Dance Moms on Lifetime

[Critical]

Oh yes, they did a HG-inspired dance. When Abby talked about the dance this week and said it's about children killing each other, I couldn't help but laugh. I guess I shouldn't be surprised. She's just so ridiculous and has the worst judgment.

I was surprised that Abby didn't make more of a fuss about Brooke wanting out this week to go to her dance. Maybe she was planning on replacing her with Peyton down the line anyway. I think Jill is absolutely horrid, so I hope Peyton doesn't come back. The other moms aren't sweethearts either, but the seem to be at least civil to each other most of the time. Jill seems like more of a Miami dance mom.

Why did Abby feel the need for all the b.s. subterfuge with Maddie? They all know she favors Maddie anyway, so why not just say that she entered Maddie in both competitions? I think Maddie deserves the extra attention and obviously the judges did too. Like Abby said, she works her butt off. While I didn't love Chloe's choreography, Abby was right - she wasn't fluid in her movements. She has good technique, but really needs to work on her artistry.

As much as some of the moms complain about the preferential treatment Maddie gets, I can't blame Abby. Maddie works so hard and her mother is, for the most part, pretty easy to get along with. While the other moms get on Melissa for not confronting Abby about various things, I think she's smart. She knows that Abby holds the behavior of the mothers against the kids. By keeping her mouth shut and being nice, she is helping her daughter. I'll bet there are many things she'd like to say to Abby, but doesn't. I'm not saying it's right that Abby does that, but Melissa is doing what she needs to do to help her daughter.

[jadewarlock]

Hmmm... well if that is the case, I wonder if she cottoned on that dressing the girls in leaves made them Johanna Mason, who was not only acted weak to then turn around and be brutal...

She hated wearing a tree outfit for the parade and stripped naked in the training center to get out of it.

(Will give Chloe props though - I saw a still shot of her with a "Catching Fire" book, so at least I think she caught the reference of the tree outfit).

[sclilred1]

Jill is not Peyton's mom. Jill is the mom of the one that went to Candy Apples, can't remember the child's name. Peyton's mom is Leslie.

While it was nice for Maddie to be able to perform (and win) in both competitions it showed me that Maddie is the favored daughter as well as the favored dancer. Poor Makenzie was left with the other moms, teacher, camera people while Maddie was rushed over to the other school with mom and Abby. Would it have killed them to take little sister as well?

I think most of the other girls are just as good as Maddie is. If they were given the same opportunities as Maddie they might even prove to be better than her. Of course Abby can't have that though and her mom most definately can't.

[Critical]

Yeah, I clearly can't keep them all straight! I don't like Jill either! Peyton's mom is a beast, whatever her name is.

I think Maddie IS a better dancer than the other girls AND she has a great attitude. Her technique is just better, as is her stage presence. Her extensions are so good and her feet and her arms are always placed just right. It's remarkable in someone her age. Chloe has good technique as well, but her artistry isn't there. Abby was absolutely right that Chloe's movements were choppy in this week's solo. I think Nia has gotten better, but she's still not up to the level of most of the other girls. I try to make a point of watching her in the group numbers and she often looks a little sloppy or behind the other girls. Abby keeps making corrections - especially about her feet - but she's not applying them. I think Paige and Brooke are good, but they're not up there with Chloe and definitely not with Maddie. Sometimes, they just look sluggish on stage. MacKenzie is too young to compare to the other girls. She's gotten so much better, but she's still not up to the level of those older girls.

Unless something crazy happens in the next 10 years, if SYTYCD is still around, I fully expect to see Maddie on that show. If she's this good at 8 or 9, I can only imagine what she'll be doing at 18 or 19.

I didn't get the feeling that everyone just left while Abby and Melissa took Maddie down to the other show. I'm sure they ended up coming back to the other competition afterwards and we just didn't see it. Didn't they take a bus to that event like they usually do?

[mom2]

I have never had a dance class, but I respectfully disagree about Chloe. I think she's much better with the ballet/lyrical type of dances than Maddy. I think her choreography is noticeably easier than what is given to Maddy, which makes her score lower. Her performance outshined Maddy's when the tape skipped, in my opinion. And Maddy is super talented, I'm not taking anything away from that child. I just think Chloe is equally talented, but Abby makes sure to get digs in before she performs just in case.

I think Chloe and Maddy are evenly matched, Paige and Nia are not far behind, and Mackenzie has the talent that her siter has, she just needs the same attention and praise. As do all of the dancers.

[Critical]

I had about 10-12 years of ballet, so I'm always watching technique....it's both good and bad, because if the technique isn't as good, I fixate on it. That finalist on SYTYCD with the bad feet drives me insane! Chloe has nice extension and good feet, but her artistry just isn't there yet. She's not as expressive and fluid as she needs to be. I'd hazard to say that Maddie could probably win with Chloe's choreography because she would be able to sell it better. Chloe has all the tools, but she needs to work on a few things. Dancing isn't just about completing the steps correctly. When I watch Chloe most of the time, it doesn't seem like she feels the music. She's just doing the steps. If she ends up doing that program with the Joffrey School, I think that will help her immensely.

I think Nia is only better than MacKenzie. Her technique lags way behind the others. She's got lots of personality, but her dancing just isn't up to the level of the top girls in that group. Paige and Brooke are good, but they seem to lack motivation and energy. I'm sure their mother's crappy attitude affects their work ethic as well.

[mom2]

I was hoping for a real new episode, not Abby's Rant of Dances. I wonder if it ever does occur to her that the problem with some of them is actually her choreography??? Comparing to Miami, I now think she's average to high average. Her dancers are awesome, and she can only gripe.

I think we should see the score cards, so that the public is aware of the choreography score.

And to still the "Maddy gets better choreography" opinions, why don't they switch dances each week? Seems fair to me.

[jadewarlock]

I saw a bit of the "Abby trying to show what is the truth about her studio but only makes herself look worse" episode then went on and tried to see if any channel here had "AGT" (none did - we had it pre-empted by, believe it or not soccer).

I'm going to be straight up: Abby needs to do two things: 1. Not blame a girl forgetting her dance because of the mothers and 2. that in competition you cannot always win but you are not a failure for placing at all, or even not at all.

For the first one - Abby seems to forget these girls are young and under stress for perfection (which is the second part of my issues), and when you combine the two you're going to have a mind block. I feel for all the dancers because of that stress for perfection, because some of them could excel if they didn't have that pressure from Abby.

On the second part - I'm not in the group of "everyone should receive an award just for trying" - it's ridiculous and leads to attitudes such as Abby's if they're not careful (It's that "I'm hot stuff no matter how bad of a choreograph I give these girls to show you).

There is a reason for competition and it's for bragging rights yes, but in many cases get good constructive criticism from judges who are UNBIASED toward the dancer.

And, that latter part actually works if you use it, and what I see in Abby's actions, she doesn't use it.

Look - I admit this flat out: I did NOT take a lick of individual dance (I took pair dancing). Yet, I could compete against the best of them because I took the notes the judges gave me and learned from it. I never placed in the top three, but I advanced over dancers who had YEARS of experience from the semifinal round to final round. Placed 6/6, but I even took a higher place from one of the judges over another group (final set was 6-6-5). Then the next round I was 10th out of 40 dancers, and another year 5 out of 10, and there it was a 5-3 pair of rankings.

But - I did well because I didn't worry about being No. 1 - I had fun. No one told me I was a loser because I didn't win, because I worked hard and did my absolute best without that knowledge. I also agreed with the judges too on the rankings of the top three finishers - something else Abby needs to learn: Be objective.

The problem with Abby is she expects her dancers to WIN not strive for as close to perfection as they're able to compete with. They are going to deal with tough competition and may not win, or even place. To expect the girls to be perfect all the time and win first and tell them they're losers (and I don't mean because it's second - I mean saying THEY PERSONALLY are losers and not to waste time dancing if they're not going to win) is unreasonable and frankly would make me want to quit.

[mom2]

My daughter's Facebook Post:

Dance Moms in a nutshell:
Maddie will be performing a 3 hour solo entitled "Winner" while wearing a custom- made tutu by a world renowned fashion designer, and will perform for the rulers of every nation in the world. Chloe/Paige/Brooke/Nia will be performing the Macarena in a burlap sack.
They will compete against each other.
If Chloe/Paige/Brooke/Nia doesn't win, she will be fed to the sharks.
If Maddie doesn't win, Abbie will eat all of the judges, and then give Maddie the crown/trophy, anyway.

[GabbyG]

As I was watching this show last night, I wondered why. With the exception of Nia's mom, Holly, they all make me sick to my stomach. Love the kids though.