Dance Moms on Lifetime

[jenniferboston1]

This past episode actually made me sad...Kendall was basically pleading with her mother...not Abby, her mother to stop. Then what does Jill say? "Tell HER to stop!" she says to poor Kendall about Abby. Give me a break Jill.

I had to laugh about the garage thing. Ewww!

[MHcarrollton]

I am having a hard time with why Maddie is being punished for what Abby feels her mother did, but McKensie is not. Do they not have the same mother?

[candor]

The dynamics of this group are fascinating and disturbing. On the one hand, those kids will never forget Abby as a teacher. They'll hear her words every time they apply themselves and they'll probably carry her exacting standards into whatever they do. On the other hand, her behavior is flat-out psychological abuse, for which they'll also carry lifetime scars. I don't know why these mothers accept that kind of bullying. The first time a dance teacher punished my child because of my actions, or yelled at me in front of my child, or even pitted one child against the other, would be the last time I'd ever go to that studio.

[prhoshay]

I do hate it when Abby puts the child in between her and the child's mother. Good Grief, would you grow up, already? The child is not responsible for the mother, and guilting the child is not the way to go.

[provenceguy]

Abby is abusive. Period. Why people stand for this, I do not know.

[sunnydayz]

I'm not sure what disturbed me more this episode, Abby's twisted glee at one of the "replacements" beating Chloe, or Abby's twisted, crying conversation with Maddie. Abby seems to thrive on Chloe's missteps, as it gives Abby ammo to torture her with in the days and week ahead. I guess the same could be true with all the girls. Abby thrives on any of their mistakes, except for Maddie and, to a lesser extent, Mackenzie. That is, until Maddie's recent "betrayal" of Abby. OMG that conversation she had with Maddie was difficult to watch. There's some weird, psychological stuff going on there. As their dance teacher, why does she get so gleeful when they don't get first? Just so she can say, I told you so? It really does seem like she sets up Chloe to fail, as her mother has mentioned. Giving her a solo in one day? If she really wanted to beat the other studio, why not give her a solo earlier in the week so she'd have more time to practice? It's just twisted.

Why do these mothers and children put up with this? I can only imagine that it's because Abby's had success in getting dance students into dance careers. And, as Kelly mentioned to Brooke and Paige at the beginning of this season when they were supposedly trying to decide if they should come back, Brooke's music video and Paige's modeling opportunity came as a result of being on Abby's dance team. Of course now they have the $ and the associated fame from being on the TV show to keep them there, as well.

Abby complains she wants her dancers to focus only on being the best dancer possible. She doesn't want them to have any outside distractions. Yet, I think these families must be intensely focused and driven to keep coming back week after week for this torture. Well, that and an iron clad contract, as someone pointed out up thread.

[beerbelly]

I used to think this was a 'fun' show.

I grew up with dancers - it is a hard life. But boy, this pitting mom against child thing is insane. Playing mind games is even worse. It's hard to be a 'healthy' dancer - with the tough physical elements as well as the mental concentration. I have seen dancers being 'abused' by their teachers - but it was more physical than mental. Nothing to the extent this is. Unfortunately, it is a hard industry with a very short age timeline. Unfortunately these kids will apex at a Cruise Ship dance company, not a real one.

[Critical]

And, as Kelly mentioned to Brooke and Paige at the beginning of this season when they were supposedly trying to decide if they should come back, Brooke's music video and Paige's modeling opportunity came as a result of being on Abby's dance team. Of course now they have the $ and the associated fame from being on the TV show to keep them there, as well.

I interpreted that differently. They got those opportunities because they were in LA, not specifically because of ABBY. If they hadn't been in the group, they wouldn't have gotten those opportunities, but Abby didn't play a role in getting Paige the modeling job of Brooke the singing opportunity.

I started watching the show because I spent my childhood and teen years in a dance studio. I usually mute the adults and just watch the kids. I could only get through half of the last episode. Abby has gone off the rails. The way she speaks to people is just beyond the pale. Frankly, I think she needs some serious therapy.....as do the parents who continue allowing their children to be subjected to that abuse.

Abby claims she's preparing these dancers for professional careers, but I think that's b.s. They're LITTLE GIRLS. Children. Speaking to a child that way is nothing but abuse.

As much I enjoy the kids on this show, the behavior of the adults has just gotten worse and worse. I'm to the point where I don't want to watch any more.

I had to laugh when Abby told the girls that the other dancers were screaming and cheering for them when they arrived at the competition because they're the ALDC. No, honey, it's because they're on TV.

[jadewarlock]

Why do these mothers and children put up with this? I can only imagine that it's because Abby's had success in getting dance students into dance careers. And, as Kelly mentioned to Brooke and Paige at the beginning of this season when they were supposedly trying to decide if they should come back, Brooke's music video and Paige's modeling opportunity came as a result of being on Abby's dance team. Of course now they have the $ and the associated fame from being on the TV show to keep them there, as well.

It's honestly the contracts and in a way the greed from them. That said, if I were truly upset about Abby or saw my daughters being treated like these girls have with Abby, that contract would be null and void because I'm seeing abuse (verbal/emotional). If the network balked I'd say it's bullying and if I have to I'll go to court and I have plenty of evidence to prove my case."

Abby complains she wants her dancers to focus only on being the best dancer possible. She doesn't want them to have any outside distractions. Yet, I think these families must be intensely focused and driven to keep coming back week after week for this torture. Well, that and an iron clad contract, as someone pointed out up thread.

Yep on the contract - which is why I said the above. I've seen better performances on this show, so it's not that Abby's the best teacher or brings the best out of her dances.

She's proving the latter more and more false - especially if she's setting the girls up to fail i.e. giving Chloe a solo with ONE day to practice.

[sunnydayz]

I started watching the show because I spent my childhood and teen years in a dance studio. I usually mute the adults and just watch the kids. I could only get through half of the last episode. Abby has gone off the rails. The way she speaks to people is just beyond the pale. Frankly, I think she needs some serious therapy.....as do the parents who continue allowing their children to be subjected to that abuse.

As much I enjoy the kids on this show, the behavior of the adults has just gotten worse and worse. I'm to the point where I don't want to watch any more.

You said it best. Abby has gone off the rails. I watch because I enjoy the kids on the show too. But this season is really pushing my boundaries of what I feel comfortable watching. I was hopeful when I saw the commercial advertising the start of the new season that poked fun at Abby as the "maniacal" dance teacher. I thought it was good they were showing the absurdity of how she behaves, in a joking way. However, there's nothing close to lighthearted joking about her behavior in these past couple of episodes.