to set it aside. Jill says she knows they shouldn’t have been late to the competition, but she hopes it doesn’t affect Kendall’s Girl No. 2 status.
Nia is next. She blends. Abby says that’s a compliment. Nia says thank you. Holly is incredulous.
Brooke rounds out the bottom row. Biffed the choreography yet again. Which would make her stand out, yes? And not for good. So why is she ahead of Nia on the pyramid? Especially when Abby says Brooke has lost her drive for everything?
Chloe is last in row two. Abby calls out the Lukasiaks for asking to have the order in which Kendall and Chloe danced at the Believe competition reversed. Chloe admits she asked about it because she wanted to watch her competition, but she doesn’t say she actually asked for a switch. And just like that, we drop it.
Middle of row two is Paige. Her facial expressions were excellent and she out-danced Brooke and Chloe, which, if my calculations are correct, should pretty much tap out Paige’s allotment of compliments for the season.
Big Mac rounds out the row. She was cute, but not memorable.
Maddie is at the top. Of course she is.
This weekend, we are going to Dance Troupe International in Roanoke, VA. Rumor has it the Candy Apples will be there, too. In honor of that, the group routine will be called The Witches of East Canton. AHAHAHA!
Maddie shall play the good witch, which is Abby. The rest are evil witches like Cathy. Or their moms. So many role models to choose from!
Kendall and Chloe will be doing solos — another head-to-head battle designed to determine Girl No. 2. And make their mothers mental.
Let’s go to Canton…
… where Cathy is serenely conducting an all-boy ballet class. Because they lost to the Pitt Crew the last time they met, Cathy has rejiggered her team yet again. Lucas and Zack are back. Nick has returned. And then we have our secret, double-barreled weapons in the Morales Kids, who are YouTube sensations that I have never heard of because I never do YouTube.
Turns out, Cathy’s mother pointed them out to Cathy. Good God. Cathy’s mother is more YouTube savvy than I am. In related news, I miss Solemn Chats With Vivi Over Snack Foods. JC, Executive Producer Superstar, let’s bring those back, OK?
The Apples group dance shall be called Wild Party. Cathy says it’s really showy, with lots of energy. Plus, if it wins, they’re delivering balloons to Abby, so ha ha ha.
Because Abby is apparently stuck fast in the whole pop-star dealie, Chloe will be dancing in the style of Miley Cyrus for her party. Good God, I hope not. This is still a family show by the skin of its teeth.
Kendall will be doing a dance called M.I.A. because that’s how she was bad.
Upstairs, Jill is upset that the girls are being pitted against each other again, which she decides to take out on Christi. Holly doesn’t hold much hope for a peaceful week. When is there ever one of those, Holly? When?
Back to the Wild Party in Canton. Cathy’s happy with the team, but perturbed that the kids have been posting photos on Instagram and blown her ambush on Abby. Her plansy is kaputzy. Her words, not mine. But I may crib the phrase, because screwed-up plans sound so much more palatable if you call them kaputzy plansies. In any case, the mothers are instructed to enforce the no-more-posting-photos law.
Back in PA, Jill is browbeating Abby for not reading Kendall’s little note, which she says is cruel. Abby is too busy being mad about Cathy’s new team. She says the girls must be perfect.
Christi says someone peed in Abby’s cornflakes and also her claiming to be the good witch is like Hannibal Lecter claiming to be Santa Claus. Then Jill stirs the Kendall-versus-Chloe pot again, but it’s curtailed by Abby bellowing at the kids to get their heads out of their butts. If Cathy’s bringing in kids to beat them, maybe she needs to, too. Yes, Abby, we know. We knoooooow.
The moms aren’t happy with the group dance. Not good enough to beat West Coast kids. Doom’s awaitin’. What will we do?
Christi’s happy with Chloe’s solo, though. Abby’s not happy with Chloe at all and wants Christi to know about it firsthand. Christi decides to record the solo on her phone so Chloe can watch it and the corrections back and learn. Practice ends before the solo is finished.
Kendall’s solos are all starting to look the same to me, too. Jill says Chloe and Kendall both get the same old same old, but Kendall’s same old is always harder. Then she and Christi get in a fight about costumes and recording and stuff.
Abby excuses a puffing and red-faced Kendall to go summon the group, and once she’s in the safety of the dressing room, the poor kid breaks down.
Let’s go to Roanoke — because Virginia (and one Jersey cow) welcomes us.
Cathy and Co. are waiting outside for the Pitt Crew’s arrival, which is apparently only Cathy’s idea. The mothers look irked at the indignity, Zack’s mom Gina, especially.
Jill has dance-order envy and costume envy — which is kinda understandable, since Chloe has an ethereal, flesh-toned affair and Kendall looks like she could have been an extra in Olivia Newton-John’s excellent 1981 video for “Physical.” You know what I meeean.
Kendall dances first. Cathy and Bridgette keep up a steady run of smack talk throughout the entire thing. Even though her solos are often a tad dippy, I think Kendall’s leg movements are the most graceful on the team. She moves with the grace of a showgirl.
Chloe goes next.
It’s a genuinely beautiful dance and she performs it with elegance. Cathy keeps her lips zipped through it, too, even though she lets us know afterward that she’s not impressed. She tells her moms that she’s sure the ALDC is running scared, and in this moment — being the serious student of Dance Moms predictability that I am — I realize the Apples are going to lose.
We’ll find out, because it’s time for the Wild Party featuring the YouTube sensation Morales Kids. And Nick and Lucas proving they would fit neatly into some very narrow spaces if called upon to do so.
The Morales Kids’ mother chews gum with great gusto when they dance — and the dance is totally unique and fabulous. Abby must’ve thought so, too, because as she brushes fake muscles onto her dancers, she basically tells them that even their best ain’t going to be good enough tonight. Well, great.
Kelly says she agrees, but Abby owes them a pep talk anyway. Only Maddie gets one. In full earshot of everyone, Abby tells Maddie that she promises she is looking for dancers worth Maddie’s talent. Poor Maddie looks miserable to the point of numbness.
The dancers are only as good as their choreography allows them to be, Miller. All of the dancers. Not just Maddie. Yeesh.
Well now. Given all the teeth gnashing, I was not expecting the dance we got — which was creepy and cool and powerful and beautifully danced. Perhaps someone was trying a little reverse psychology?
Someone is also chair-dancing for all she’s worth. And yes, I did replay that 5 to 17 times.
Kendall’s solo gets second place. Chloe wins it. Jill says Kendall will never be good enough for Abby. Christi says Jill should suck it up.
Holly gives us the psychology behind why we need to win. And, by gosh, we do! Blake apologizes and Cathy leads the Apples out of the auditorium before the Pitt Crew’s win is announced. If there were a taunting penalty in dance, Witches of East Canton should probably have warranted a flag thrown by virtue of its name alone, but, hey — a win’s a win.
Backstage, Blake and the moms talk out their frustrations and Cathy says they’re battling Abby’s persona and the youthful judges wanting to impress her, not the skill of her dancers.
Speaking of dancers…
Chuckle. I love a good mom dance.
Abby barely acknowledges the victory over the Apples, focusing instead on Kendall coming in second to Chloe. Then Holly asks if the group dance win is enough for all the girls to feel secure in their places on the team.
That would be no. Abby says it’s too much work keeping them motivated to win. This ain’t a dancing-school world no more, people … whatever that means.
So what say you, Dance Moms nation? Was The Witches of East Canton really good enough to beat the Wild Party? Was Kendall set up to fail once again? Is Payton really gone for good or only for as long as she needs those crutches? Do you really believe Abby when she says only Maddie’s good enough to stay on the team? Sound off in the comments section below.
Next week, the audition train rolls into Atlanta, we argue more about privates and Abby’s totally excited to see these guys.
New episodes of Dance Moms air Tuesday nights at 9/8CT on Lifetime.
This episode really depressed me. It might be my last, I don’t need that kind of despair added to my life. I wish Kendall’s mom would let her quit and move on to go have a fun high school life with cheerleading, friends, boyfriends and a real life. She is a darling girl and should be having fun in her childhood. Not a steady dose of abuse.
I also feel like the adoration for Maddie is just another form of abuse. Abbie is setting her up. She is going to bring a new talent on the team that will outshine Maddie and Maddie’s fall will be great. The excuse will be that she is doing it to make Maddie better. Even though it doesn’t feel like it, the other girls are better off. Life can only get better.
Is anyone else as disturbed about the fact that Kendall is the second little girl to have a panic attack because of Abby and her tyrannical ways of humiliating her? First Paige hyperventilates and has a thermo-nuclear meltdown because she’s scared to death of Abby, and now Kendall. Sure, some may say that this time was because of Kendall’s difficult routine, and her lack of stamina, but I don’t think that was it at all. I’m not sure who I’m more disgusted in, Abby for terrorizing those girls, or the mothers for not pulling them out and getting them some therapy before it’s too late.
Okay, I’m confused…. How in the world are the Morales Kids YouTube sensations if their videos don’t even have close to a million views.
Who cares how many views they have, most of them are probably repeat watchers anyway. The point is, the kids are amazing and Cathy thinks they’re the answer to her pathetic vendetta against Abby.
Know what’s funny? Dance Troupe International posts the results of their competitions! While it is true that Kendall got second and Chloe got first… THEY DID NOT DANCE IN THE SAME AGE DIVISION!! And you’d think that Abby would give Kendall even more crap since the person she lost to was the Candy Apples girl! http://www.dancetroupechallenge.com/ClientData/file/2013%20Roanoke%20Event(3).pdf
Abby talks about Maddie giving up her ‘school friends’ like that’s a good thing. She’s a child, she’s supposed to have ‘school friends’. They are unbelievably talented…and all they are told is how awful they are. It’s unfathomable to me how the mothers allow that. They are just a guilty as Abby for passively sitting by and allowing her to emotionally and verbally abuse their children. It’s DANCE, people. DANCE. No dance career is worth what that miserable woman puts these kids through. I keep wondering about what happened to Abby to make her so miserable, to make her so set on making sure her words sting these children.
If I could like this a million times, it wouldn’t be nearly enough!!!!
I’m with Michelle! A million likes from me, too.
I only watch the show for Chloe. She has such grace and beauty. As for the Abby/Maddie show, it’s becoming old fast. I agree with Kathryn, Maddie doesn’t need a solo since she is always the featured dancer during the group dance. It pretty much looks like she does the same dance each week with the girls doing the new routines behind her. I was starting to like Jill but that faded fast. Chloe won first in the teen division. She and Kendall weren’t even competing against each other. Kendall was in the junior and placed second regardless. I wish they showed all the awards Chloe got. Is it in the editors cut?
Am I the only one freaked out by the Morales girl’s arms? She looks like a gumby toy! And what’s with Jill’s 3 different shoulder cutout shirts? Did she get bored with her wardrobe from 1985 and just cut the shoulders out of everything?
Jill has absolutely no fashion sense. Not even a trip to New York taught her anything. She should be on What not to wear.
Fashion Moments good! Lori happy!
I’m still trying to get the image of the leather chaps out of my head…..not to mention the cowboy hat LOL.
Jill outdoes herself every week. I dont see how she can be seen in public like that, let alone on television. She should burn the whole wardrobe and start over.
I loved the full dance from the groups, both the Pitt Crew’s and the Candy Apples. Why does Cathy need this constant compeition, why does she have to keep finding people and pulling them out of studios in their hometown for just one dance in her studio. And Abby why are you following in Cathy’s footsteps? I mean, I’m curious about how this will affect the girls, but why are you doing this? This is going to be a really long season, I’m already halfway drained lol.
I don’t think it’s a matter of dancing for Cathy that attracts them, it’s being on television and working with Blake McGrath. He’s, in my opinion and many other dancers I know, a FAR superior choreographer than Abby and is much more well-known.
Question: If it’s Abby & Maddie that are winning every week and the others are just along for the ride, how about the other girls just stand at the back of the stage while Maddie does her thing for the group routine? After all, it’s all Maddie right? Why do the others need to even be there?
Sooo tired of Abby going on and on about it being Maddie and only Maddie and that she needs to find better back up dancers for her.
How about Abby does a group routine or two without Maddie and see how they do without her? Didn’t she do that in a previous season and they won?
Yes, she did. Maddie was her “assistant” that week and didn’t do the group dance, only a solo. The group dance was beautiful and they won first place. Maddie also came in first for her solo so I’m sure she was back on top of the pyramid even though she didn’t compete in the group.
I don’t know about y’all, but I’m so tired of Jill. She’s still complaining that Chloe got to go last a couple of weeks ago and claims that’s the only reason Chloe beat Kendall. She thinks that is unfair but she saw nothing wrong with the fact that Kendall got to start learning her solo a day before Chloe even knew she was going to have a solo. Also, the first time they went head-to-head, they both did jazz, which is Kendall’s strength and she still lost to Chloe. Jill also didn’t see anything wrong with the fact that Kendall was finished with her solo and Chloe still had not finished hers and they were leaving the next morning. Nothing is fair unless Kendall wins. I also think Abby needs to leave Chloe alone about how she got to go after Kendall. Chloe said all she did was ask what the order was and she told Abby the reason she would want to go last is so that she can see her competition so she knows exactly what she has to do to win. She crucified Chloe. If Maddie were to ever do that, Abby would praise her for it. She would say she’s just doing whatever it takes to be number one and that’s what you’re suppose to do. Jill seriously just needs to chill out. I’m sure her reasoning for Chloe beating Kendall AGAIN will be something like Chloe had a better costume, Chloe had better music, Chloe had better choreography, etc…the usual Jill that thinks everything is unfair unless her daughter benefits from it. She just needs to come down to reality and take in the fact that Chloe is a better dancer than Kendall. I’m not even going to get into the chat Abby had with Maddie before they went on stage. I just can’t. I can’t. And Chloe better be at the top of the pyramid this week. Not only did she beat Kendall and come in first place, but she also had the highest scoring solo of the day and received the “Beautiful from Head to Toe” Award. I’m sure Abby will find some reason to put Maddie on top though. You know, especially because she carries the team and all of the other girls are just bringing her down. On another note, I’m so happy Kenzie’s old head shot is back. She looks adorable in it. The new one way just way too grown up for her.
I TOTALLY agree with everything you said about Chloe and Maddie!
I was so happy to see Chloe get a first place. I think she would get a lot more if she got the choreography opportunities that Maddie gets. It really is reprehensible the way that Abby keeps going on and on about Maddie carrying the team. Since when? Abby has this idea and now she is going to keep driving it home. It is really more about Melissa doing all the ass kissing and doing everything that Abby says they should do. I feel so bad for the other girls. I hate it that Abby’s ‘pep talks’ before every performance involves telling them that they suck and that they are replaceable.
Has anybody else noticed that the last several group routines have been a lot alike. Maddie out front, with Brooke doing contortion stuff on the side and the other girls being ‘back-up’ dancers. Brooke is being featured, too. I remember that one number last season where Abby wanted Brooke up on a box or ramp doing contortion stuff while the rest of the girls danced. Something came up that time and the Hyland girls were out and Peyton danced it, but Abby complained because Peyton can’t do the contortionist stuff. Poor Brook with all her dances looking alike. I really loved that number that she did with Paige and Chloe last week where she actually got to dance without all of that stuff. She did really great. If Abby hadn’t pointed out that she had made a mistake (who knows if it was that mistake that cost the win or if for once, there was just another trio that was a little better). When you consider that Brooke never dances that stuff except in the background of group numbers, it was fabulous for them to get 2nd place. I hate the attitude that 2nd place is the first loser. Gah! That leaves a bad taste in my mouth. All of these girls are going to require years of therapy to try to undo what Abby has done to them and their parents allowed. I bet Maddie has an ulcer. Such pressure to remain the best. Abby could turn on her at any moment. God forbid anything come up where she couldn’t be at rehearsal on time or had something else she wanted to do. I just can’t imagine her staying as dedicated. I hate that they are always talking to Mackenzie about ‘being like Maddie’ (even her Mom…Gah again!). Still upset over that ‘you’re my best friend’ creepiness from last week.
Anyway, I will say again that if these girls are replaced, I will no longer watch the show. I don’t want to see a bunch of Maddie clones that Abby didn’t have any hand in training. She should take a leaf from Cathy’s notebook. Cathy has spent all this effort and money to get the best talent and best choreographers and it hasn’t done any good. Sure, Abby’s new ‘team of Maddies’ might win all the competitions, but I can’t imagine them being content to do Abby’s tired choreography week after week. Note: she has similar choreography each week so that the girls can learn and perfect it in 3 days.
We will see. It is really a shame that Abby’s ego has swelled so much that she believes that people are truly watching the show just because of her. Well…I hope it isn’t true. I am sure there is a contingent of people out there that love to root for the bully. I think that, like me, most people watch it because they are invested in these girls and caring about them and loving to watch them dance.
I think that the reason that no charges were really pressed on Kelly was that if they had gone to court, Kelly would have been able to bring in all that evidence of Abby abusing the girls and calling them names and doing and saying things that would make any Mom pull her hair. I would love to pull Abby’s hair on behalf of Paige alone. Then Chloe, then Brooke, then Kendall, then Mackenzie. A handful of hair for every time she called any one of those girls ‘stupid’.
I’m aggressively ignoring the whole “Kelly v. Abby: Bullsh*tter on the Twitter” affair. The show’s about all I can take of that drama. But I’m with you. They replace the girls, they can replace me as a viewer, too.
where ya been? charges were pressed
kelly has been enjoined from contacting Abby
they are back in court in march
Ah…hadn’t heard that part yet. Well…it will be interesting to see how it plays out. Footage of Abby being abusive countered with footage of Kelly allowing it and bringing the girls back despite it. Hmmm. Wouldn’t it be interesting if the judge enjoined Abby from ‘teaching’ children ever again!
Oh please! I love the girls, but I’d rather know they’re away from abby and just watch their dances on youtube, along with any movies they might be in of course
Wasn’t a lot of details with Payton’s injury . . . moms & Abby were in the dressing room; Gia opens the door & says Payton hurt herself. Switch to outside of dressing room; Payton is on floor in hysterics. Abby asks her level of pain; I think Payton says 7. Abby says they have to reblock dance. Switch back to dressing room. Payton is in wheelchair. Paramedics come in, put Payton on stretcher and take her away.
Lori, you need to watch that episode for your comments on
Abby making Mackenzie rub her feet if nothing else!
Aaaaand I just shot coffee out my nose on that one. Ow.
Note to self (and Lori): Never drink coffee while reading/watching anything Dance Moms related!
You can also see the choreographer’s cut on the Lifetime website.
It’s really interesting now that they’re showing the choreographer’s cuts. You can really see that the gap between Maddie and Chloe is non-existent and the gap between the top two girls and the rest is pretty narrow. I’ve also noticed how much they edit the performances for the desired result. Like last night–early in the CA routine the girl dancer totally biffs a turn-and-catch with her male partner, but they cut away so quickly you can barely see it. But it was there, and it could well have cost them first place vs. the ALDC’s almost flawless routine. It’ll be interesting to watch the CC version next week.
Lori, I think you need to watch the CC version. I’d love to hear your take.
Forgive me for being dense, Max, but where do I find this version? I’m all for a new perspective!
It usually comes on Lifetime right before the new episode (I live in central time and the CC episode comes on at 7:00 for me). It’s really interesting and a times eye opening to see the dances in their entirety. Answers some questions you might’ve had when you first saw the episode.
Well I’ll be. I’ll check it out!
Thanks Max, I knew there was something different about the episodes the following week prior to the new ones, but couldn’t quite put my finger on it.
I noticed the same thing. If chloe wss given the chance she could be the lead in any of the dances. Melissa kissed Abbys ass. Christi refuses to. That is the only thing holding Chloe back. In the long run as much as it hurtd her now, ut eill help chloe become a powerful woman. Maddie will not know what to do with herself when she grows up.
You would think by now–Maddie would be getting to the age where she would not want to be singled out like she is. She’s old enough to say “hey these guys are good too”. It makes everyone dislike Maddie–who is just a kid–but she always gets over-the-top treatment and always always always the best choreography. I bet Chloe and Kendall would both do a great job with the choreography that Maddie always gets.
I thought Maddie looked distinctly uncomfortable during Abby’s pre-dance speech.
It’s also interesting that in the Choreographer’s Cut, it’s been Chloe who talks to the team before they take the stage both times. Again, I am not picking on Maddie who is certainly very talented and seems to be a pretty nice, normal kid. I’m just agreeing that the more of the “reality” they show, the less real the “Perfect Maddie” story line becomes. I think Maddie is far more likeable when you see she isn’t perfect, and that she does let Chloe take the lead now and then.
Wow…is it my imagination or is Abby getting worse and worse each week with her ‘Maddie is the only dancer worthy of my time’ attitude. ? It’s just getting harder and harder to watch….
Even tho the “Witches of Canton” was beautifully danced, I think the Apples team was robbed again this week… their dance was amazing!! Did anyone else agree with the Apples’ parents that the judging seems partial to favor Abby’s team so consistently…? I’m sure there is lots of talent at these competitions and yet the ALDC seems to pull off a first place win (practically) every time! Ummm….really? Doesn’t sound like a level playing field to me.
Thanks, Lori, as always for your excellent recap!
agreed. i think in the first few seasons it was muh less scripted but was showing that abby genuinely adored maddie because maddie was the most dedicated student and her mom didn’t tell abby how to do her job every week. but she still showed that she loved the other kids and loved being a dance teacher. now it seems like that’s not good enough for the producers/ratings anymore so abby is putting on this ‘maddie rules the rest of you suck, i have to scream irrationally all the time’ which is way beyond rewarding a dedicated kid. either that or all this dance moms filming business has taken her joy out of teaching children.
It’s taken the fun out of watching the show, as well. We will watch if everyone gets a fair shot at success and the girls are allowed to feel good and have some fun. Well, I will, anyway….
I agree, even though Blake is in cahoots with Cathy, he is a PHENOMENAL choreographer and really brings out the best in those kids. And absolutely, they hit the nail on the head when it comes to Abby’s reputation having a lot of clout with judges, no one wants to down score Abby, even if she blatantly deserves it. Who you know is a huge, HUGE part of competitions, not just in dance. Doesn’t make it right, but all’s fair in politics, and that’s exactly what these competitions are, politics. Whatcha gonna do about it though, play along or move out of the way. (shrug)
You’re welcome, Maria!
i agree with a lot of what you say. these “competitions” have to be rigged because NO ONE wins everytime. Not Maddie. Not anyone. However, that being said, the Candy Apple routine was not great. It was fresh and unique, definitely. But the dancers were not as synchronized as ALDC and the CA group had some serious technique issues with arms and feet. The girl was amazing, but the boys needed a little more time, I think, to really perfect their parts. Definitely feel like Abby should’ve beat Candy Apple, but as for the rest of the groups….without seeing them it’s hard to say, but I’m suspicious of this team ALWAYS placing in the top 5, and mostly #1 or #2.
Caught miller and melissa in another lie. Melissa said last week, or the week before, that maddie and Mack are home schooled from 8:30 to 12:30. In miller’s nauseating speech to maddie about finding her better back up dancers, she said “you are here every morning at 9:30 in leotards, ready to dance. Well, which is it? I suspect maddie has leaped off the education train entirely. That is going to hurt when she grows up, no longer has miller backing her fantasies of stardom, and no education to fall on.
On a side note, personally, I would pay to hear miller give her lousy “everybody is replaceable” bullyism, and the moms (of course no melissa) say together, “yes, you are as well”, walk out never to return, and let miller try to find any kid willing to join that place to always be “not good enough” and always behind maddie. It would make me very happy to hear the moms and girls call miller’s bluff and just get the heck out. contracts be damned.
Leslie was correct too. Peyton does come back in later episodes. 🙂
I danced for several years, though not competitively, and have a thought on their homeschooling. There were a couple girls at my studio who early in high school decided to switch to homeschooling so as to further their careers in dance. One went to New York and is now a professional ballerina so yay for her. The other stayed nearby and just danced more. A couple years later she ended up getting burned out and found that without school her memory skills weren’t getting better and actually found she had more trouble remembering dances. I couldn’t tell you why that is as she was constantly learning dances which you would think help keep her mind sharp but nope. She ended up going back to school ( a year behind as she spent so much time dancing and not actually doing school work) and for the most part giving up dance. And it was such a shame as she was a beautiful dancer. While homeschooling may seem like a good idea now, it might not turn out so well for the girls.
See and I have another take on that – my hometown has a studio that’s been around for over 30 years and generations of kids danced in it. Any one of those kids who danced from pre-school right through twelfth grade will tell you that dancing HELPED develop good study habits, focus, memory, concentration, as well as a ton of other life skills. I think it’s a matter of balance.
Oh definitely it’s a matter of balance. I too found dance helped my schoolwork and vice versa. My point was more she didn’t have that balance anymore as it was all dance and no school and I think the no school hurt more than expected. She was a bright student and managed to get into an Ivy League upon returning to school. And for everybody that balance is different no doubt but Maddie just made me think of her.
Good point 🙂
I noticed that also!
Yes, Maddie might be there every morning at 9:30, but that’s because she can do that because of her “flexible” schedule. All of the other girls are in school, where they should be. In my opinion, she should be miles ahead of all of the other girls due to the ridiculous amount of extra time she has in the studio. I’m not sure if y’all remember Sophia Lucia who was on a couple of episodes in season three, but she was amazing. When the mothers asked her mother about school and her mother said she was homeschooled, (I think she said she went to school only two hours a day, but I could be totally wrong on that) Melissa was the first to point out that all of the other girls are in school all day so they don’t have as much dance time as Sophia and they are all still great little dancers. Oh how times have changed. Speaking of Sophia, I watched her Dancing with the Stars performance on YouTube and saw the preinterview before she danced. She said that she dances 40 hours a week…that’s a full time job!! In my opinion, if you dance 40 hours a week you should be amazing and you should blow everyone out of the water. Same goes for Maddie. She should be the best dancer in that group because she gets more than double the amount of dance time than all of the other girls do. I really believe that even if Chloe or Kendall or any of the other girls really decided to be homeschooled so they could focus more on dance, Abby would still come up with excuses as to why they are not as fabulous as Maddie and all of her focus and attention would still be on Maddie. The girls still wouldn’t get the extra time with her that they deserve. Also, I’m so tired of hearing her say how she’s so tired of Maddie “carrying the team.” Here’s an idea girlfriend, stop featuring Maddie in every single dance. Yes, it may seem like Maddie is carrying the team but that’s because she’s featured in every dance. Give someone else a chance once in a while. I’m in no way taking anything away from Maddie, she’s a beautiful dancer. I feel like it’s more her mother making choices for her than Maddie making choices for herself. Abby and Melissa are ruining her childhood and that’s not fair to Maddie. I hate to say this but I feel like they see Maddie as a meal ticket and that’s horrible. She’s a great kid and doesn’t deserve that at all. No child deserves that. While we don’t know if it’s true that she told Christi and Kelly that she wants to go to school, Kenzie straight up said last season that she didn’t want to be homeschooled. Maddie just went along with whatever her mother, and Abby said.
I’m sure if Maddie didn’t spend so much time doing these “competitions”, she’d be as advanced and technically flawless as Sophia. I still wish we could have seen Maddie and Sophia go head to head in a competition while Sophia was still on the team, I bet she would have wiped the floor with Maddie.