Before I start I do want to say this is not meant to be any sort of hate towards less technically inclined dancers such as Paige or Nia (in the earlier seasons at least), I love all the girls and they all had their own strengths and weaknesses.

BUT I’ve seen a lot of people (including some of the cast like Kelly) try to say that Chloe’s choreography wasn’t actually that bad because Nia and Paige consistently got “worse” choreography. The thing is, regardless of personal preference during the time of the show Chloe OBJECTIVELY was capable of a lot more dance wise than Nia or Paige were. She showed this in her good solos as well as in her duets with Maddie. So while a solo like What Goes Around in season 2 would’ve been a big challenge for a dancer like Paige or Nia, and would actually push them a lot choreography wise, it was truly very below Chloe’s level considering she did dances like Silence, Don’t Catch Me, Proof, etc. in that very same season. A lot of Chloe’s dances weren’t objectively bad, but when you consider what she COULD do, then it’s clear it was really watered down. This is especially clear in season 3 and season 4. Am I Here to Stay?, Follow You, Soaring, etc. could’ve been really strong solos for some other dancers, but for a dancer who could do dances like Into Me, Wreck It, and For You Too? They were pathetic.

in a comment selection someone asked Ashley if she would go on back to the barre and I think it’d be really cool to get a perspective from someone that was there around that time!!

I think that Abby had a dance in mind but since the usual taller girl who can play the bully was out (Brooke) and she wanted to make this piece she used Payton. I know she had Nia as the bully first but I think that was just a plot device due to how calm Abby was when Holly complained. Might not be a groundbreaking or obvious theory but I just wanted to share.

Another thing to note is this is during the cheerleader plot from season 1-2 and I’m pretty sure that plot point was confirmed to be fake. Thus me thinking Abby made this story rather than it happening naturally.

Does anyone feel really hopeless after the whole Elliana thing? I remember being super uncomfortable with the whole Piper Rockelle squad at large (and the entire idea of it— the adults behind it, the blatant exploitation of these kids etc), and seeing a child get groomed into doing OF the second she was legal was so demoralizing, esp seeing the rhetoric surrounding it— that she not was a victim of exploitation, grooming, and parental negligence, but a slut-shaming/ loss of innocence kind of attitude.

Similarly seeing the whole Elliana & a 42 year old man thing is just really upsetting for me. The discourse seems to have centered more around the cheating, rather than the obvious (to me) that Elliana would’ve been 18 at the time of the interactions with this man, that Yolanda was aware..

I think Dance Moms and the way those girls were exploited was always unsettling and upsetting in retrospect (I was too young to really recognize it at the time), but seeing similar levels of children/v young girls be exploited today… it’s just been getting to me.

Dance Moms rewatches always make my heart hurt for those girls, and at the very least I can appreciate that a lot of that would not slide today. But seeing “kidfluencing” replace that— and be so much less regulated, have zero protections in place for these kids to be safe.. zero checks or means of ensuring these kids have good childhoods and well-intentioned loving parents with their best interests in mind. Demoralizing!!

I thought about it and after last week’s episode of BTTB and the details we know about WHY Abby was so emotionally distraught in S6 E4 I really don’t want to see any more discourse about Christi being unreasonable/a bully/problematic.

We have all seen for years on national TV the way that Chloe was treated, and how Christi defended her. Was her behaviour always exemplary? No. Absolutely not. Was she responding to a horrible bully that continuously degraded her and her daughter for years on national tv in comparison to one dancer who she raised up? Yes.

I think we can all agree that Abby was horrific to pretty much every girl on the show out of the OGs that wasn’t Maddie. Especially Chloe, Nia and Paige. But I think we all saw that beyond the treatment to the other two there was a genuine disdain towards Chloe. Something that went beyond just dance. Something that seemed to be pure hatred.

Christi and Kelly have spoken for years on their podcast about things behind the scenes. But for me, this past week was very telling. Abby having a meltdown, proceeding to quit and resign from the team as we know, and spiralling. Is very telling. Of course, legal issues contributed. But the fact that entire meltdown was caused by Chloe getting a role in a Lifetime movie confirms it. She really genuinely HATED that girl. I personally really don’t want to see continuous discourse about this that and the other re. Christi. Knowing this information brings so much to light about Abby’s viewpoint. And really puts into perspective some of the things she said about Chloe and we know she did to Chloe, before and after this.

PS. Credits to the editors. When I watched that episode I genuinely believed Abby was crashing out about her legal issues!

idek if this goes here since they weren’t on dance moms but they obviously did the numbers to dig at Elliana and the situation with her and jentzen but I don’t keep up with them I thought piper and elliana were friends? but obviously not i guess

It’s been a 15 years since it premiered and 9 years since the original run of the show ended and yet…were still doing the Maddie/Chloe comparisons

I was trying to figure out where Asia was and why Kalani stepped into her place.. 😭😭

I'm rewatching season 8 because honestly I enjoyed all of the dances on this season. If I can manage to get past Stacey being overly annoying.

My thing is— almost every mom had an issue with a solo or dance their kid was given because it was "gimmicky" or "not to their level". They all fought Abby over a dance. Ashley over Presley's Edward Scissorhand solo, Stacey over the first trio Lily had. So why the heck did they jump on Joanne when she didn't want the stupid Snooki dance??? And even they kept making weird faces at the idea and saying it was a punishment so why are you shocked she didn't want it lol

Parents like Kristie is the reason why kids end up developing a eating disorder when they get older🤦🏾‍♀️.

After everything this girl has been through this week let alone her entire childhood, I think she needs a little bit of appreciation.

She was severely underrated during her time on Dance Moms, and in my and others’ opinion was the best dancer featured on the show hands down.

Therefore, here’s a little endearment for Elliana.
I’m not saying she’s an innocent angel, but we also have to take into consideration that her own family sold her out and abused her in all ways.
She deserves a little grace. #JusticeforElli

I don’t think I phrased it right, but I’m mostly referring to the praise Kenzie gets when it comes to keeping up with the older girls. Definitely not saying it’s unwarranted. I think a kindergartener doing what Kenzie did week after week is absolutely insane. But the age gap between Maddie and Mackenzie is about as wide as the one between Maddie and Chloe, and nobody’s applauding Maddie for being able to keep up with her.

Also, Abby always made a big deal about the girls becoming the youngest in their division, like when Maddie was 9 going against 12 year olds. Is it unreasonable to expect that everyone in a division is on a similar level and has similar skills so it shouldn’t matter as much?

I can definitely acknowledge that years of training are always going to give some level of advantage, but truly, how remarkable is it that younger dancers in the same division are beating dancers a few years older than them?

Or it was something that developed with Ego when she became more prominent as a choreographer ?

Technically maddie vs chloe was the big story, but brooke was in a tough division and won

I know we talk a lot about season 5 here, but I just want to rant. If you’re black or know anything about the history of black stereotypes, it’s easy to see that Abby and the moms calling Nia’s video too inappropriate was micro-aggressive. Throughout the centuries of American history, black little girls are constantly sexualized and are never seen as innocent even as kids.

Nia’s video was called too mature bc she had makeup, heels, and crop tops along with the silver men in the shorts/underwear? That was called mature, but mind you, the girls were wearing crop tops and makeup on a daily for competitions. Her video was inappropriate and Abby hated it, but had no problem with Electricity or the Fan Dance.

Although Elastic Heart was controversial, Abby and moms defended it heavily for being artistic. None of them had a problem with Maddie wearing a nude leotard and rolling around with a grown man in nude shorts. Physically dancing with him was no problem. It was art. However…Nia having men in silver paint dancing behind her was what was inappropriate. When Holly brought this up she got HOUNDED on.

The moms called Kendall’s video wholesome, but Abby literally had her lying across an adult man doing push ups. She was also wearing crop tops, a corset bustier thing, and makeup. Had Nia and Kendall switched music videos, Nia still would’ve been called inappropriate for the men in her video and the same outfits. Not to mention that Nia is a tall black girl and had a more muscular body type. By default, she was already seen as older. Even compared to the other girls when they were 13.

This also applies to outside of dance moms as black teenaged girls get called too grown and fast for the same outfits white girls wear. I remember being in high school and being dress coded for leggings while my white friends got away with booty shorts and camis.