Dance Moms - anyone still watching?

[disneyjunkie]

 

[disneyjunkie]

Maddie is a little brat. Thanks to Abby, she hasn't leatned how to lose gracefully.
She behaved in the same disgusting manner when she didn't win the Joffery (not sure about the spelling )scholarship. That kid is going to crash and burn when she no longer has Abby to stack the deck in her favor. The real world is going to smack her bratty butt hard.

 

[lovin'fl]

I think everything Abby does is to train/prepare these girls for what's to come if they do end up in the entertainment industry (or become professional dancers). She always says she doesn't want the girls to cry and cower and run to their mommies but she wants them to speak for themselves and Nia is doing just that. I think Nia has truly learned and benefited from her experience at ALDC. I think Maddie has the talent to be something but she just doesn't have the sturdy foundation (mental foundation) like Nia does.

While it was a little upsetting to see how Melissa handled Mack's win, I do get her thought process with not expecting MAck to beat Maddie. My girls play competitive softball and their team is all 15-16 (all just finished sophomore year) and we are playing in 18U tourneys where some girls just finished their first year of college and are still eligible to play 18U. Some of the teams we play are all 17-18 year olds who have been hitting the fast pitching for years now where our girls are kinda just getting started...so I don't expect us to do well. I think it was disingenuous for the other moms to play it up like 'Melissa, how could you think that Mack shouldn't win...gasp'.

 

[mom2rtk]

I thought Melissa was disgusting. Personally, I'm sick of the "Maddy Show". That's what it has become to me.

Christy/Chloe quit the studio midseason but had to show up for the tapings until their contract was up. It's possible Holly/Nia signed a new contract after Christi and Chloe left so their's might still be in affect

Because Melissa is an awful person.

Didn't she have her attorney send letters to the other dance moms when she was dating a married man?

 

[Cannot_Wait_4Disney]

I can't stand Melissa, you shouldn't favor one child over another. Mackenzie is going to become resentful and bitter one day.

Every single one of those kids is going to need therapy. And lots of it.

 

[disneyjunkie]

I think everything Abby does is to train/prepare these girls for what's to come if they do end up in the entertainment industry (or become professional dancers). She always says she doesn't want the girls to cry and cower and run to their mommies but she wants them to speak for themselves and Nia is doing just that. I think Nia has truly learned and benefited from her experience at ALDC. '.

Abby does not want those kids to speak up. She wants them to be defiant, BUT only toward their mothers, not her.

Nia is the only kid there who is smart enough to not talk back to or yell at her mother. (In my book that is disrespectful). But she will POLITELY call Abby on her BS. The other girls are afraid to do that.

 

[cabanafrau]

I put zero stock in what is shown onscreen. IMO this show might just take the cake for manipulation in the arena of reality TV. I've heard that they may be changing the way they portray Abby because there is some type of dispute. Apparently they may be editing in a way to make her heinous behavior seem even worse, if that's even possible.

I just hope these kids have been fully informed on what's what along the way and are able to understand it's a performance, not reality. I hope they all don't face negativity in the coming years because of their time on the show.

 

[jenny105]

I totally agree. Maddie was so mad Mack beat her and I couldn't believe Abby thinking Mack didn't place becuase Maddie came in second. Melissa couldn't be bothered to watch Mack's rehersal and was more concerned with Maddie being a brat about losing than about Mack's victory.

Agreed! When Abby said that I said out loud 'wow, way to have faith in Mackenzie.' The girl watches the show! Be happy for her instead of praising Maddie every chance you get. You have other students.

Melissa disgusts me and Maddie is a total brat. I feel bad speaking ill of a child but enjoy your success now. Because I think she peaked with the first Sia video. The others haven't been nearly as successful.

 

[jenny105]

I put zero stock in what is shown onscreen. IMO this show might just take the cake for manipulation in the arena of reality TV. I've heard that they may be changing the way they portray Abby because there is some type of dispute. Apparently they may be editing in a way to make her heinous behavior seem even worse, if that's even possible.

I just hope these kids have been fully informed on what's what along the way and are able to understand it's a performance, not reality. I hope they all don't face negativity in the coming years because of their time on the show.

I don't think it's the editing. I think it's her. You can see the difference in her attitude from the first season until now. She wasn't nearly as bad. Almost normal.

 

[lilclerk]

I am still catching up on last season, but I just want to chime in and say I'm so glad that other people think Maddie's faces are weird. I don't understand why Abby is always saying do the Maddie Face. She looks so fake to me.

Nia may not be the best dancer in the group, but personally, I think she has great facial expressions. I could see her going into acting.

 

[jak]

Nia danced wonderfully on the video, but I agree ballet isn't really her style. The hip hop or whatever that the video required really showed off her ability in that area. Her look reminded me of Janet Jackson somewhat. I do agree, she looked beautiful.

While I agree that ballet isn't really a good style for Nia, honestly none of the ALDC kids are good ballet dancers. That's not really all that surprising though, given that it's clearly not a ballet-based studio.

I agree, I think the end is near for this show. To much focus on so much other stuff then the dancing. Plus I can't imagine how the dynamics will go when she moves to L.A. I heard the moms talking like they were following her there. Is that true? I can't imagine the moneys that good to uproot like that to follow a dance teacher.

The money isn't half bad; each of the ALDC kids gets $10k per episode. Given a season with let's say 25 or so episodes, that's about $250k per season. And that's even not including what the moms get paid.

I totally agree that a lot of the drama is staged (just like on every reality show) but there has to be truth behind all of it, or else real law suits wouldn't have been filed.

Nothing on the show is scripted, but much of the drama is producer-driven. They encourage the moms to go after each other and supposedly have white boards off-camera on which they write what the moms should be discussing/complaining about. Still, as I understand it, no one is forced to say anything they don't want to say. So there is some element of truth to it all, but between the producers prompting and editing at least some of the truth gets distorted.

 

[barkley]

I am still catching up on last season, but I just want to chime in and say I'm so glad that other people think Maddie's faces are weird. I don't understand why Abby is always saying do the Maddie Face. She looks so fake to me.

Nia may not be the best dancer in the group, but personally, I think she has great facial expressions. I could see her going into acting.

I SO agree about the 'maddie face'-she seems to have no range facially whereas nia is great at having an appropriate expression depending on the particular dance she's doing.

I couldn't believe it when abby got after maddie in the last episode b/c she didn't stand out in the group number-telling her that even in a group number (where she's not the featured dancer) she always has to make sure she stands out and gets noticed/draw attention. that is the WORST advice if this kid is pursuing a career-no matter how good she might be if she isn't the 'type' a director/choreographer is seeking for a featured role in a production her only opportunity in that production may be within the dance corps-and if a dancer is incapable or unwilling to be able to be a part of a group number WITHOUT standing out or drawing attention to themselves they will not be cast.

I have to wonder what kind of longevity maddie will have outside of aldc and dance moms-she just strikes me (and her mom as well) as the type that if she's unable to be the center of attention/'star' professionaly she may walk away from the industry entirely. nia on the other hand I could see working successfully in ensemble works (she has a great mind set and is a great team player).

 

[barkley]

While I agree that ballet isn't really a good style for Nia, honestly none of the ALDC kids are good ballet dancers. That's not really all that surprising though, given that it's clearly not a ballet-based studio.



The money isn't half bad; each of the ALDC kids gets $10k per episode. Given a season with let's say 25 or so episodes, that's about $250k per season. And that's even not including what the moms get paid.



Nothing on the show is scripted, but much of the drama is producer-driven. They encourage the moms to go after each other and supposedly have white boards off-camera on which they write what the moms should be discussing/complaining about. Still, as I understand it, no one is forced to say anything they don't want to say. So there is some element of truth to it all, but between the producers prompting and editing at least some of the truth gets distorted.

curious where you found the $10,000 per kid information-abby's been very vocal lately about how underpaid everyone is. she's recently said the kids were only paid $1050 per episode season 3 and 4, raised to $2000 in the 5th season forward. the hyland's lawsuit documented $6935 per episode for the entire family (so 2 kids/1 mom).

 

[jak]

curious where you found the $10,000 per kid information-abby's been very vocal lately about how underpaid everyone is. she's recently said the kids were only paid $1050 per episode season 3 and 4, raised to $2000 in the 5th season forward. the hyland's lawsuit documented $6935 per episode for the entire family (so 2 kids/1 mom).

This is information I heard directly from a source who is on the show. Though I will admit there is always the possibility that this information isn't true, as I can't say I trust the truthfulness of the source completely...

 

[mrsksomeday]

curious where you found the $10,000 per kid information-abby's been very vocal lately about how underpaid everyone is. she's recently said the kids were only paid $1050 per episode season 3 and 4, raised to $2000 in the 5th season forward. the hyland's lawsuit documented $6935 per episode for the entire family (so 2 kids/1 mom).

I had read Abby's statements about the kids getting $2000 per episode as well.

 

[disneyjunkie]

I am still catching up on last season, but I just want to chime in and say I'm so glad that other people think Maddie's faces are weird. I don't understand why Abby is always saying do the Maddie Face. She looks so fake to me.

Nia may not be the best dancer in the group, but personally, I think she has great facial expressions. I could see her going into acting.

Nia would be awesome if she had a teacher like those at the Dance Theater of Harlem or Alvin Ailey. Abby is pretty much a one trick pony who can't or won't give Nia danced that work with her strengths and body type.

 

[Kirby]

Nia would be awesome if she had a teacher like those at the Dance Theater of Harlem or Alvin Ailey. Abby is pretty much a one trick pony who can't or won't give Nia danced that work with her strengths and body type.

Agree. Maybe she'll get picked up by one of them. I'm not a dancer but I feel Maddie has peaked with Abby. She needs to move on.

 

[Mizzoufan]

I watch this once in a while. I don't know how the moms put up with Abby unless it all for show and Abby isn't as bad as she comes off as.

 

[izzy]

I still miss Chloe. I thought she was a beautiful dancer. I hope wherever she landed that she is happy.

 

[::danielle::]

I still miss Chloe. I thought she was a beautiful dancer. I hope wherever she landed that she is happy.

I agree. I wish they would do a reality show showing how Chloe is doing now. They can feature Nia too when Holly finally leaves.