Even though we’ve been reading about it and watching stuff on YouTube for months now, its time for the official Jeff Collins-crafted version of the ALDC’s Australian misadventures, Dance Moms nation. Everyone got their comfortable walking shoes … and their passport?
No, no everyone does not.
We start out in the dark of night at LAX where Abby is two hours from departure and a million light years from knowing where hers — plus her driver’s license and her credit cards — is. Er, what seasoned traveler heads to the airport without checking and rechecking boarding passes and necessary I.D.? Isn’t that, like, Important Thing One and Important Thing Two? And are those dainty tears I see you daubing in the dark, Abby? I thought we saved those for our pillow, not for the driver and his Kleenex box.
Meanwhile, hi! We’re in Australia … even if Abby is not! (Anyone else wonder why Kalani is not garbed in ALDC attire?)
Everyone who planned ahead has deplaned and is ready to start prepping for the Astra Awards, which Jill says is Australia’s equivalent of the Emmys and features everyone who is anyone in the entertainment industry. She doesn’t say if it’s the entertainment industry down under, or the entertainment industry whole wide world, so I guess we’ll see.
Also, this guy in the shades. I bet he watches Dance Moms all.the.time.
Melissa gives Abby a jingle to see where she is, and Abby explains that she is in America because she must have dumped her passport and credit cards in the parking lot at the bank. That’s the last place she remembers having them.
“Did you go to the bank to see if they have your passport at the bank?” asks Melissa helpfully, speaking slowly and loudly just in case Abby has also suddenly turned into a preschooler who misplaced her lunchbox.
“I’m going to reach through the phone and choke you,” says Abby, expounding on the proper etiquette for questioning someone who has lost something. Which is to basically just shut the @#$% up about it.
With that handled, she says best-case scenario, she’ll be there Thursday morning. It makes Holly look like this:
It makes Gia look like this:
Then the one who is still in the U.S. begins to grouse to the ones who actually made it to Australia that they don’t realize what a big deal the Astra Awards are. So, you know, since Abby’s not there, it’s probably better if only Maddie performs. Especially since, well, Maddie is the only one who apparently has an invitation.
Holly protests. Abby says she’s not putting up with her s**t anymore. It wasn’t bleeped in my version.
Then she tells us that she actually only invited Maddie, Mack, Melissa, Kalani and Kendall — and therefore Melissa, Jill and Kira — to Australia in the first place, so what the tar Holly, Nia, Jess and JoJo are doing there is a mystery to her. I’ll take “making this TV show” for a thousand, Alex. And enjoying a free trip to Australia because of it, so win.
Since she has no plans for the latter four, Abby informs Melissa not to call her …
… anymore. Not any more.
Holly doesn’t seem entirely unaware that Nia was on the Not-Included list, because, even though she will be in L.A. in a couple weeks, she says she invited Mikey Minion Minden to come on down (under), too, and Mikey’s thinking having Nia do a concert in Melbourne might be nice. Holly’s just not ready to tell the other mothers about that yet.
Melissa asks Jess what her plans are and Jess says she, too, tried to make something happen for Jo Jo — which would be where we find out that some folks in the Australian dance community launched a petition to revoke Abby’s visa. Did you reeeeeally lose your passport, Abby? Really? Or did the Aussies give you troubles? (Cast your votes in the comments section below!)
Jess says that because of that, she’s just peachy not having Jo Jo associated with any of Abby’s private events while they’re here. After all, they named names in the bad press …
(They did? Like names-names?)
… and hers and Jo Jo’s weren’t a part of it, so thank God for that.
Jill says, oh sure, Jess is happy as a clam to be part of the good stuff but when something bad happens, then noooooooo. Jess says she was never given the opportunity to say yes or no to the events getting the bad PR, so nice try, there, Jill, but noooooo.
Let’s go to “Dance Studio” and practice dance. Gia says that she talked to Abby who apparently decided that proving them right by only letting Maddie dance at the Astras is probably not the best way to warm the hearts of the frosty Australians. Thus, everyone will dance a number called Bulletproof, Baby. Because that’s what the girls are. Ain’t that right, Jo Jo?
That’s right.
Abby calling! Tell her you’re in the presence of heathens and you can’t talk right now, Melissa. Tell her. Tell her, Melissa! Melissa doesn’t tell her.
Abby says it’s Melissa’s job to make the girls understand that their performance will be the peacemaking mission that will determine if she can ever open up an ALDC Australia (let’s get L.A. off the ground first, there, toots) or host her own dance competition there. Jill brings up the bad press thing and Abby says if Jill understood the nature of showbiz, she’d know that any press is good press if they spell your name right. That certainly wasn’t her opinion a few years back when she took me to task for doing an interview with Christi Lukasiak, even though I spelled her name right. But it’s her opinion now.
Then, Abby being Abby, she says JoJo isn’t really necessary in the Astra number, unless — and this is more or less a quote — Jess “crawls up Abby’s ass and teaches her kid to kiss it a little better.” I’ll just sit over here and hum to myself while you guys choke down that little visual. Boopdie doopdie dooo … hmmm hmmm hmmm.
Everyone better? Good. It isn’t going to last.
Abby’s so mad now that she says she’s glad she’s not there. Then she tells the camera guy to get the light out of her face. Well he’s kind of stuck in the car with you, Abby. He may as well do something. It’s his job.
Drinksies with the Momsies, down-under style! (Remember when these used to be fun?) We start out by having a collective shudder over what would have happened had it been any of us who lost our passport. Then we move onto Abby changing her tune about bad press being good press in disguise, what with all the boohooing about it at the start of the season. Holly thinks Abby is staying behind on purpose because she doesn’t want to have to Meet The (Bad) Press. I could back that theory.
Meanwhile, Abby is back in L.A. learning the ins and outs of passport replacement. Such as you cannot fax a birth certificate.
Back at the meeting of the moms, Jess springs it on the others that video of the other girls (except Nia) mocking JoJo while they were in Ireland has made it to her inbox and what the hell?
To be fair, the girls did back it up with “we kid because we love” — mostly, I’m guessing, because someone, seeing all the cellphone cameras aimed at them, began gesturing wildly for them to do so from the sidelines. But still. Can the “this for fwee” crap stop now? We got it. She said it. She lisps. Kira mocked her. Drop it.
Jill says the girls were just caught up in the moment. Jess says the third sh*t of the episode. Melissa says that’s just how the girls relate to each other. They’re not mean girls. They’re just … kids. Blink blink. (Everyone who thought “kids who are observing their mothers’ behavior,” raise your hand.)
Next day, the girls run the dance without Maddie who is doing an interview in Abby’s place. So let’s talk about her, since she and Melissa aren’t here. Kira thinks that because Maddie is all over the tube lately, the audience will be watching the other girls because they’re something new. And besides, Maddie has plateaued anyway.
Ooooooh, girl, no you did not …
Kira clarifies that she meant Maddie has plateaued with this teacher and this team. Jill nods along, but privately says Maddie is still cresting … or something like that.
On the ride to the interview, Melissa brings up the Ireland mockery to Maddie for the sake of damage control. Maddie says well, JoJo IS loud and did say that stuff, but she’ll apologize all the same. And today she’ll try to talk about the good things, even though no one here likes them anymore. Melissa tells her daughter that’s not true and fervently hopes they don’t ask her about the negative press. Sure would be nice if the person it’s directed at were here to take the hit, wouldn’t it, Melissa? Sure would.
Back in L.A., that person is making some headway on getting to Australia.
Let’s beat the “plateaued” horse again, just to pass the time. Jill helpfully facilitates the half-hearted discussion while Melissa twitches and makes as-if faces.
In an aside, Maddie says the Astras will be the biggest audience they’ve performed in front of as a group. She, of course, has performed in front of many big audiences — just not with her team. If I didn’t already know doom was coming for Maddie from last week’s promos, I’d predict doom for Maddie.
Meanwhile Abby shops for pastry while telling Gia she wants to slit her wrists about a dance she has not even seen. Gia takes it in stride. Abby selects a “pink and white thing” as nourishment.
The girls wrap up practice to Gia’s satisfaction and then Andrew Maiden, the CEO of the Astras, tell the excited gang what — and who — to expect.
Melissa tags along to fetch Abby at the airport and is relegated to the back seat for her efforts. When they arrive at the hotel, Abby wants to know why all the ladies are in her room — which is pretty creepy, but you can’t film turmoil if everyone is peacefully watching pay-per-view in their own rooms, now can you?
Holly decides to welcome her with the news that, since Abby snubbed them for everything but the Astras, Nia will be doing the performance in Melbourne. Abby says they may not utter “ALDC” during this extra-curricular blasphemy. Holly says fine. Melissa wants to know if the concerts conflicts with one of their events. Holly says what different does it make. Abby wants everyone out of her face, right now.
At the venue, Jess and Holly are highly entertained when Abby shows up in the same durn thing she wore on her flight (and last week’s reunion show), plus …
Well, it’s a really big bracelet — her Dale Evans special — so there’s that.
Astra time! Everyone is all prettied up for the red carpet. Here is all the pretty …
Abby keeps Maddie tucked beside her and says shmoozy things about the local dance community. The others fret that people only want to talk about Maddie and Sia.
In some sort of get-ready, the moms are still weirdly dressed down, and Melissa instructs Holly and Jess not to show up at their private events tomorrow and rattle the “paying customers.” Got that, fans? You are not fans. You are paying customers.
Holly tells her she’s wasting her breath — why would they show up somewhere they weren’t invited or wanted? Melissa is not pacified. You stay away. No fights in front of the customers. No.
Guys, guess what?!
Melissa loves Giuliana! Therefor she hates you, children. So, so much.
Come time to head for the stage, Jo Jo is doing her patented Jo Jo thing and Abby gets in her Jo Jo face and tells her to shut it. Silence. Understand?
JoJo rewards her with a “nobody here likes you” face that only an adolescent can perfect.
Er, Jill? Did we have to make us a dress out of hotel towels? “One over this shoulder, and one over that shoulder, one around my hips, tuck and boom! Fashion!”
The group is announced as “the sensational Maddie Ziegler and the girls from the Abby Lee Dance Company.” So of course, this happens.
Gah.
Backstage, Melissa clutches her head. Abby picks on Jo Jo and Nia instead. Jill coos for the perfectly stoic Maddie not to be sad until Maddie is duly sad. She goes to the bathroom to cry out her frustrations, which I suspect go well beyond the bobbled turn.
With Maddie’s sobs echoing in the background, Abby tells the others this is how the business goes: One minute you’re a star and the next minute you’re, well, a kid bawling in the bathroom. That’s showbiz for you.
We end on the sound of Maddie’s whimpers.
So what say you about this half of the Australia special, Dance Moms nation? B.S. on the lost passport … or it happens? B.S. on Holly and Jess not knowing that they weren’t included in the private events for the sake of a storyline? How’s about that “upsetting the customers” deal? Did Jill make Maddie cry or did life make Maddie cry? Sound off in the comments section below.
Next week on the Dance Moms Australia Special Part 2 … Nee-yuh! Nee-yuh! Nee-yuh! And Jo Jo hugs a koala, which makes Abby mad.
Part 2 of the Dance Moms Australia special premieres Tuesday, May 26 at 9/8CT on Lifetime.
I used to love Dance moms and I used to love Abbey (she turns out good dancers, or did). But honestly, she’s a really bad person. My daughters have studied with prima’s from the Russian, London, and Boston ballet. Abbey does not seem to understand the real deal . . . or maybe “success” has gone to her head and she simply does not care.
Mellissa is a horrible person and horrible mother. She does not seem to understand how she has falsely elevated Maddie and diminished Mackenzie – those kids will be in therapy for the rest of their lives. Maddie is cute and an okay dancer, but she is no ballerina (read dime a dozen). Neither of these girls can sing – music videos Abbey? Grow up!
Jill has happily placed her daughter as number 2 for the rest of her life, because apparently riding on Maddie’s coat tails is the best she ever expects from her daughter Kendall. Jill (I really liked her at first) has lost her mind. Kendall is talented and gorgeous, but mom prefers to butt kiss and play the game instead of letting that kid shine (too bad, she’s a talented kid).
Nia and Jojo – these are the ones to pay attention to. Nia is gorgeous and talented and Jojo is adorable and talented. The rub, we LOVE them! They are nice and likeable! We have enough(too many) narcissistic, self important famous people in this world. These two girls are what they portray and that is what America and the world wants. Abbey (self important) Miller cannot seem to understand, Chloe lukasiak (adore this born ballerina) Nia (beautiful inside and out) and Jojo (marching to her own drum and we love it) is what America and the world really wants.
Hey Abbey Lee Miller, stuff your marketing crap! We know what we like and want and you are not it – oblivious!
THIS SHOW NEEDS TO BE CANCELLED IMMEDIATELY. It’s abusive and borders on sociopathic. It’s horrific to me that money driving these so-called Mothers is what this is about. PS I don’t think Maddie is cute, talented or a normal, well adjusted young woman. SINFUL
I didn’t buy the ‘I lost my passport and all my credit cards’ business for a minute. We all seem to forget that there is a camera crew with her almost all the time and there had to be someone there that would have had some advice had she really lost everything. Where were the frantic calls to all of her credit card companies that any anal retentive person like Abby would be doing immediately? It all rang as false. The only true moment was her calming herself down by eating.
I found this episode one of the worst since the beginning of the series. No more false statements about it not really being Maddie and her backup dancers. Abby herself said that that was what she was aiming for. She took Maddie aside a few years ago and said that she would find perfect dancers to be her backup and not all these talentless hacks (that kept winning competition after competition) that were there. I think a lot of Abby’s vitriol against some of the girls has been the fact that lifetime chose her team. She didn’t. She had to make the best of it in the beginning and then she started in on her campaign to get rid of them one by one. Holly was absolutely correct last night when she said that Abby was trying to get rid of all of the original team (except for the Ziegler girls…although Mackenzie isn’t safe, either). It was always about her pushing the mother’s buttons so that they would take their kids out. Abby never counted on how important it was to them to have their daughters on TV as long as they possibly could. None of us did. I don’t even think that Lifetime did, although seeing that ‘reunion show’ last week reminded me what a slimy character that ‘executive producer’ is. Yes…he is the one responsible for all of it. Oh…and Jill is terrified because she knows that once Nia is gone, Kendall is next.
How about Jill as group tattletale. She has been the instigator this entire season. Then she acts all put upon when called on it. She absolutely meant for Maddie to get upset and that is why she used that tone of voice and said what she said to her. Maddie would have held it together if a grown-up hadn’t pointed out her mistake, although it was extremely tacky of Abby to say something to JoJo and then to say to Nia that she didn’t even bother to watch to see if she made her correction. I was pleased that Gia stood up for Nia then. The show has absolutely spiraled down into this awful train wreck even moreso than in episodes past. I hadn’t heard much of the scuttlebutt about Ireland or Australia other than hearing that they tried to block Abby from coming into the country. So much for the lost passport. For Abby to call Holly and Nia and Jess and JoJo heathens was beyond beyond. It is truly amazing that she completely is unable to see her own cruelty and the fact that she lies (just as Holly accuses her) like she forgets that the camera is always rolling. Melissa grinding in the point to Holly about ‘not showing up and upsetting the paying customers’ made me think that they are deliberately treating Holly like a Christi or Kelly when Holly has never pulled any of the stuff that they did. Her only crime has been to call out Abby on her unfairness and to make her own opportunities for Nia (only after Abby deliberately sabatoged Nia’s chance with the acting coach…remember that?). Now Holly is a Heathen??? Holly is now public enemy number 1? Jill has said similar things to Abby. That’s why I think that Jill is on borrowed time. Abby is lulling her into a sense of safety by giving Kendall solos despite her inability to win.
Have you all noticed how many times this season we have heard Jill and Melissa saying that Kelly and Christi are on this campaign to destroy Abby. They have run that blurb at the beginning of 80% of the shows this season. Abby still has to keep mentioning Christi…saying that Holly must be taking lessons from her. No. Holly has had the rude awakening of having her daughter be next in line for ousting. Of course she was the coward back when it was happening to Christi and Chloe and she held her tongue all the years that Chloe was being destroyed by Abby. I am so glad that Chloe got away and is still dancing and dancing beautifully. I so enjoy watching her on her YouTube channel. Her videos are sweet and her dancing is more mature than she was ever allowed to be with Abby. She is actually doing new choreography instead of the same old stuff over and over. Of course we all must realize that the girls get the same stuff over and over again so that they can learn it and compete it in the 3 days they are allowed. Maddie had a period right after she started being home schooled where she really seemed to grow in her dancing, but after all of the hooplah with the Sia video and the follow-up, she hasn’t been dancing round the clock and it goes fast. She is also growing and is going to have a growth spurt any time now and will have to work hard to get back to that level again. I have noticed her turns getting weaker and weaker this season and as someone else wrote, Abby putting a fall to the ground at the end of the turn series to cover it up. Kendall has better turns. Kalani has better turns. Kira better wake up and get Kalani out of there or she will lose her technique, too. She already has that same move where she falls forward and puts her leg over her head and touches the ground with her toe in almost every dance now. Why is it that Abby and Lifetime and everybody don’t realize that people are clamoring to have Abby as their dance teacher not because she is a better teacher than anyone else…but because she is on TV. They want their kids on TV people!!! That is why they put up with it. They realize that as soon as the show ends. No one will ever see Mack Z or Kendall K or even Maddie. Maddie got her 15 minutes and now it’s going away. I have hopes for Nia because of the fact that she has been backed by some powerful people in the industry and just might be able to squeek out a modest singing career despite her less than perfect voice. Britney Spears people. Doesn’t take a great voice to be a singer…just lots of auto tuning and a catchy beat plus the look and people willing to back her up. I think that we might see Chloe later on as a professional dancer. We will see. One thing is for sure. When all of this ends, Abby herself is going to be surprised at how quickly people flock away from her studios.
As for the girls being mean about JoJo. Well…they are mean. They repeat what they hear from Abby and their parents. I think that JoJo has had speech therapy. Not all people that lisp can be corrected. They have to grow out of it. My own daughter had a speech impediment and despite years of speech therapy, it didn’t go away until her crossbite was fixed and she matured out of it. When she was still 10 she was very difficult to understand and was teased about it. Hearing those kids make fun of JoJo sickened me. Bullies. They see themselves as the ‘golden ones’ and outsiders aren’t ‘as good’ as they are. I don’t buy Maddie’s ‘we love her and she’s part of the team’ for a minute. Maddie saying that that is what they do…rag on each other…well it would have been different if JoJo had been there. If it’s behind your back, it isn’t good natured fun. It is making fun of her. Where was Nia? Were they excluded from the Ireland trip?
My DVR shut off before I saw all of the preview for next week, but from what I saw it looked like it will be just as awful. Gonna watch to see Nia perform her song. Looking forward to that.
The 47 comments posted before me pretty much said everything I was going to say. So I will just say this: I want one of those pink & white monster sized cookies. I’m willing to fly out to L.A. to get one. Maybe Jenny will be able to give me directions to that bakery. 🙂 😉 🙂
🙂 It was Crumbs Bakeshop! There were two here, then they closed and one reopened. As far as I know they’ve relaunched in other places around the country. I haven’t been since they reopened, but their cupcakes were massive.
Awesome!! Thank You, Jenny!! 🙂
Is it bad that I think that after this PLL gig that Maddie’s used up all the juice Sia’s given her? DWTS is over for the season, Sia isn’t going to go on tour and I don’t know how many special made acting parts are left for her after PLL.
I think maddie used up all her sia juice the day melissa refused to let maddie pose with sia’s mom for a picture. 🙂
also, on the DWTS finale, sia sang that song i forget the name, and two kids danced it beautifully, with clothes on. and no maddie 🙂
I’m only 25 minutes into last night’s episode. So far we’ve seen two extended scenes of Abby holding a phone in her hand and talking on it while driving, which is illegal in California. The first call was interesting because she’s heading east on Santa Monica Blvd right outside her new studio, but the first part of the conversation takes place on the middle block, then she’s gone a block east, then the final part jumps back two blocks west. Either it was edited or she was driving around the block just to be filmed driving. Then the second phone call she starts at LAX and is then driving down Century Blvd by the airport. I couldn’t really tell how chopped up that one was because I didn’t recognize enough of the landmarks. But, at one point the car is moving and she’s got one hand on her phone and the other is gesticulating with no hand on the wheel! I wonder if this was a picture car being towed and if she was driving at all. Either way, as someone who unfortunately lives in the neighborhood of the new ALDC LA location, I’d like to see our local safety laws respected.
I also don’t know why they showed Abby trying to get a passport (or state ID) at the DMV. First of all, the temporary ID they’d give you won’t work for a passport. But she could have gone to the federal building just down the street from her new studio with a witness who identifies her. For a fee you can get a passport issued in 1-2 days. With the time difference and crossing the date line I’m pretty sure she would have had to catch a flight a whole day earlier than it appeared on the show.
So it turns out that the Seeing Stars special from last week was shot before the ALDC Ireland events. Which means that Jess had already confronted Kira about making fun of JoJo before the girls turned around and did it in Ireland. And in the Ireland video, you can see Kira siting off to the side of the stage. Wow, that makes it so much more awful than it seemed just from the video alone. And Melissa was right, her girls weren’t making fun of JoJo to be mean. Mackenzie was being callous, which is worse.
I think they’re threatened by JoJo, especially Mackenzie. She’s this bubbly, energetic ball of personality. They on the other hand are so robotic and bland. The only time we see their personality is when they’re being negative and since it’s been seen off camera as well, they can’t blame their rude and nasty behavior on the editing.
The Nuart Theater across the street still has Rocky Horror Picture Show every Saturday at midnight. That’d make one hell of an episode in keeping with the grown men in underpants theme.
I’ve been many times.
Hey Angela, I disagree with you. Nia can sing and dance, just that are choreography aren’t as good as other’s .if she’s that bad like you said. Lifetime would have replaced her a long time plus you said she’s not good but she dances in their group dance that always win. As for Holly, I don’t like her like I use to. Sometimes she should just chill and let Abby yell all she want. As for Jill and Melisa, same old them(ass kisser and hypocrite). I like Maddie but sometimes Abby should allow another girl lead the dance, it looks like the producers are exploiting Maddie’s fame by placing her in the front all the time. They make the other girls look like backup dancers. Maddie and her backup dancers.
I don’t think it’s a matter of better choreography for Nia, it’s giving her a style that works with her abilities, she’s much better at the modern style than boring old lyrical. When she gets into a character she knocks it out of the park.
I agree. Nia is a performer. She’s never going to be that “lyrical fluffy poofy” dancer, but in the real world, who does? She should get out of that dump and into a studio that emphasizes modern dance. Given the right part/dance, as you said, she blows it out of the water. She was great in her video. miller hates it because she knows what she did videowise was amateur as all hell by comparison.
Sorry but as someone who’s constantly made fun of “out of love” by my family, I find it rude and mean of the girls for that JoJo bash video. JoJo has feelings and though she doesn’t let them know it bothers her, I’m more than sure it does. It bothers me still especially since I’ve asked for it to stop for years and years.
Maddie “bashing” sounded like constructive criticism to me. People and fans kill me with the whole “stop talking trash about a kid”. Sorry but these girls want to be entertainers. They are going to get picked apart about everything they do. That might be the ONLY thing I agree on with Abby. I just don’t agree on the way she does it. Maddie has plateaued. She still rushes her movements and doesn’t finish them. For her to be doing the same turn sequences as she’s alway done, she shouldn’t be falling out of them or bobbling. The foot still sickles and she still hasn’t learned to dance with her body instead of just her face.
Absolutely agree with you, that was definitely not bashing Maddie, we’ve seen adjudicators say the same thing during critiques and no one considers that bashing. Maddie has absolutely hit a plateau, she’s been doing the same steps, turns, jumps since she was 8 years old.
After watching since Season 1, here is my take on the current ALDC situation:
Moms:
Melissa – mealy-mouthed backstabbing ass-kisser – period;
Kira – good head on her shoulders, but can’t decide where to put her loyalties;
Jill – ass-kissing hypocrite – who occasionally espouses a few words of wisdom;
Jess – I like that she speaks up and isn’t afraid to confront anyone when necessary
Holly – I used to like Holly the best, but not anymore. Anyone who would stand by and let
someone abuse her daughter the way she does and not pull the child out of the
situation – and for what, the sake of a tv show?
Dancers:
Maddie (the great) – give me a break. She’s good, but Chloe was better – just ask the judges
that awarded Chloe the national title;
Mackenzie – OVERRATED
Kendall – Beautiful – she should try modeling, and tell her mother to back off;
Kalani – Great dancer and pretty – she could do better than ALDC;
Jojo – Also a great dancer with a ton of charisma – get her away from this studio;
Nia – Very little talent for dance and a reedy nasal singing voice – sorry folks, but she’s just
not that good. She should have been replaced on the team a long time ago. She is
not as technically advanced as the others and doesn’t fit in while doing most of the
group dances.
As for Abby herself – BIG BULLY! She doesn’t deserve her own studio, much less her own
television show.
You are SO far off as far as Nia it’s laughable. That kid portrays characters like NO ONE else on that team, even the chosen one (dadadadaaaaaaaah cue trumpets and angels singing) Maddie. Just because she has a different style and different physique (she’s not a thin long legged little waif like Chloe was, or Paige for that matter), does NOT mean she has no talent. I suggest you go re-watch At Last, the tribute to Rosa Parks, and the Maya Angelou dances before you trash a kid who works her ass off every single time she steps on that stage.
First the nauseating & appalling reunion special, and now this crapfest. I’ve never been so happy that Chloe, Paige and Brooke are far away from this mess.
…which makes me curious. How many of us would watch some sort of spin-off with Chloe, Brooke and Paige? Or Cathy and Vivi? Or could we get Dance Moms Miami back. I loved that bunch. Opinions?
I’d love to see the Nia and Jojo spin off…their contrasts would work well with each other and be very entertainig, not just them but Holly and Jess as well. I already know how the opening scene would go it’s be like “well…Abby was NOT feeling us, so we packed up our stuff and are tryin to make it on our own…if we can survive Abby, the rest of the world should be a breeze! *cue music*
I think there should be a Chloe, Paige, Kelly, Christi spin-off…not sure if Brooke is still in2 the whole thing she looked like she was ready for a break at the end of her season and not just cuz Abby was constantly giving her mess but because she wanted to try something else. And then *drumroll*…
THE CROSS OVER EPISODE
Where a the girls meet…aww yeah. Lifetime should probably hire me!
I had a chance to meet Christie and Chloe in Calgary Alberta last fall and they were asked if Chloe would be interested in another tv show, she said no, she’d rather focus on school and just being a regular dance student again. I don’t blame her, I give her a lot of credit for still wanting to dance after that sh-tshow, I’m glad it didn’t ruin dance for her forever. I wouldn’t mind Dance Moms Miami back, I only caught a few episodes of it the first time around, but what I did see, I enjoyed.
Whiners make the drama so yeah…they would probably make good TV….oh wait….maybe they peaked….soooo maybe their days are over. Guess the formerly know as the sane one will have to continue in their place as ” reality” freak of the year. Sorry Nia….your moms went to entitlement lunatic hell and is dragging you down with her. That bothers me more than Abby….walk the heck away if you don’t like the teacher….Abby isn’t the only great teacher ,Holly, and you seem to have the money to go where ever. And if your daughter is that great you dont need Abby any more anyway…so take care of your daughter. (Or shut up) How does that process work with a judge on a court room? (Again…sorry Nia. Its rough between a rock and a hard place but one has your “future” more closely in focus. One knows the business…think I would o with the expert on her field)
I couldn’t watch even a half hour of Vivi eating ice cream, let alone a whole series. The Kelly, Paige, Brooke thing isn’t going to happen, they sued Collins Avenue. Who’s going to get involved with them now? And as for Miami, just no. I think we’ve had enough of Brigette. I think that the problem with all of the Dance Moms series and Abby Lee spinoffs is that they all try to force this idea that it’s dance professionals vs. the moms with a side story of moms vs. moms. There was another show many years ago that Bravo had called Showbiz Moms & Dads and a spinoff for sports. That showed followed kids trying to act, sing, ice skate, cheerlead, etc. But the kids weren’t in direct competition with each other and they didn’t try to fit it into the formula of:
-the kids get ranked
-the team rehearses while under the threat of having the rug yanked out from under them
-the moms fight back
-the kids get picked on in retaliation
-there’s a wrench in the works that threatens the competition
-the kids compete
-there are results given
Lather, rinse, repeat every week.
They tried to remake a version of that a couple years ago from what I remember, only had a handful of episodes so that shows how much appeal it had with the audiences.
And that’s why “reality” shows have become as over produced as they are. Because real reality or regular fake reality are boring. They have to be over the top. And the formula gives the audience something to follow along. If there were several episodes about the girls learning 2-3 group dances and each getting a solo and then an episode where they all perform at a competition the audience wouldn’t follow along.
NO to Kelly, Brooke & Paige, NO to Chloe & Christi, and HALE NO to Cathy & Vivi (I would be giddy to see the last of those two.) But I would enjoy a show with Nia/Holly and Jo-Jo/Jess. They can be likeable without Abby around, and I would love to see how the 2 young girls would grow into their careers. They are very different from each other, and would make an interesting contrast.
For the second week in a row I HATED IT!!!!! Why, why are the producers only focusing on the darker side of dance? And shame on Melissa and Jill for not getting on board with the TEAM concept. Both women talk about the amazing ALDC team, but are standing by and watching the team be split in half by Abby’s actions. In one corner we have the excluded Nia/Jojo with moms Holly/Jess. We have the 100% Abby crew of Maddie/Mackenzie/Kendall with moms Melissa/Jill. And we have the bouncing around Kalani with mom Kira.
On the video mocking Jojo we see the ball get rolling with Mackenzie leading the way. Remember MackZ is 2 years younger which means a lot in the 10-13 age range. Than some of the other girls want to add their stories, but the more mature Maddie sets the tone with “we all love Jojo and she is a big part of the team”. No big deal, it is just kids being kids.
It was a sad but joyous moment to see Maddie take a moment to release her emotions by crying after her small error. Based on interviews, the comments by her in the Jojo video, and how dedicated she is to her craft: I think Maddie has a warm/loving personality. There have been many times that Maddie has been asked to take on pressure well beyond her young age and she has delivered. Having such a simple error during a major performance must have driven her crazy not for herself but for the team. Remember she was so proud that all the team dancers were getting their opportunity to dance in front of a large audience. And her miscue not only hurt her but her team. The joy in her crying is that she is still emotionally connected to dance. So go ahead and cry Maddie so that you can rise again with you determination and dedication to perfection as a dancer.
Please mister producer, more comments from the dancers, less controversy from the mom, and let’s push Abby more to the middle than the crazy, out-of-control character you have created.
DrK, Maddie did mock JoJo just like the other girls, her part was conveniently edited iut in the playback (but the whole, unedited version can be found on youtube). And her response to her mom, “but JoJo is like that, but I’ll still apologize” is more telling than anything else. Nope, Maddie is a mean girl, too.
Yup, I saw the un-edited version too, she was as bad if not worse than Kendall and Kenzie, how could those little brats not realize it would come back to bite them eventually? Oh wait, they know nothing about negative press or audience opinions, their mama-bears shield them from all that.
I’ve seen the unedited version(s) of the session where the girls talked about Jojo. Yes, MackZ got it started. She wants the microphone. Than to get the items heard Kendall jumps in and Kalani one ups every because she knew Jojo from Abby UDC show. Yes Maddie agreed that Jojo was loud, which is true, but she is the first to add that they all like Jojo and that Jojo adds to the dance team.
I am not sure of the timeline of the shows but if you look at the last 4-5 shows Jojo has been toned done and blended in with the other girls when off stage. I think that Jojo has the characteristics to be a star for the long hall. You just have to love this kids performances and when the dancers move from judged competitions to ENTERTAINMENT than Jojo will come to the front of the pack. Nia is just now entering this phase of her career. In the past she has not scored well in the competitions, but now she is a way better dancer in the Jazz/Blues arena. Using her strong movements Nia is finding a niche that will showcase her strengths as an entertainer.
I am resisting getting into the Chloe, Paige, and Brooke discussion, but I have not seen anything from Brooke. I don’t think Paige has continued with her dancing, but does get hits on YouTube because of Chloe. I comment on Chloe in a couple of weeks.
I for transferring from the current dancers to a new set of younger dancers so we can experience the education process again.
I just think this episode felt a bit off. The entire thing waS negativity. from the very beginning lost passport bs (who the heck doesn’t check fifty times before they leave??) to the end when lifetime happily played the sound of Maddie crying while Jill did what she does best and stirred the pot. I think the way that the girls are now included in all of the drama between the mothers is absurd. I don’t like how Abby treats them, and I personally would not go to her for dance classes. I don’t care if it’s scripted or not, it’s affecting the girls negatively and they are so young. They shouldn’t be told before every dance that they ‘have to win’ and ‘the fate of the Abby Lee Dance Company is depending on this dance’ etc. Way too much pressure…
Omg…My heart aches for a few girls in aldc. Holly..you are such a cool mom and human being…..do you really think that in public anywhere, would you allow Abby to speak to your child the way she does? No way! So disrespectful! But god forbid if someone speaks that way to Abby! Abby just does not get it! She can be cruel and mean to these girls and then expect them to respect her! Respect is shown…if only someone had taught Abby when she was growing up! I know bad acts in a show makes the ratings go up, but, this is way to extreme! Good luck to nia in her future plans! I pray she gets all that makes her happy…she is well deserving of it! We love you Nina and Jojo..you re both talented and well liked by all!
GROWN MEN IN UNDERPANTS
Oh yeah, I’ll tell you something
I just don’t understand
When I see that something
Grown men in underpants
Grown men in underpants
Grown men in underpants
Oh please, say to me
If you dance with a man
Oh please, say to me
He’ll wear more than underpants
Grown men in underpants
Grown men in underpants
If I have that stuck in my head all day, I am coming for you, John Linen. I have no idea who you are. But I am coming for you. … Grown men in underpants ….
Bwahahaha… good one, John Linen!! 🙂
I have NEVER been so Appauld by you dance moms before. How dare you — Kalani’s mom .. how dare you Kendall’s mom .. HOW DARE YOU — MADDIE AND MAC-Z’S MOM. You are truly a “HORRIBLE IDEA OF A DANCE MOM’ ! Thank you lord that my daughter doesn’t watch you anymore!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I AGREE! Those moms just sunk their child’s careers. Who would want to work with those type of people. MELISSA is the most vile of moms. How do you live with yourself Melissa? This had to be the most disturbing of all episodes. By the way, Abby wasn’t in Australia at first because the country rejected her Visa – they didn’t want her there. Now they probably don’t want the Vile Moms either. I think instead of Dance Moms – it should be renamed Vile Moms.
Mac-Z is the worse name for a child who thinks’ she can sing, Kendell K is just as bad, Abby had to pick those awful names, as for Maddie, can she sing? Or act really? Maddie uses the same expression with every dance, that creepy , joker smile. Her smile looks wider than her face.. Mac-Z looks like a little boy with long hair, Kendall wears way to much make up for her age, Kilani put a lot of weight on, her thighs and gut are huge for her height..
Mac-Z cannot carry a tune, note or pail of water for that matter, her voice is dull and boring, she only hits one note, awful.
Seriously Dawn? Picking on children’s appearance? Maddie and Kenzie are beautiful young girls, Kenzie more so in my opinion. How does she look like a little boy? Kalani is going through puberty for frick sake, girls’ bodies change a hell of a lot between the ages of 12 and 14, I’m sure you weren’t stunningly thin and gorgeous when you were going through it, if you have at all. You are obviously just a mean, adolescent girl with no life experience. Unless you’re an old woman who sits in her basement eating bonbons and watching tv all day, grow up and stop being so judgemental.
^^^^ THIS ^^^
Bravo Michelle.
Great recap! I for one do not buy the “lost my cards and passport” bit. Miller did what she always does when faced with anything negative – run away. How convenient that she managed to fly in and get there just in time to go to those awards.
“Maddie and the backup girls”?? Well, at least they finally came out and said it.
I seriously want Jess to remove Jojo, and right now. Please don’t allow those jealous harpies to harm that sweet little girl. Bunch of jealous bats, all.
Maddie fell out of her turns. And this is news? She always falls out of them, only miller choreographs a drop to the floor to cover it. I have no sympathy for her, sorry, but no. She has turned into miller and melissa, thinks the world owes her, and has become unlikable. Same for kendall and kalani.
Holly, I adore Nia. She is a mature, kind young lady. However, i have issues with you, raging that none of the moms back you. Exactly where were you when Chloe and Paige were her targets? Not a word. Or last week on that “talk show” and kira made fun of Jojo. Not one word from you then either. Get Nia out of there. Nia has showmanship and is an excellent performer. Get her in a modern dance co. and some acting lessons and she might be able to escape the taint of this show.
I so agree with your comment. Abby, Melissa and Jill went out of their way to be cruel to both Paige and Chloe. And so did Maddie and later Kendal. I always felt sorry when any of the girls messed up but Abby always made excuses for Makkie. Back then many of us said Maddie will not know how to handle it once Abby lets her dance more her age. Abby protected her against mistakes and if she thought a dancer would beat Maddie, Abby came up with an excuse for her not to dance. However, Maddie was never against talking about another dancer and after another performance where she messed up, she actually pushed Mackenzi. Sadly now Mackenzie acts like Maddie who acts like her mom. So sad
That time when Maddie shoved Mack? That was when Kenzie made fun of Maddie’s messed up turns that she fell out of, that was when she and Chloe had the same solo and the judge made a “mistake” with the scores. Maddie knew she screwed up and Mack called her on it, I was kinda proud of the little sister, she knows she’s always going to be second fiddle to Maddie, the kid isn’t stupid by any means.
Is it weird that if Maddie does something wrong I get scared for her??? For some reason when the other girls mess up it’s like I know they’ll bounce back but the amount of pressure that’s put on Maddie and that she has for herself has me wondering if it’s healthy for her to do something wrong cuz she’s not expecting it and it DEVESTATES her, like rocking and crying, calling yourself names and possibily pulling out your hair devastating.
I know people are always downing maddie because she is the favorite however she is super sweet. She is always the teammate in the wings giving the others a pep talk. Also if you watch the video of the girls poking fun of jojo. Maddie took the microphone and said good things about her. I think she is great and I hope she achieves her dreams because she works hard for it!
Super sweet? She freaks out when she doesn’t win, or makes mistakes. She’s no angel, the tv persona is all Abby’s doing, Abs has created a monster and I would wager any money that in a few years that kid is going to rebel and won’t be the perfect child that Abby and Melissa make her out to be, just you watch.
Was there anything happy about this episode?? I found it super depressing. Geez, ending an episode on the sound of a little girls sobs.
Holly, nia, Jojo , and jess,should not have been left out of the meetingd. Come on abby.this show is dance moms not the Abby and Mattie show.we want the other girls to start some programs.push for them just once. That would scare people. I want to keep watching please make it fun.dont push holly and nia out.give a little.you let them down in LA they had to take the opportunity given..
abby needs to stop with the hate all the time I’m not the one to say anything but Nia rocks an I think jojo is a little girl of steel so you two keep your heads up I mean it even looks like gia is starting to get a gut full herself I mean yea abby is the teacher but she cold be doing her talk to all better I really hope its not really like this with them an again nia your song rocks cant wait to hear more from you soon.
You pulled a fast one, Lori, well done! Not watched it yet, but this episode sounds like a doozy. Am I a bad person if I’m looking forward to seeing both Abs and Maddie cry in one episode?
One’s tears were real (and genuinely heartbreaking) and one’s were self-serving.
Yes you are a really really bad person. It is like me praying and wishing and looking forward for you to cry for a whole year.
I wouldn’t classify it as “praying and wishing”, as I don’t take reality TV that seriously. From what Lori says, I might end up feeling sorry for Maddie once I watch the episode, but I have zero sympathy for Miller.
You will, Annika. There’s no doubt the kid’s a trooper with nerves of steel, but you can tell that the pressure to be “on” and perfect and in the spotlight all the time is getting to her.
I didn’t feel sorry for Abby at all, that whole “oh no I lost every single piece of identification I own in a dark parking lot on my way to a huge country where they all hate me” spiel one bit. Just a teensy bit convenient for me, everyone knows she’s famous for ducking out when things don’t go her way. Remember back when Maddie forgot her dance and ran off the stage sobbing, the same week that Cathy’s team beat ALDC by one placement? Abby high-tailed it out of there as fast as her fat ass could drag her. Speaking of which, for someone who had weight loss surgery, she should really be watching what food she takes in, I’m sure that “pink and white” monster size cookie wasn’t on the doctor’s meal plan for maintaining her new figure, just like the sour patch kids from a few episodes ago, or the Burger King, what a waste of money, but whatever, it’s her body (shrug); if she wants to go back to her original weight, that’s on her.
I did feel for Jojo when Jess saw the video of the girls making fun of her kid’s lisp, no parent wants to see other kids making fun of their own kid, even if it was all in fun. But really, it’s her own fault, if she were any kind of responsible parent, she would have had that kid in speech therapy as soon as she began to form real sentences. Good thing Jojo is such a confident self-assured young lady, no one seems to intimidate or break that kid down, even Abby, I hope she keeps that for as long as she’s on the team, and afterwards – God knows she’s going to need it.
Now on to Maddie crying…….sure it’s tough seeing the chosen one make (GASP!!!!!!) a mistake, and on such a huge stage, but for crying out loud, it happens!!! Now she knows how the other girls feel when they make an obvious mistake and feel like crap for it. She needs to realize that even she, the all-perfect chosen one (cue trumpets and angels singing) can mess up, and not everyone is going to like what she does or says. Suck it up kid, it happens, maybe if her mother stopped coddling her and hiding the negative press from her, she’d learn that she’s actually human and no amount of Abby brainwashing can change that.
So this “negative press” that Australia was heaping on Abs, what did it entail, are there any links? Just curious what they had to say, and why she was so afraid of it that she had to bs everyone that she lost her id…..nope, I don’t buy it for a nano-second, not a bit.
My issue with the ID thing is that she could not have gone to the bank in the wee small hours of the morning before her flight left — ergo she would have had to have lost them the day (or days) prior. If she was cognizant enough to pack all the garbage she had with her, surely she would have checked her ID and passport at the time she was doing that. Even the least experienced travelers do that. I don’t think the Aussies were able to make her life difficult enough to officially waylay her, but I do think she was avoiding as much press as possible in the wake of the dustup.
I concur. Know what would be kinda funny in a really nasty way? If someone got hold of her “lost” ID and stole her identity….wouldn’t that be karma coming back to bite her in the ass…I’m so going to hell for that, but c’mon wouldn’t it be kinda just a little bit funny?
That would a show of its own, right there. “I Wanna Be Abby Lee!” The international new series about a just-kiddin’ kinda gal who decides to use the credit cards and ID she found in the bank parking to lot to see what it’s REALLY like to be controversial dance teacher Abby Lee Miller — for as long as she can stay one step ahead of the real Abby Lee.
LOL someone get JC on the phone………oh wait…..Bahahahaha…
I agree about Maddie. Melissa and Abby are only doing her a disservice by coddling her and constantly telling her how great she is. I’ve said this before, there’s going to come a day when she doesn’t get a part and isn’t the best and she’s not going to know how to handle it because she’s been told how wonderful she is her entire life.
On another note, I have a theory and I was just curious if it has crossed anyone else’s mind…Maddie gets so upset when she messes up, and aside from forgetting her solo that one time, I can’t recall when she has made a mistake that cost the team a win. I understand that she is a perfectionist and she wants everything she does to be perfect. I’m also wondering if the another reason behind why she always get so upset is because she’s worried that if she stops winning, that Abby will move on to her next favorite. Kelly mentioned a number of times how Brooke use to be Abby’s favorite until she stopped winning, so she moved on to Maddie. Once again, this is only something I started thinking about last night. The pressure put on her by Melissa and Abby surely doesn’t help her emotional stability, but I’m beginning to wonder if there are other factors that play a part there as well.
I think you hit it right on the head, I agree completely.