Dance Moms Recap: Kelly Need a Hug

129 Comments

1. 1
   Escapee
   Posted June 23, 2012 at 2:58 pm

   Since many of us think Kelly’s engaged bitching this episode didn’t make sense, I checked Kelly’s Twitter for the week before this competition (which Google says was 4/28/12). I didn’t see much for that week, but Abby and Kelly did have some kind of blowout May 8 though (we know the producers edit different dates together). Kelly said “Omg I don’t know how I am going to go to sleep I am so aggravated” and Christi twittered back “uh oh. It’s like the princess and the pea. Except with a 400 lb. pea. Stressful .”. In fact Kelly had a whole string of Tweets that night against Abby:

   “the only thing wrong with paige is she goes to an abusive dance teacher named abby who is jealous of her great personality”

   “sorry abby u will never b like paige no matter how hard u try”

   “Abby should be jealous of paige Paigr is beautiful,thin, and a great dancer! She is not! abby is jealous of paige and could never b like her”

   “well if she wants to b like paige she will have to loose like a billion pounds and get a personality”

   “I hate that woman”

   A follower stated ” umm.. Then leave ALDC. Problem solved” and Kelly responded “I can’t I have a contract.”. Another follower asked ” If u could break the contract with little or no financial penalty, would u do it?” and Kelly replied “absolutely.”

   The next day someone defended Abby and Kelly twittered, “does she have to call my kids stupid ?” and “I used to b400 lost 200 My fatnes didn’t make me act mean to people like Abby.it has nothing to do with her weight she is just a mean person”

   So I think there WAS a real blowout between Kelly and Abby, with Kelly storming out – but the producers tried to make it about a green dress instead of, apparently, Abby calling Paige stupid.

2. 2
   snoopk8
   Posted June 23, 2012 at 3:05 pm

   First of all, I apologize for the typos in the recap! Grrr. Anyway, I was rewatching the first ep of the second half last night, and the interview when Jabby said “at least Mackenzie got 1st place,” when we were all WTF?, she also says something like, “those two teams really beat us.” So CLEARLY that footage was from this week’s competition and not the one we were shown the 1st week. SLOPPY, Lifetime, sloppy.

3. 3
   Wednesday
   Posted June 23, 2012 at 3:20 pm

   In one of the Dance Moms promos Kelly tells Abby not to call her kid stupid.

   http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WrtoVIxDjkA

   I don’t think that scene has happened yet. It’s probably during the week Kelly posted all that stuff on twitter so we haven’t gotten to it.

   I don’t think the producers altered what Kelly was upset about (she and Christi see even the smallest thing as a slight against their daughters and love playing the victim), we just haven’t gotten to the week where their BIG blowup happens, that is apparently so bad Kelly had to blow off a lot of steam criticizing Abby on twitter. There’s no way they wouldn’t show us Abby calling one of the kids stupid. All of this smaller stuff between them is probably building to some bigger drama and storm out in a future episode.

4. 4
   Escapee
   Posted June 23, 2012 at 3:23 pm

   I hope you are right, Wednesday (#3)! Not that I want any kids being called “stupid,” but I look forward to a big yummy drama about which to snark!

5. 5
   Nannie
   Posted June 23, 2012 at 3:30 pm

   If you look at this epi again, you can see that when Abby was going over the contract, Kelly was wearing the same top as the one in the video linked above. It looks like the same day to me.

6. 6
   KittyKat24
   Posted June 23, 2012 at 3:46 pm

   Something interesting I noticed when watching this episode… right after the duet and group awards are given out, they cut to the dressing room. Kelly is holding a yellow piece of paper (looks like a merit award or something). Then Abby comes in. In the next shot, Abby has that yellow piece of paper in her hand and is yelling about the girls not doing well. But watch Chloe during these shots. She keeps jumping forward and looking behind her like something bit her. I had to rewind it a few times to realize what was going on- Kelly is pinching Chloe’s bottom and making her jump while Abby is yelling at the girls right in front of her. It was really strange to watch… and a really strange thing for an adult to do given the situation.

7. 7
   Escapee
   Posted June 23, 2012 at 4:00 pm

   Yup, Nannie. Compare Kelly’s shirt in THIS episode, where Abby shows Kelly the contract while they are at the front desk (http://www.mylifetime.com/shows/dance-moms/video/season-2/episode-16/episode-16-i-know-what-you-did-last-competition at 7:41) with the promo for an coming episode, where Kelly tells Abby at the front desk not to call her kid stupid (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WrtoVIxDjkA at :18). Looks like the producers took one real fight and split it up into at least two.

8. 8
   Z
   Posted June 23, 2012 at 4:14 pm

   During the “Big Confrontation” between Melissa and Abby about CDGate it really came across as if Melissa was having a hard time remembering her lines. I don’t buy it for a second.

9. 9
   gun kata
   Posted June 23, 2012 at 4:43 pm

   KittyKat, that is so weird.

   Kelly and Christi, stop yelling about everything and giving your daughters martyr complexes. Also, Kelly, leave Chloe’s behind alone.

   Let me lay out Abby’s masterplan: she wants to win stuff because that makes her look good. She must do this via the competition dancers. Set your girls to winning by letting them rehearse (mostly for Kelly), see your doctors about your terrible hormonal imbalances (mostly for Kelly and maybe Missy). It’s all about crowns!

   Are there Disney competitions or routines? Hmmmm… terrifying.

10. 10
    Gwen
    Posted June 23, 2012 at 5:00 pm

    About Chloe looking “whatever” about the duet: Maddie and Chloe have performed this duet numerous times before (from what I understand, they do it at every competition, whether it is shown on TV or not) so Chloe probably already expected to be doing a duet. Or she was just tired. Or something.

11. 11
    Wednesday
    Posted June 23, 2012 at 5:24 pm

    You are absolutely right, nannie. Good catch. It’s weird that they would leave out drama that they could exploit like that. I hope that doesn’t mean that they will use that scene in a later episode and pretend it’s happening then.

    As for Chloe’s reaction to the duet, it didn’t look like editing because it was a pan shot, not a cut. I personally wouldn’t read too much into it, though. Chloe sometimes looks upset or annoyed if she is lower on the pyramid than I guess she thinks she should be or when she’s given criticism. She was probably just a little irritable that day.

12. 12
    Z
    Posted June 23, 2012 at 5:51 pm

    I think that’s just Chloe’s neutral face. You see her looking like that a lot when she’s doing her own thing. I have the same problem. My neutral face comes across as upset or mad and strangers have been stopping me on the street to tell me to cheer up since I was younger than her. Chances are, she was lost in her own thoughts and didn’t realize the cameras were on her. It’s pretty obvious that someone off to the side got her attention and told her to smile.

13. 13
    KRB
    Posted June 23, 2012 at 5:52 pm

    It’s not that I don’t like Chloe, she seems like a very nice girl and all that. But if that would have been Maddie making a face it would have been WWIII, people would have said how rude and arrogant that she was being.

    I wonder if Abby’s choreography is looking stale because A. she’s having to make up a ton of dances for a year and not getting to put a ton of time into them or possibly B. she doesn’t want to show really good routines on national tv for anyone to be able to use?? Just a thought.

14. 14
    keebler elf
    Posted June 23, 2012 at 6:28 pm

    @Z my face is the same way! people think im sad, mad, or giving them dirty looks but its just my normal face lol

15. 15
    Moli
    Posted June 23, 2012 at 7:10 pm

    I have to agree, I’m one of those people who always a goofy smile on my face so when I don’t everyone swears something is wrong with me. The Jabby confrontation was totally staged, Melissa struggled to remember her lines. I loved the Maddie/Chloe duet, but I KNEW(without anyone telling me) that they had to have performed it before. I understand Nia was sloppy with her solo, but for her it was wonderful; with practice she will perfect it. I appreciate Jabby for finally giving her mature choreography. MacK’s performance was an ‘eh’ for me but I loved it because it was her. The group performance left me in an odd state…I didn’t NOT like it, but… I can say that if Paige wore the green dress it would have been off, I would have been watching her to see her do something ‘special’.

    Soooooo, today was the end of the season recital for Little Moli and she did what I expected and MORE!!!!!! I have mentioned before that while my princess learns choreography and perfects it, for some reason she can’t dance to the music. The jazz routine she did what the norm, choreography perfect and she danced a 1/4 a note off beat. The ballet portion…guys my baby ROCKED IT OUT!!!!! I even had other parents and their families commenting on how GREAT she was. She was the STAR!!!!!

    Bear(Mr. Moli) has been working with her(since I have two left feet and can’t catch a tone unless there is alcohol involved) and boy oh boy can you tell. He was so damn proud of our girl, they decided to leave me and my little guy home and celebrate. He took her out in her ballet costume and well…they came back with full bellies and HUGE smiles. I also found out why I don’t know much about the dance troupe…lil Moli wasn’t on the level she needed to be on. Well today they asked me if she/we would like to try out based on her performance today. Of course I told them no, ,only because the kids are required to take classes in all the types of dance and well…everyday is not what we are set up for. My avatar is of her in her ballet costume.

16. 16
    maryedith
    Posted June 23, 2012 at 8:47 pm

    Re Chloe’s Facegate: Chloe begins the Pyramid speech by trying to say something to Paige. Then she studies her nails like a little Valleygirl for a moment (which was the moment where I thought she looked kind of bitchy), and then she just looks totally out of it. She seems not to be paying attention when Abby assigns the duet to her and Maddie. When she realizes she is being given an assignment she snaps to attention enough to give a vague smile. I at first thought she was being intentionally disrespectful toward the whole Pyramid thing, but I now think was just totally preoccupied by something. Whichever, it’s apparent that she’s completely uninterested in the speech. It’s interesting to watch carefully because it makes you suspect (it made me suspect anyway) that the Pyramid had been gone over at least once already. Watching WWIII again it looked like Christi and Kelly were saying lines. And watching the part where Christi and Kelly call Abby “evil” and say that she “sabotages” the dancers while a truly woebegone Paige sits between them, looking back and forth is pretty horrifying.

17. 17
    Moli
    Posted June 23, 2012 at 9:13 pm

    Opps. Jazz costume.

18. 18
    maryedith
    Posted June 23, 2012 at 9:23 pm

    Congrats on your daughter, Moli! Just a few minutes ago I caught my son sneaking up to his room with a piece of cake. I thought of you as I hauled him back to the kitchen. Moli’s Rules!

19. 19
    Stina
    Posted June 23, 2012 at 10:03 pm

    So I’ve been lurking on these recaps for quite some time and I figured I would join in on the commenting. At this point, I think the whole thing is scripted. I also think that Melissa, Kelly and Christi are all really good friends. Like, they all get along when the cameras are off. I mean why else would Kelly tell Melissa about the foot thing? Also, I think Chloe was just tired. She didn’t really look like she was upset. Who knows though, that may be acting too. The whole thing is just so weird. Also, doesn’t Maddie usually do the Hellen Keller thing as a duet with someone else at the studio? I feel like I’ve seen it before. I can’t be sure though. Melissa is legit the worst actress on the show though. I don’t know either way I feel like all the moms get along and all the girls get along and I think the whole thing is fake fake fake.

20. 20
    Moli
    Posted June 23, 2012 at 10:14 pm

    Awww thanks@maryedith I’ll show her your post in the morning . YOU rock, you turned lil guy maryedith around.

    You guys want the REAL(besides upbringing) reason I don’t want food anywhere but the kitchen and dining room…I am TERRIFIED of bugs. All bugs except for some weird reason ladybugs(which for some reason I think are all males. But, then again I think caterpillars are male too!

21. 21
    Pageant-grandma
    Posted June 24, 2012 at 12:09 am

    More random insider info: both energy competitions (highland and Waterford) held in Michigan are in suburbs of Detroit. One would think you couldn’t get more “ghetto” than detroit, proper, but you can– it’s called “highland” and “Waterford”.

22. 22
    Lurker
    Posted June 24, 2012 at 1:54 am

    To me, Chloe looked bored and off in her own little world when Abby was giving out assignments. I didn’t think it came across bitchy or rude or anything of that sorts, rather she was just not paying much attention. I probably would be off in my own world too if I had to listen to Abby talk, and who knows how many times they have to shoot those pyramid scenes. I am loving Nia this season! She has really grown up! And I am learning to take a couple of aspirin before this show because Kelly gives me a headache. Woman needs to pull her shit together!!!

23. 23
    gun kata
    Posted June 24, 2012 at 2:43 am

    Again with the dresses.
    https://p.twimg.com/Av9ztfbCIAElxyz.jpg
    (ALDC Once in a lifetime recital)

24. 24
    Bec
    Posted June 24, 2012 at 4:04 am

    They are pointe shoes in that pic, I’d like to see a pointe toutine

25. 25
    featherhead
    Posted June 24, 2012 at 6:56 am

    Anyone else watching Breaking Pointe on CW? It is a reality show based on the ballarinas in a dance company in Utah. The dancing is amazing.

26. 26
    Chicken Lips
    Posted June 24, 2012 at 7:23 am

    @Pageant-grandma – Are those two cities like the suburbs for ghetto dwellers? You know – you live in Detroit but then you get married and you start having kids and you think, “Man, I need to get out of Detroit!” so you move to the ‘burbs where the air is a little cleaner, the grass is a little greener, the booze in the paper bag is a little colder and the trailers are a little wider?

    I totally missed this while I was watching, but I read it here – how was Chloe featured in the group dance when she was plugging the hole in the bottom of that pyramid? I thought that honor usually went to Maddie/girl-picked-out-of-a-hat-to-maintain-appearance-of-fairness?

    I just started noticing that Maddie has one performance face. She busted it out when she “found out” about the duet – kid needs to learn to tone it down. I’m assuming not all Broadway/professional dancers look like they just sucked in the nitrous oxide 3 minutes before hitting the stage – she needs to learn range.

27. 27
    LBOH
    Posted June 24, 2012 at 7:24 am

    Am I the only one who thinks that originally Jabby planned on having Paige be the featured dancer of this particular group routine? Wasn’t the overall style much more suited to Paige than to Chloe or even Maddie? (Chloe seems to be better at the dark/angry dances, Maddie at the pretty dances and Chloe seems to be better at the fun routines, which I would argue the Silver Spoons was) But after the whole chair debacle she had to switch the featured dancer?

    And since when is Jabby the boss? Correct me if I’m wrong, but isn’t she paid by the Moms? Last I checked that made them the bosses. Don’t know why this ticked me off so much, but it really did.

    I completely agree with the Moms that the choreography is stale. Well sort of, it’s just that these dances don’t seem to my untrained eye any more technical than the dances at the beginning of the first season. Shouldn’t the choreography be progressing as the girl’s talents progress?

28. 28
    Dani
    Posted June 24, 2012 at 8:45 am

    @Escapee— I just read your post. Thanks for letting us all know about the tweets, that sheds a lot of light on stuff that is going on. This one tweet her I’m confused about:

    The next day someone defended Abby and Kelly twittered, “does she have to call my kids stupid ?” and “I used to b400 lost 200 My fatnes didn’t make me act mean to people like Abby.it has nothing to do with her weight she is just a mean person.

    Is this tweet saying, or is Kelly saying that SHE (Kelly) was 400 lbs. herself, but lost 200 lbs.? This took me by surprise, but maybe it’s somebody else who wrote it..? Just a little confused with that, though I would feel a bit more sympathetic toward Kelly if this were the case. I mean, she woud know what it feels like to have been very overweight, so she’s not just “a mean girl” taking shots at Abby. Maybe she is, but if she has been there with her weight, she would at least know what that feels like… If that makes any sense.

    I don’t feel Chloe was doing anything wrong with her reaction. She’s probably told (rightfully so) by her mom, to not pay much attention to what Abby says at pyramid, to ignore her without being obvious, knowing how mean Abby can be she probably says this to protect her daughter. I’m guessing. Anyway, Chloe probably just lost her train of thought a bit and took a minute to come back. I do that all the time (lose track of my thoughts..). Anyway, I love Chloe, and don’t think she was being a little snot or anything. So far she’s shown us nothing but sweetness and grace, so unless I start to see her totally change, for now I’m thinking it just came across wrong and she was lost in thought. I think her and Maddie are very good friends and all the girls love eachother!

29. 29
    Tiera
    Posted June 24, 2012 at 9:01 am

    @Pageant-grandma that is not correct at all. Many of the suburbs of detroit are very nice and barely even comparable to the city. Both Waterford and Highland are an hour outside of detroit and not hardly “more ghetto”

    The real reason why there was only one green costume: The other green costume is Kendall’s! https://twitter.com/dancemoms_chloe/status/216401805196787714/photo/1

30. 30
    Escapee
    Posted June 24, 2012 at 9:23 am

    Dani (#26): yes, Kelly was tweeting that she herself used to be fat. The subject came up because she called Abby fat in the tweets I quoted in post #1, and one of her followers said that was mean.

31. 31
    Kittkatt
    Posted June 24, 2012 at 10:12 am

    Just a thought but in the first season wasn’t it known that Kelly and Abby have a very long history together with them being close and Kelly even taking dance lessons from Abby’s mother? (I may be mistaken. I tend to block stuff out when the show is over) Anyway, my point being perhaps that Kelly’s weight loss is what caused the tension between them. Coming from a friendship fallout where my friend and I dieted together and I lost while she didn’t. I know from first hand experience that this kind of shit happens. My “friend” became evil, hateful, and down right mean to me. IMO it all stemmed from jealousy.

32. 32
    Escapee
    Posted June 24, 2012 at 10:26 am

    Kittitat, what a great theory! Makes a lot of sense. Yes, “Kelly was taught by Abby’s mother from three to 14 years old and was one of the first members of the Abby Lee Dance Company the year it started.”. From http://www.dancemomjunkies.com/kelly-hyland/

    I wonder how recently Kelly lost the weight? They seem SO angry at each other; I wonder if it was pretty recent? Anyone want to go to Kelly’s Twitter and ask? Her name there is dancemomkelly. Bonus points if you ask “is your weight loss the reason Abby hates you?”

33. 33
    Kittkatt
    Posted June 24, 2012 at 10:40 am

    So if Kelly was taught by Abby’s mom till she was 14 and then dances with ALDC. And Abby started the company when SHE was 14, then they are the same age. Abby could very well be jealous of Kelly’s weight loss since they basically grew up together. However it disgusts me that Kelly would continue to throw Abby’s weight into the conversation since as a formerly heavy person she knows just how much that can hurt. My theory is Kelly was small when younger (its been mentioned she was a cheerleader), blew up after marriage, and had gastric. Her face and neck area show signs of rapid weight loss.

34. 34
    gun kata
    Posted June 24, 2012 at 10:50 am

    Abby doesn’t hate Kelly. Kelly is angry at Abby. But, look how hurt Abby looks when Kelly confronts her. Abby has issues and poor communication skills. Kelly is being egged on by Christi. I wish Abby and Kelly could mend their relationship.

35. 35
    maryedith
    Posted June 24, 2012 at 11:02 am

    I’m confused about the Kelly/weight thing. Are we sure that was Kelly talking? It seems odd that she would use those numbers (400 and 200) because obviously Kelly weighs nowhere near 200 lbs. I tried to google it but couldn’t find anything. Maybe someone else has a link or something? It seems like she would talk more about it if she’d lost that much weight!

36. 36
    Dani
    Posted June 24, 2012 at 11:47 am

    I think sometimes people are embarrassed about that, so wouldn’t want to necessarily talk about it (especially if they are on national T.V.). Maybe she was using general terms, like maybe she was 350 an lost 200 lbs., give or take..? I don’t know. I saw some pics of her as a kid and as a teenager, and she was very slender, so if she did gain weight it probably was after having kids.. That is a good point about the gastric surgery. My mom did that back in the 80′s and she was so ashamed of it and made me swear I wouldn’t tell anybody (so, I hope you guys don’t report back to her.. LOL). She’s still touchy about it. So, who knows.. I was surprised to hear that, which is why I responded and asked if that was indeed Kelly saying that. I never would have thought that.

    Also, Kelly was around 9 or 10 I think when she joined Abby Lee’s dance company. So, she’s probably about 4 or 5 years younger than Abby. She danced for her mom since she was 3, but when Abby created her own dance company, Kelly was one of the first ones to be a part of that and she was somewhere between 9-11 (I know that’s the age group Abby worked with).

37. 37
    Wednesday
    Posted June 24, 2012 at 12:29 pm

    There are pictures of Kelly with her kids when they are really young and she looks about the same weight in them, so if she ever weighed as much as Abby it was a very long time ago.

    If you look at this tweet made after the fat one – Im all for teasing Abby, but do you really have to make fun of her weight?”does she have to call my kids stupid ? – you see that the first part was clearly what someone said to her but she didn’t properly retweet it or fully enclose it in quotation marks. I think the fat tweet – I used to b400 lost 200 My fatnes didn’t make me act mean to people like Abby.it has nothing to do with her weight she is just a mean person – is the same thing, with the first part being something tweeted to her and the second part being her response, just without even the single quotation mark, making it very confusing. I think she was trying to justify her remarks to people questioning her.

38. 38
    moonbeam1133
    Posted June 24, 2012 at 2:02 pm

    Woah, kittykat24, I just watched the part where Kelly is pinching Chloe… wtf!?!?

39. 39
    gun kata
    Posted June 24, 2012 at 2:40 pm

    I checked Miami’s Susan’s tweets. She thought the C&M duet should have won. She liked it. She also liked Maddie’s solo. She didn’t say anything about Nia’s, but probably just since she knew this was a new thing for Nia.

    She hated the “Disney” costumes. (Personally, I thought they were sweet on stage, but many things look better on stage.) She said Victor is very picky about costumes and he wouldn’t allow those. Which, um, some of the Miami costumes weren’t good either. But, I guess it’s different tastes. I will say the Miami costumes tend to look o.k. on Jessi, so maybe that is why Susan likes them.

    Hilariously, she wonder what a spoon has to do with dancing. Which, yeah… there is another explanation for gigantic spoon than Abs gave us.

40. 40
    Pageant-grandma
    Posted June 24, 2012 at 3:56 pm

    If it was actually in highland and not highland park, then you may be right. Waterford, well, I guess it depends on where in the “city” it was. But it doesn’t have the glowing reputation of other burbs. I live in one such burb, btw (not a ritzy city, but a “trendy” and fairly un-ghetto one. You’d be surprised, but parts of the city proper are actually quite nice. Re: the show, I really was not a fan of the spoon dance. At all. Lived the duet, and enjoyed Helen Keller more than I thought I would. Amazing how many different “themes” they can use for what is essentially the same routine. I thought Nia did well, and I always adore Mack. Kelli needs to seriously chill out. You dislike Abby. I get that. But not everything she does is “to sabotage your kids”.

41. 41
    Z
    Posted June 24, 2012 at 4:52 pm

    Silver Spoons reminded me of a number from a musical. I expected them to burst into song about their many suitors at any moment. It didn’t really portray wealth or luxury at all to me. Even knowing the context of the theme I didn’t get it so I’m not at all surprised that the judges passed on it.

    I’m in the camp that didn’t get Helen Keller until I saw it. Then I really liked it. Good job. Someone mentioned that it was originally a duet that they reworked into a solo. If so, I bet the duet is pretty powerful. I would not be surprised if it is “Undefeated” as Abby claims.

42. 42
    mermaidtricks
    Posted June 24, 2012 at 6:44 pm

    Re: Kelly pinching Chloe’s butt — She just goosed her! My parents, uncles, aunts, and family friends would do that to me when I was younger. Just like a little love nip.

43. 43
    Rebecca Pressley
    Posted June 24, 2012 at 6:58 pm

    I am “petered out” from reading all these comments!

44. 44
    Emily
    Posted June 24, 2012 at 7:15 pm

    Am I the only one who noticed that the duet that Chloe and Maddie did has been featured on the show before?! Lifetime, get your act together. We’d rather see a little less action than a whole bunch of scripted shit.

45. 45
    Nannie
    Posted June 24, 2012 at 9:24 pm

    This was an interesting read! True enough, but I can’t believe Lifetime never pulled it!

    “My daughter danced for Abby Lee Dance Company for more than five years before we had the sense to take her somewhere else. Because I’m afraid that some mothers watching this show may actually get the idea that this is a good place to take their children to become successful dancers, I feel obligated to point out the inaccuracies in the show’s portrayal of ALDC.
    First, this show makes it look like these students are getting superior training, and that Abby is making them great dancers. In reality, Abby hardly ever teaches class. She is usually off judging competitions, choreographing dances at other studios, or traveling. Many times, the person teaching the class is actually just another student. On the show, Abby is hovering over the students and correcting their every mistake. In reality, she would choreograph the dances, and then never look at them again until just before competition.
    Second, the mothers on the show like to point out that ALDC wins all the time. They win a lot because Abby only takes her dancers to small competitions that don’t have much talent. There were times when we would be competing solos in a group of only ten dancers, and we had seven of them. It’s not too difficult to win, when you comprise 70% of the competition. They actually had a soloist win a national competition that she was the only contestant in. Abby hunts these easy-win opportunities down, so she can add them to her website. On the show, they compete at West Coast Dance Explosion in Phoenix, and they make it look like their trio wins first-place overall, but it was really only first-place in their category (e.g. jazz, tap, acro, ballet, hip-hop, lyrical, open, etc.). This was also the case for the third-place group number they did as well. It was only third-place in its category, not overall. My daughter now competes in larger competitions against higher level talent and has much more success than she ever did at ALDC.
    Third, the show makes the studio look like it’s a state-of-the-art, meticulously maintained, and well run establishment. The truth is that it was freshly painted and cleaned for filming. There was always food and garbage lying all over the place, the stench in the dressing room was unbearable, the parking lot looked like a bomb was dropped on it, and you were lucky if the building had utilities, as they were regularly shut off for non-payment. Abby sitting at the front desk and greeting people as they come in is downright laughable. I was usually too concerned to leave, because the only people in the building were the teacher (i.e. teenage dancer) and the students, and anyone could just walk right in without them even knowing.
    And last, I find myself almost falling off the chair laughing when Abby tells one mother that she makes her payments late. That’s pretty funny coming from someone who is notorious for not even paying her bills at all. There was one year when nobody received their recital DVD’s. Abby collected the money, but never paid the company that produced them.
    So, if you’re watching this show and thinking it would be worth it to endure those crazy moms so your child can get a good dance education, don’t do it. They can get a better education and be treated with respect somewhere else.”

46. 46
    Dani
    Posted June 24, 2012 at 9:44 pm

    @Nannie– That is a really interesting article.. Where did you find it? Does it say who wrote it? Just curious..

47. 47
    Wednesday
    Posted June 24, 2012 at 10:04 pm

    I remember seeing that before. I think it was one of the comments left on the Dance Moms page on Lifetime’s site, not an article or anything like that. The comments on that page are about as bad as your average youtube comments, so I’m not sure how much stock you want to put into any of them. There are a lot of people who claim to have been at the studio or have inside information. And a lot of that “information” is conflicting so you don’t know who you can really believe.

48. 48
    Nannie
    Posted June 24, 2012 at 10:24 pm

    There have been a lot of people at the studio, and a lot have left. You have to remember that ALDC is a not for profit business so there is not a lot of money spent on maintenance and grounds-keeping. Young choreographers and dancers do the majority of the teaching, as is the case with most studios, especially when there is not a lot of money involved. Again, a non-profit cannot pay many salaries.

    I believe the poster simply because much of what she says is evident, even with the paint and prettified logo painted on the facade. You should drive by and just look at the building, the parking lot and the brickwork. It is pretty bad, even for a TV show. LOL!

    The comment is on lifetime, it has the highest rating. So you have to hit top rated as you go through the comments list. I think it is something like concernedmom or concerned.

49. 49
    Pageant-grandma
    Posted June 24, 2012 at 11:22 pm

    While Aldc claims it’s “non profit” I do not see a single reference on their page to verify that– any REAL non-profit will offer to provide that info.

50. 50
    April
    Posted June 25, 2012 at 12:08 am

    The parking lot is shit. I have seen it in the show and there is a youtube video where some guys go to visit the studio and talk about how bad the parking lot is and you can see all the potholes. Our studio was kinda a shit hole too. There was not enough parking out front and out back was pot hole city and kinda scary because if the back door was not unlocked you had to walk all the way around and we left out late at night and stuff.

    We had termites in the back dance room and they came out every Spring for a day or two.

    I did not get paid to teach. I got free classes as my pay.

51. 51
    April
    Posted June 25, 2012 at 12:11 am

    I liked the Disney costumes and dance. Sweet little girls need sweet dances and costumes. I like more of that than the girls wearing hoochie costumes and doing hoochie dances.

    I also am curious to see why duet/trio beat Maddie and Chloe’s. Must have been something spectacular. Because that duet was the bomb. They were very together and they looked beautiful and it was well choreographed and difficult. You can tell that that is how a dance is supposed to be presented and done for competition. They worked on it more than a week. They perform it multiple times. So it is way more polished than the ones they do in a few days.

52. 52
    Jazzy
    Posted June 25, 2012 at 6:01 am

    I loved both those dances too. The duet was awesome and I can’t believe it didn’t win. The “Disney” dance was cute and it was kind of a breath of fresh air, or whatever Abby said. I don’t like seeing girls doing trampy dances.

    Interesting post that Nannie reposted. It has the ring of truth to it, but of course who knows. I just read Dominique Moceanu’s book and it reminded me of that. She says that the Karolyis didn’t really coach her – they hired people to coach then at comps where there were cameras, they’d be there hugging and pretending to be her coaches. You never know what’s happening behind the scenes.

    What’s the deal with ALDC being “non-profit”? If she owns the dance studio, wouldn’t she be making a profit? Was her mother’s studio non-profit? And as PG mentioned, why isn’t this info on the website? If it’s non-profit, I would think they would publish their rates and the info on how to apply for reduced fees or whatever.

    These mothers are ridic with all this scripted sh*t. Don’t they realize they can say no if the producers ask them to do moronic things?? I remember one of the real housewives saying she stopped doing anything they asked her to do unless she felt it was something she’d do in real life. Don’t embarrass yourself and your child(ren) so publicly just for a few bucks.

53. 53
    Escapee
    Posted June 25, 2012 at 7:24 am

    Wednesday (#37) – here’s the context of Kelly’s tweet about weighing 400#.

    On May 8 2012 Kelly tweets a bunch of stuff about Abby, including this one saying that Abbys fat:

    “@Chloefan10: @dancemomkelly lol well if she wants to b like paige she will have to loose like a billion pounds and get a personality

    The next day Kelly has these two separate tweets:

    I used to b400 lost 200 My fatnes didn’t make me act mean to people like Abby.it has nothing to do with her weight she is just a mean person

    Im all for teasing Abby, but do you really have to make fun of her weight?”does she have to call my kids stupid ?

    Those are copied-and-pasted so I haven’t changed the punctuation. And there’s no “in reply to” in the tweet. So when I read the “b400 lost 200 ” one I thought Kelly was saying that she herself had once been 400 #. But maybe Kelly was quoting somebody, without using quotation marks and without directly replying? The second tweet shows that Kelly isn’t consistent on using quotation marks.

    I think I amalyze this show more than I ever did the books for my college thesis…

54. 54
    Escapee
    Posted June 25, 2012 at 7:25 am

    Wednesday (#37) – here’s the context of Kelly’s tweet about weighing 400#.

    On May 8 2012 Kelly tweets a bunch of stuff about Abby, including this one saying that Abbys fat:

    “@Chloefan10: @dancemomkelly lol well if she wants to b like paige she will have to loose like a billion pounds and get a personality

    The next day Kelly has these two separate tweets:

    I used to b400 lost 200 My fatnes didn’t make me act mean to people like Abby.it has nothing to do with her weight she is just a mean person

    Im all for teasing Abby, but do you really have to make fun of her weight?”does she have to call my kids stupid ?

    Those are copied-and-pasted so I haven’t changed the punctuation. And there’s no “in reply to” in the tweet. So when I read the “b400 lost 200 ” one I thought Kelly was saying that she herself had once been 400 #. But maybe Kelly was quoting somebody, without using quotation marks and without directly replying? The second tweet shows that Kelly isn’t consistent on using quotation marks.

    I think I analyze this show more than I ever did the books for my college thesis…

55. 55
    lindsayyyy
    Posted June 25, 2012 at 9:18 am

    This is kind of off topic, but I had to post – the Miami girls (at least Mia and Kimmie) are also on pointe?! They are so young, their feet have not fully developed, no matter how great of dancers they are! I really have very little respect for teachers that throw young kids up on pointe before they are physically ready. I pray we don’t see a pointe routine at either studio, unless it’s Brooke maybe (or Jessi)

    http://24.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_m5zh1cYfiD1r2x0pro1_1280.png

56. 56
    gun kata
    Posted June 25, 2012 at 1:45 pm

    I don’t believe the “concerned mom” person at lifetime because ALDC just had their recital and Gianna tweeted this photo of the faculty (which looks like the same group that has been on the website for at least year that I have personally seen). I don’t know the best dance studio in Pittsburgh, but this one does have some adult teachers:
    https://mobile.twitter.com/giaabella/status/217090775173963776

57. 57
    maryedith
    Posted June 25, 2012 at 1:57 pm

    All the accounts I’ve read of Christi, positive and negative, are consistent in saying that she has always been focused on getting Chloe to stardom. I can’t see her putting Chloe in ALDC in the first place if it was as subpar as the Lifetime comment says.

58. 58
    Moli
    Posted June 25, 2012 at 2:05 pm

    Wow Abby looks great in that picture.

59. 59
    AshleyS
    Posted June 25, 2012 at 2:16 pm

    No kidding! She looks like she’s lost a ton of weight! I can’t wait to see the show catch up to that

60. 60
    maryedith
    Posted June 25, 2012 at 3:10 pm

    Gianna’s tweets are very positive and she seems so happy for someone who works at a dump with a shrieking harridan who doesn’t pay the bills. One thing that made me do a double take about the Lifetime comment was the part where it says that Abby is always off judging and “choreographing for other studios.” So I guess these other studios don’t think her choreography is so terrible?

61. 61
    gun kata
    Posted June 25, 2012 at 6:07 pm

    I just saw Abby’s OMG moments between season one and two and #1 (from an episode I havent seen) has all the girls coming down the hall SO HAPPY (ALL of them). Abby was smiling ear to ear. Christi, who is either drunk or more of a b than I ever dreamed, tears into Abby. Abby is all, “can we talk about this later? This is a celebration.” (And she gestures to indicate all of the kids in the room.) But, no! Christi is screaming that Chloe didn’t win and it’s not fair (btw, she had a trophy of some kind). Abby shows her an empty bottle and AGAIN tries to make her stop. But, she CONTINUES. Maddy, not being stone deaf, realizing this is about HER starts crying her eyes out. Melissa comes over and screams at Christi to shut up! And Christi is all let’s step outside and Melissa is going to do it, but MACKENZIE starts sobbing because no way Melissa vs Christi is working out well for her. Which, Kelly, then pitches in to help get Maddy and Mackenzie out and they’re both sobbing. So, Melissa dumps all of their trophies in the trash

62. 62
    gun kata
    Posted June 25, 2012 at 6:14 pm

    Sorry, all of the ones her kids won. Abby still had a large trophy. When Abby was able to leave hell, I mean, the dressing room, a man stops her in the hall to congratulate her. So, I don’t know… I do think when we see these bad fights, there is alcohol involved. Apparently, Christi had to sign something to no longer go totally insane in front of kids… which, it was bad enough probably ever kid that knew what was going on was bawling (Vivi was on the team then and she wasn’t, so… but, her mother stayed totally out until the end when she looked at the camera and said, “what am I doing here.”) It really upset me and no matter what good Abby says about Chloe, no matter how many solos and features she gets, it will never be enough. (And Abby does say good things about every dancer because it would make her look bad if they were truly worthless dancers)

63. 63
    gun kata
    Posted June 25, 2012 at 6:18 pm

    It will never be enough for Christi, I mean. Sorry.

    Another topic:
    I wonder if this is the song Paige was dancing to? I know they replace the music for TV, but I just saw the video… this may be why the solo got pulled? I saw a photo of Paige on stage, same costume and it said “creme de la creme” was the name of the routine.
    http://vimeo.com/m/27034500

64. 64
    Izzie
    Posted June 25, 2012 at 6:36 pm

    Concerning the Miami girls in dance shoes, that is just wrong. My daughter was a competition dancer for years, and she had to train regularly at various dance conventions. The trainers always said if your studio has you in toe shoes before the age of 12, GET OUT OF THAT STUDIO! As far as placing in competitions, every dance studio looks for the easy wins (categories with very few entries or where you are the only entry, like “character dance”). That being said, I saw some amazing dancers at the competitions and now that my daughter is an adult, I miss going to all the competitions. I do think Abby has some good dancers on her hands, but it is the same choreography every week (ever notice how Maddie always ends with a hand across her chest, except in her solo w/Chloe where Chloe ended that way?).

65. 65
    Wednesday
    Posted June 25, 2012 at 7:02 pm

    Gun kata, that was the episode from season one where Maddie had two solos. Christi pretty much bitched about it for half the episode and constantly tried to get Melissa to pull one of Maddie’s solos. The whole thing was pretty ridiculous. Christi was a lot worse in season one than she is now. I think she’s been trying to improve her image since seeing herself on TV. It comes off as phony sometimes but I guess that’s better than her acting out like she did in that episode. I hadn’t heard that they made her sign anything, though.

66. 66
    Nannie
    Posted June 25, 2012 at 7:11 pm

    Look on the ALDC website. go down about halfway to the black area and the info is right there about non-profit status. It is also listed on PA’s non profit listings, which you can access the amount of “profit” versus “expenses”. It is very clear that there is not much money exchanging hands, no matter what they spin.

    Abby is really capitalizing on all this talk about Kelly and Christi being drunks. I love how everyone buys into every little thing, and yet totally discounts another person’s experience. Kind of mind blowing actually. Just goes to show that most people view this show as a true rendering of the ALDC and Abby Miller. Wow!

67. 67
    Dani
    Posted June 25, 2012 at 7:40 pm

    I guess this should be a comment from last week, but I happened to notice this today and wanted to post it.. I know there’s been quite a bit of talk about Kelly and the chair incident, but if you watch this preview of the incident it’s a little bit different from the version we saw aired on the show. This shows Kelly going in twice, not once like it appeared on the show, to yell at Abby. It showed her going in there AFTER she saw Paige start to cry and Abby getting in Paige’s face yelling, “no solo!” It does show Kelly comforting Paige and bringing her upstairs and asking Christi to help her get ready to go. Then it shows Christi hugging and comforting Paige. AFTER Kelly makes sure Paige is ok, THEN she goes back in to yell at Abby. I’m not saying it’s right at all- either version- but it shows Kelly in a little bit more of a sympathetic light. Still, I know she should have done what she was supposed to and all that, but if I saw someone throw a chair that close to my daughter, then get right ihttp://www.mylifetime.com/shows/dance-moms/video/season-2/episode-1/dance-moms-returns-in-junen her face and yell, “NO SOLO!”,and then saw my little girl’s face start to tear up, I could see temporarily losing it.. Here is the clip. What do you guys think?

68. 68
    Dani
    Posted June 25, 2012 at 7:41 pm

    That came out weird.. I’ll try again to paste this..

    http://www.mylifetime.com/shows/dance-moms/video/season-2/episode-1/dance-moms-returns-in-june

69. 69
    Dani
    Posted June 25, 2012 at 7:44 pm

    Another try at this:

    I guess this should be a comment from last week, but I happened to notice this today and wanted to post it.. I know there’s been quite a bit of talk about Kelly and the chair incident, but if you watch this preview of the incident it’s a little bit different from the version we saw aired on the show. This shows Kelly going in twice, not once like it appeared on the show, to yell at Abby. It showed her going in there AFTER she saw Paige start to cry and Abby getting in Paige’s face yelling, “no solo!” It does show Kelly comforting Paige and bringing her upstairs and asking Christi to help her get ready to go. Then it shows Christi hugging and comforting Paige. AFTER Kelly makes sure Paige is ok, THEN she goes back in to yell at Abby. I’m not saying it’s right at all- either version- but it shows Kelly in a little bit more of a sympathetic light. Still, I know she should have done what she was supposed to and all that, but if I saw someone throw a chair that close to my daughter, then get right in her face and yell, “NO SOLO!”,and then saw my little girl’s face start to tear up, I could see temporarily losing it.. Here is the clip. What do you guys think?

70. 70
    gun kata
    Posted June 25, 2012 at 7:59 pm

    Wednesday, thanks for the info. I read she had to sign something. So, it might not be true. Maybe it was just showing her the contract. Does Chloe even take tap? Why should Melissa pull a solo? Who would do that? No one.

    Nanny, I did not call them “drunks.” I said maybe she had been drinking. Drinking interferes with a person’s judgment. But, if you want me to believe Christi, cold sober, stormed into a room screaming until little kids were sobbing their eyes out, are you sure you are helping her?

    Dani, that preview made Abby look worse and Kelly look better and the show was reversed. Hmm… Before Nanny hops in, it was not a good day for either one of them.

71. 71
    gun kata
    Posted June 25, 2012 at 8:17 pm

    Oh, and Nanny. No one here buys every little thing. We see the mothers drinking. Maybe you have no experience with alcohol, so you don’t know that people who don’t drink very often can be affected by only one or two drinks. They won’t be drunk, but it is enough they may react more boldly to a situation. So, irritated comes across as angry, sad means crying, amused means cackling wildly. This is why reality show producers are very unlikely to discourage drinking in people who are clearly of legal drinking age.

    As for Abby, I think she disagrees with them drinking at competitions. I think she is right about that. But, I don’t believe they are getting drunk.

72. 72
    maryedith
    Posted June 25, 2012 at 9:09 pm

    @Nannie, in what way is Abby “capitalizing on all this talk about Kelly and Christi being drunks”? Do you mean that she’s tweeting about it or something? The fact is, these women do go out for drinks quite a bit on the show. I agree with gun kata that the way they act when they’re drinking probably means that they don’t drink much. But it seems pretty risky of them to do that drinking on tv! I think in Season One they came across as being so harried by Abby’s bullshit that they needed to let their hair down. And it seemed as if Abby’s terrible treatment of the kids pushed them to their limits and made their outbursts seem sympathetic. But they’ve been doing the show for a while now and these outbursts are looking crazier than Abby’s behavior. And then when Kelly goes and pinches Chloe’s butt to distract her while Abby’s talking, right when Kelly is supposedly feeling heartbroken that Paige didn’t get to wear a green dress, she just comes across as downright loony.

73. 73
    KRB
    Posted June 25, 2012 at 9:45 pm

    The whole drinking thing is either a way for Christi and Kelly to act redic. and not feel bad or a way for the producers to add drama. There is nothing wrong with an adult drinking, but when you are at a childs event, I really don’t that that is an approprite time. Esp, when you verbally bash a child for having an “extra” dance. It was said that Maddie takes tap privates and Abby always lets her do a competition, this just happened to be it. I don’t see the big deal. If I understand right, most of the girls do more than 1 solo at comps, they just show 1 on the show.

74. 74
    gun kata
    Posted June 25, 2012 at 11:11 pm

    These grown women need to lay off Maddie EVEN IF IT IS JUST ON TV. And I don’t care if Maddie has 20 dances. I don’t care if Jabby gives Maddie 20 hours of dance lessons a day. She’s a little girl who works hard to be a good dancer. I am not going to criticize any girls for working hard at dancing and I think they all do.

75. 75
    April
    Posted June 26, 2012 at 12:02 am

    I think when you go for the titles, you have to do two solos, is that right? So Maddie was probably just trying for a title that week of the dreaded two solos. I think it was all producer inspired to make a big deal out of something that happens all the time.

76. 76
    Simone
    Posted June 26, 2012 at 1:27 am

    1) I’m going to guess that the drama with the two Maddie solos was completely staged because Chloe also had two solos then.
    2) Christi never signed Abby’s contract, she said so on Twitter
    3) Kelly has stated many times that Abby doesn’t like her because she dropped out of dance at 14 for Cheer and to hang out with her friends like Brooke wants to.

77. 77
    gun kata
    Posted June 26, 2012 at 4:48 am

    Simone, interesting information. But, have you seen the video? Before yesterday I had only read about it. It was horrible. Also, it seemed to me she’d switched topics and was complaining about the results of the competition. I never imagined Christi would be so mean to kids.

    If Christi never signed the contract it’s odd she’s commented on it as if she had. But, she was talking to Jill. So, who knows.

    I know about Kelly quitting dance. Apparently there is quite a bit of drama there. On Brooke’s twitter, she says she wants to dance. She also says she no longer is interested in cheer. Naturally, she could change her mind. I imagine she does want to do things with friends. Also…

    PITTSBURGH SPOILER

    Brooke has been competing and winning with Paint the Pictures. I think it will surely be shown since she’s doing really well.

78. 78
    gun kata
    Posted June 26, 2012 at 4:52 am

    Adding April’s and Simone’s info together… perhaps Christi was mad Chloe didn’t win the title? This also explains why she wanted Melissa to pull one of the solos… so Maddie wouldn’t be eligible for the title.

79. 79
    KRB
    Posted June 26, 2012 at 8:49 am

    What I find most funny (not funny ha ha, but fuuny ironic) is that Christi is always upset if Maddie is in the same running as Chloe, but on camera she’s constantly saying that Chloe is being sabatoged when that happens? Why is it sabatoge? If your daughter dances well she’ll be Maddie, if Maddie dances better she’ll win, I don’t see the big deal. Solos are an individual competition, so I don’t see why she freaks out. The girls seem to be good sports about winning and losing and support each other, I don’t get what is sabatoge. Not bringing a costume, music, shoes, hiding make-up, etc… those things are sabatoge, not entering a girl with two solos.

80. 80
    maryedith
    Posted June 26, 2012 at 9:07 am

    In all the footage of cdgate the cameras never stay on Maddie longer than the first little vibration thing the music does to indicate that it’s skipping. There was one flashback to that performance on this episode that made it seem to me that the cd only skipped for a tiny second; not even a skip, just a vibration. It would have been a scary second, but it’s possible that the music wasn’t really interrupted, it just sounded for a second like it might skip. If that was what happened then no one is exactly lying about what happened, but they’re making something way more dramatic than it really was.

    I loved when Christi said to Melissa, “You told us, on the phone to Kelly, that Abby told Maddie to keep dancing if her cd skipped.” That sums up everything that aggravates me about Christi. Scripted or not, Melissa was not talking to “them.” It was a private conversation between her and Kelly. Which Kelly then “tattled” (to use Christi’s constant word) to Christi about. And which, it seems to me, Christi then turned into something it wasn’t — an admission of sabotage. It frustrates me that I can’t catch what Holly says to Christi after Melissa leaves. It sounds like she says, “Maybe they aren’t talking about that.” And then something I can’t pick up but which sounds like, “I’m just saying you said we shouldn’t talk about.” She looks super pissed off at that point, and I think it’s at Christi. But I can’t catch what she’s saying.

81. 81
    Kate
    Posted June 26, 2012 at 10:00 am

    I find this whole stale choreographer thing a bit harsh – especially since Abby doesn’t actually choreograph most of the dances. I’m not sure about the groups they learn in 2 days but I know solos & trios (duets too) are done by Gianna. I constantly see people asking Gia on twitter if she’s choreographed this dance or that dance – she almost always says yes. I know those girls adore Gianna & the feeling is mutual, so I find it hard to believe the mothers would bash her choreography so hard. I have to think this is set up by the producers – the mothers know Gia is their daughters’ choreographers, not Abby.

82. 82
    maryedith
    Posted June 26, 2012 at 10:24 am

    At this point I’m interested to see where these arguments and complaints are leading, since it seems that most of them are made up for the show. A cliffhanger season finale that somehow involves choreography? Maybe we should each make a guess and set up a betting pool somehow. “The season-ending crisis will be about…”

83. 83
    Nannie
    Posted June 26, 2012 at 11:37 am

    So Maddie wins two crowns next episode. Are we surprised at all? Found this on another site and thought I might just as well post it.
    Wonder why the other girls weren’t entered for a title? If that’s not unfair, what really is ? No wonder Christi is mad. I’d be mad too if only Maddie was registered for the title spots. “Nope, no favoritism there, not one bit.”

    “Just wanted to point something out. I see that Maddie won Jr. Miss StarPower at both comps, but DID NOT have the top scoring junior solo at either competition. For those of you not really familiar with titles, this means that she was the highest scoring junior entry THAT ENTERED the title comp. It is much more prestigious to win 1st place overall than a title. I am sure the DanceMom producers will play up the fact that she won 2 crowns in 1 day, but the truth of the matter is she only won because the top scoring entries did not enter title. Most entries are not entered in the Title comp as it is seen as simply paying an extra $70 to $90 for the opportunity to win another trophy (and sometimes a crown and a sash).

    Interesting. As an Irish dance mom I would have bought into the crown being the ultimate for high scoring. After Maddie gets the crown and sits back down on stage for the rest of awards all the girls start trying it on for fun–but I’m sure on TV they will show Abby have a fit about this–I watched her pointing her finger and mouthing, “Give that crown back to Maddie”–you see those girls get that crown back on Maddie’s head ASAP for the rest of the awards–LOL”

    Abby does capitalize on Christi and Kelly, that is where the drama is. Does it make any more sense to call them drunks than it does for the moms to pick at Abby’s weight.

    As for knowing drunken behavior, I certainly do know it. And I also know that if I drink more than a couple of ounces of cheap beer, I am toasted. Seriously, flat out drunk.

    They don’t act drunk on tv, they act just plain pissed off. I don’t blame them one bit for their screaming at Abby Miller. By all accounts, Abby is a mean old woman without any social filters. She is extreme in everything she says and does, not just on the show but in life in general. The rest of the moms who interviewed for the show weren’t necessarily less vocal, they were simply smarter than those who did choose to climb aboard the crazy train.

84. 84
    PottyMouth
    Posted June 26, 2012 at 12:24 pm

    Just a couple of comments about all the talk of titles…..The whole title thing varies greatly depending on which competition you go to. For Starpower, it is just what Nannie mentioned, you pay an extra fee to be in consideration for the title. So Yup, there are plenty of times when the best scoring solo DOESN’T win simply because they didn’t cough up the extra smackeroos!

    There are other competitions that include ALL entries in the title competitions. They always break them out by boys and girls, so if your lucky enough to be the mom of a boy, even if he doesn’t get the top score he’ll probably STILL get special recognition since all the comps really try to encourage boys dancing. Not that I would know anything about that personally or anything!

    As far as the amount of solos required for the title cmop, that’s another one that varies by comp. As mentioned above, at some comps the dancer is eligible automatically upon entering one solo. Some have to pay, some require 2 solos. I’ve even seen some that require 2-3 solos PLUS bullshit entries like photogenic!!

    Thanks for the fabulous recap SnoopK8! I have to admit, the fakeness of this show just pisses me off more and more and I’m finding it harder and harder to watch. But I ALWAYS love reading your recaps!

    SWAK, PottyMouth

85. 85
    maryedith
    Posted June 26, 2012 at 12:49 pm

    @Nannie, you seem to say that everything on the show that makes the moms look bad is bullshit editing and then take the show at face value when it comes to its portrayal of Abby and Melissa. Drunk or not, pissed off or not, scripted or not, these moms (with the exception of Holly) behave as badly in front of their kids as Abby does.

86. 86
    KRB
    Posted June 26, 2012 at 12:52 pm

    @Nannie – who said that none of the other girls entered for a title? Or who said that they even wanted to? My personal opinion on the “favoritism” is that it’s easy to give a kid extra attention, when they work harder than everyone else, considering we don’ t know how many classes these girls actually take, and if they whine lots off camera it’s hard to tell if there is a reason behind it… or if all the “favoritism” is just editing. Also, it’s not Maddie’s fault that Abby likes her better, we’ve never seen Maddie do anything overly mean or hateful to any other girl or being a bad sport, it really has nothing to do with the 9 year old.

    IMO – If I had a daughter that wanted to be great, I would have no problem sending her to someone like Abby. You get better by someone telling what you do wrong. If people always blow sunshine and rainbows up your butt then you will never think that you need to improve. You have parents to tell you that you’re amazing and a teacher/coach to teach you what you need to know and how to be better…

87. 87
    Moli
    Posted June 26, 2012 at 1:21 pm

    Still side-eyeing Nannie

88. 88
    maryedith
    Posted June 26, 2012 at 1:33 pm

    @Moli — why? She seems to get her info from other sites just like the rest of us.

89. 89
    Corinthia
    Posted June 26, 2012 at 1:57 pm

    re: Kimmie and Mia en pointe

    That is just all kinds of wrong.

90. 90
    Corinthia
    Posted June 26, 2012 at 2:18 pm

    gun kata, regarding the horrible scene from season 1 that you were talking about (christi gone insane about maddie getting 2 solos, children crying, christi screaming, empty bottles being waved, etc)

    I thought I could never warm up to christi ever after that scene. but one thing that I will give her credit for is she does actually acknowledge her bad behavior. . After that ridiculous interruption of the joffrey audition, in her talking head afterwards, she didn’t blame it *all* on Cathy but expressed some regret over her own role and in letting Cathy get to her. and regarding the scene you mentioned, she has said she was “horrified” after seeing herself in that scene (see link below) And it was obvious in episodes following that one that she would go out of her way to be nice to Maddie (no matter what she thought about the favoritism), and to stop ranting and raving about Maddie all the time (you could see how tentative Chloe used to be on stage in early episodes and I think she was really afraid of her mom freaking out at Abby/Melissa/Maddie if Maddie won yet again, but as christi worked at containing the freakouts, you could see Chloe getting more confident on stage… I personally feel this had much more to do with Chloe’s obvious improvement in confidence than the “video”)

    That’s why I find christi more tolerable than some of the other moms… I’m not naive; some of this may be trying to improve her PR of course, but I’ll give her the benefit of the doubt in that I think she is actually at least *trying* to improve her behavior.

    You might find interesting this interview with Chrisi:
    http://auntjoycesicecreamstand.blogspot.com/2011/10/interviewing-dance-mom-aunt-joyce-talks.html

91. 91
    maryedith
    Posted June 26, 2012 at 2:38 pm

    @Corinthia, that was a cool link. I agree that Christi seems both candid and nice in the interview. I hate to say this, but when she says that absolutely the girls only have a couple of days to learn evey one of their routines my faith in her disintegrates. Everyone all over the internets knows that that is just not true. So then I start to question her honesty when it comes to all the little digs she gets in at Abby and the studio. She says that anger against Abby has been brewing among the moms for EIGHT or NINE YEARS! Then they needed to get the hell out! Also, everyone agrees that Gianna is a wonderful person, and Gianna has stayed with Abby her whole life — there is a disconnect here! So yes, I think Christi does a great job in her tweets and interviews of keeping the plot lines of the producers going. She may be a very nice person, but I don’t think she’s really candid at all.

92. 92
    gun kata
    Posted June 26, 2012 at 2:47 pm

    Corinthia, I guess it was so shocking to me because I saw it after seeing so many other episodes with Christi. I had actually read that interview before, months ago.

    But this is all she says about The Scene, “I was horrified to see myself talk about Maddie and of the fight I had on the fourth episode.”

    Well, she should be. I just never thought Christi would act like that. I used to like her. I still like Chloe though. Chloe is sweet. And yeah, that explains why she was afraid to beat Maddie for a while. She did defeat her before the show began (I read). And she has since.

    With Maddie and Chloe, they are both still learning. So, one will be much better in an area than the other. This changes even from what we’ve seen. They will even out more as they get older (all skills being increased for them both). But, the way they present themselves on stage is so different. Also, I really think Chloe could be a ballerina. She is made like one and has that presence about her. Maddie might could be one, IDK, but her interests seem to lie with learning all types of dance to go on Broadway. But, I wish Christi would stop worrying about silliness and have Chloe take more ballet (if Chloe wants to). After M&C age out of some of these titles, more kids will come along and claim them. Just as other kids held them before. This last paragraph isn’t directed at anyone, really. Haha

93. 93
    gun kata
    Posted June 26, 2012 at 3:06 pm

    Nannie, you are the only one here saying “drunk.” And if two ounces of beer gets you “flat out drunk” then you don’t know about drinking. Perhaps you are allergic to alcohol. But, you have enough sense not to drink arounds kids, don’t you?

    I NEVER SAID Christi was drunk in that scene. I said I thought alcohol was involved. Big, big difference. She wasn’t acting drunk. But, she was acting like someone whose inhibitions had been lowered via alcohol (maybe not even a lot, it depends on her tolerance). She saw the affect her words were having. She kept going. I am giving her a bit of a doubt saying maybe her judgment was a little off and COLD SOBER (zero ounces of alcohol), she would have made a different choice. There is a lot of room between cold sober and drunk. For people who aren’t allergic to alcohol. For people who rarely drink, they may feel they are still totally sober while their judgment is impaired (but, far from drunk).

    When I was a child no one was allowed to drink around me or even have alcohol. My father’s rules and he knew. I NEVER remember a parent on trips taking even having alcohol. They acted appropriately. We had a little girl about Maddie’s age. Her mother came with us, but she hung around older kids as well. If anyone had made her break out crying like Maddie and Mackenzie did… that person would have been banned from her presence by everyone else. But, it never happened. This little girl even looked a little like Chloe+Paige (so adorable).

    Adults have a responsibility to act a certain way around children. CHRISTI understands she was wrong. You know, all those kids probably love her because she’s pretty and fun and she’s Chloe’s mom.

    I don’t care how mad Christi was. I don’t care what a raging bitch Abby is. I don’t care if Maddie has every crown in the universe.

94. 94
    gun kata
    Posted June 26, 2012 at 3:09 pm

    Oops, effect not affect. The last three things apply to this incident only.

    (Goes and sits by Moli.)

95. 95
    maryedith
    Posted June 26, 2012 at 3:13 pm

    “Goes and sits by Moli”
    @gun kata, you think Nannie is a Dance Mom? Am I alone in thinking she’s totally not?

96. 96
    gun kata
    Posted June 26, 2012 at 3:17 pm

    Maryedith, oh no. I don’t think that. I am just giving the side eye.

97. 97
    maryedith
    Posted June 26, 2012 at 3:22 pm

    Oh, ok! Just to clarify: Moli said somewhere that she gives Nannie the side-eye because she thinks she’s one of the Dance Moms. That’s why I made the comment about her getting her information from the same places as the rest of us.

98. 98
    Kittkatt
    Posted June 26, 2012 at 3:37 pm

    Can I just state for the record that I totally want to share a box of wine with Nannie. I mean if it only takes her a couple of ounces then that means the rest is all for me. And that’s not a bad thing.

99. 99
    gun kata
    Posted June 26, 2012 at 3:39 pm

    Maryedith, oh I forgot Moli said that. But, she may have changed her mind since we caught Nannie out a week or two ago. Oh yeah, the “editing” thing where supposedly (according to Nannie) Abby was talking about Paige’s foot. Whereas several people including KELLY said Brooke’s foot was run over by a golf cart six years ago.

    PITTSBURGH SPOILER

    Paige, as I proved with photos, does have a broken foot now. But, she competes more than once between now and then. Per comp results. There is a photo of her on stage doing a dance wearing the costume she had on during the “pulled solos” episode. She breaks her foot doing her back tuck during a competition. Poor Paigey! But, she is still going to things to keep up to speed as well as she can (again, there are photos of this including the same one posted by, I think, Christi, Melissa, and Gianna.

100. 100
     maryedith
     Posted June 26, 2012 at 3:42 pm

     @Kittkatt, just stay off-camera while you’re pounding that box, ok?

101. 101
     gun kata
     Posted June 26, 2012 at 3:44 pm

     Oops, now and then means in show time. Not IRL time. I swear, I am not drunk!

     KittKatt, hahaha!

102. 102
     gun kata
     Posted June 26, 2012 at 3:45 pm

     OMG, KittKatt got a cute auto avi. LUCKY!

103. 103
     gun kata
     Posted June 26, 2012 at 3:57 pm

     Paige’s solo that I hope we see on an upcoming episode. She is wearing a new costume. This is just her dancing… no results or anything:
     http://talenteddancers.tumblr.com/post/24184048661/paige-hylands-new-acro-solo-creme-de-la-creme

104. 104
     Moli
     Posted June 26, 2012 at 4:02 pm

     Nope, still think she is a DM or something besides one of us(regular viewers).

105. 105
     gun kata
     Posted June 26, 2012 at 4:17 pm

     PITTSBURGH SPOILER

     Paige’s solo, linked above, results. Studio Bleu is all over these results. I think they were the other studio besides Dance House determined to take down ALDC (not sure). As we know, ALDC TV comp group is small, but they did pretty well.
     http://www.starpowertalent.com/CompetitionResults/2012RegionalResultsVideos/LancasterPA/tabid/956/Default.aspx

106. 106
     maryedith
     Posted June 26, 2012 at 4:36 pm

     I find gun kata’s info way more useful than Nannie’s and she always says where it came from. The only thing Nannie said that was right on was that Kelly was on the bus. But that was also said on the Dance Moms site that Dani and gun kata told us about, and Nannie posts on there too. That’s where the last thing she quoted about the titles being paid for came from. And this is why I find her air of “I’ve got a secret but I’m not telling (ask me, ask me)” frankly annoying.

107. 107
     gun kata
     Posted June 26, 2012 at 5:22 pm

     The real Helen Keller at Marths Graham’s dance studio (after brief segment where she visits a singer).
     http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZqJL5uSZznU&feature=youtube_gdata_player

108. 108
     gun kata
     Posted June 26, 2012 at 5:39 pm

     Maryedith, and Dani (on the site) says she’s just a fan of dancing because someone asked her (not meanly, they just thought she was at a comp) and she said she looked up the results. I don’t post over there at all. But, I read it. I am glad Dani is on there because if she and I both agree someone’s info sounds legit… well, it makes me feel better about it!

     It’s easy to find stuff, but harder to know what to trust. There are MANY fake accounts for the girls. Other girls roleplay as them. There is even an “Abby” who assigns songs and costumes to the girls. In some cases, other dancers like Autumn Miller are also in that pretend ALDC. I guess it’s possible the real Autumn might take a class there, but I don’t see her mom going for a Cali to Pa commute. But, it is honestly, adorable when I find one of these.

     I know Maddie did a video where she personally gives out every account she has so other kids will know it’s really her. Missy just tweet “sorry, she’s in dance class” to someone which may have been a kid thinking she wrote them (but she probably will… all the girls are super sweet about that). There is a fake Brooke, but she outed them (real Brooke uses an “l” not a “1″ in her name). Abby is Abby_Lee_Miller (someone said she gave it on TV). All the moms are confirmed and they give out their daughters’ public accounts (although some are run by the moms due to the girls’ age).

109. 109
     maryedith
     Posted June 26, 2012 at 6:26 pm

     I could never post on those boards (Dance Mom) because I don’t know enough about the dance world, but it is a very entertaining place to hang out. And when I see a post from Dani I’m like “Hey, that’s Dani — I know her! Go Dani!”

110. 110
     Dani
     Posted June 26, 2012 at 7:39 pm

     @maryedith— Thanks!! It’s funny because I somehow came across this site because of hearing something about dance moms (I didn’t know this site existed before that..), then once I was on here and reading a bit, I read a comment from someone about Melissa and the whole boyfriend business and they posted a link that led me to THAT site. I don’t post anything, ever, aside from these 2 sites. I go on facebook occassionally, but don’t even post on there unless it’s to show a picture of my kids or something… Something about this show has just taken over me!! LOL. My family teases me about it, and I don’t know exactly why it is but I’ve really become obsessed with this show. I really don’t even watch much T.V. because I’m usually stuck watching Dora or Caillou or something my kids want to watch. (Ugh!) Truth is, I LOVED dance (still do) and dreamed of being a dancer as a kid and used to dance for hours in my room. Did take a few lessons, but it was not much of a studio and was once a week and we didn’t have money really, so of course it didn’t go anywhere. I don’t know much of the competition world, but do know a bit about dance as I have loved it all my life and studied (literally would read up about it a lot- kinda nerdy), and danced by myself a lot in my room. I have a 13 year old daughter, but she’s not too into it, but we did the once a year recital thing and she is competitive in softball, so I get the competitive angle. I also have a 3 and a 4 year old boys. So, sorry to be going on and on about it, but just telling you all how I ended up here, why I’m not even savvy enough to change my name on the 2 sites (lol), but why I’m so into this show.

     I will say I get a little scared to post on that other site sometimes because there are some serious argumentative people on there and if I say the wrong thing, they’ll go on and on and on about how right they are, so for the most part, I read, but once in awhile I will post. Anyone else on here that posts over there? Would love to know who you are and your name there. Almost starting to feel like you guy are a part of my little family here.. My dance obsessed buddies. Ha,ha! I do love reading what you guys have to say and you all make me laugh!!

111. 111
     maryedith
     Posted June 26, 2012 at 7:54 pm

     Dani, I feel that way too. And I love getting to know more about all of you in every comment thread.

112. 112
     maryedith
     Posted June 26, 2012 at 7:55 pm

     Did you all know that Starpower is the biggest dance competition in the country? I think I heard someone say that somewhere — ONCE OR TWICE.

113. 113
     Dani
     Posted June 26, 2012 at 8:01 pm

     I like getting to know more about all of you guys too!

     So, was this a good episode? I’m over in California, so it’s only 8pm here, so haven’t seen it yet! So, this was the biggest competition you say? LOL. I did hear a rumor about that.

114. 114
     Gwen
     Posted June 26, 2012 at 8:28 pm

     I read somewhere that Brooke was put on pointe at age 9—so wrong if it’s true!

     These are this week’s results. Maddie comes in first overall at competition #1 and second overall at competition #2.
     http://www.starpowertalent.com/CompetitionResults/2012RegionalResultsVideos/WoodbridgeVA/tabid/989/Default.aspx

115. 115
     maryedith
     Posted June 26, 2012 at 8:31 pm

     You are going to hear it a few (hundred) times more before you’ve finished watching…

116. 116
     maryedith
     Posted June 26, 2012 at 8:33 pm

     I should have put @Dani at the head of that comment. Sorry.
     Gwen, I think that needed a Spoiler alert.

117. 117
     gun kata
     Posted June 26, 2012 at 11:58 pm

     I even have favorite posters on sites where I lurk because they tend to be accurate…mor if they’re guessing, they say so.

     Has everyone seen First Position? I love that movie.

118. 118
     Corinthia
     Posted June 27, 2012 at 12:44 am

     where is this other forum for real dance moms that everybody is talking about?

119. 119
     gun kata
     Posted June 27, 2012 at 1:02 am

     Again with the dresses! Now, there is two green, two blue, and one pink!
     http://25.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_m6394vFU2B1rzo3cfo1_400.jpg

120. 120
     gun kata
     Posted June 27, 2012 at 1:03 am

     Corinthia, it is “forums dancemoms com”.

121. 121
     maryedith
     Posted June 27, 2012 at 7:11 am

     WHO THE HELL IS KEARA???

122. 122
     Gwen
     Posted June 27, 2012 at 7:12 am

     @maryedith Oh, my bad! I meant from the episode last night.

123. 123
     gun kata
     Posted June 27, 2012 at 7:21 am

     Corinthia, oops… no s on mom. Forums dance mom com.

124. 124
     PetitPointe
     Posted June 27, 2012 at 4:59 pm

     Anyone notice the picture @gunkata posted Maddie and one of the other girls in on pointe? She’s only 9 now which means she’s 9 or younger in the photo. As a pointe student I don’t think she’s ready. I think Maddie’s a beautiful dancer, but at 9 at my conservatory (we don’t do competitions) the 9-11 are doing pre-pointe strengthening and around 12 years old the teachers will evaluate each student individually. I wouldn’t want anything to happen to Maddie’s beautiful feet!!

125. 125
     Corinthia
     Posted June 28, 2012 at 7:25 am

     gun kata, got it, thx!

126. 126
     Corinthia
     Posted June 28, 2012 at 7:27 am

     PetitPointe, the way you describe it is how I remember it too. (And no way would the releve that Maddie demonstrated at the Joffrey audition qualify her to be ready for pointe work!)

127. 127
     Scott
     Posted July 3, 2012 at 8:41 am

     MacKenzie took first, yes. Did you see “all” the other winners in the clip? There was one other girl up there before Mac got up meaning she took first out of 2. So in Jabby speak wouldn’t this make her the first not to lose>???

128. 128
     Emily
     Posted July 10, 2012 at 3:49 pm

     Looking at the ALDC website it is obvious that Kendall did not really leave the studio. She is the reason that there was only one green dress for the spoon dance. She had the other one. Apparently they do their dances twice at competitions. One with and one without Kendall for the show. That’s a little ridiculous just for the fake drama Lifetime.

129. 129
     daisy at the beach
     Posted July 12, 2012 at 3:09 pm

     Wow. You girls don’t need any booze. You’re already loaded.