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Monday, September 5, 2011
1:31 pm
43 Comments
Hey Gasmi! Well, after last week’s show, I thought for sure Jabby & Co’s trip to Orlando this week would finally be the “Nationals” competition that she’s been yammering on about. I’m so silly, aren’t I? Instead, we have yet another Nationals that everyone pretends isn’t really a Nationals. If Jabby was Pinocchio her nose would stretch from coast to coast by now.
Either Jabby’s been lying again OR she’s a giant dickface. Ummmmm……all of the above?
So, as I just mentioned, this week the gang is headed to Orlando. Just a little tidbit: they left the Mohegan Sun Starpower Nationals BEFORE Battle so that they could travel to this one which actually started the day after the Mohegan Sun one ended. Confused yet?
We catch up with the group riding in a van in Orlando, probably from the airport to the hotel. Jabby tells us they have a long road to Nationals.
If I make my super serious face at you it totally means I’m telling the truth.
Can I say again how fucking frustrating I find it that they are pretending that last week and this week are not Nationals? I swear I’m going to have an aneurysm before this season ends!
They head into a dance studio that Jabby must have borrowed for their trip. As everyone files in Jabby wonders where Cathy is. Don’t ya think she would have noticed Cathy and Vivi were missing from the van? It’s not like there’s a hundred of them travelling. UGH.
Jabby announces to everyone that she is just at the end of her rope with Cathy. Oh stop, Jabby. You and I both know Cathy is part of whatever storyline you’re trying to create for your fake drama. I have no doubt that Cathy’s “absence” is completely scripted.
Jabby tells Mackenzie that her Vivi are supposed to have a duet, but no Vivi. So she might be doing the dance by herself.
Damn. I thought the script said I had the week off. I wish I could read.
Both Mackenzie and Vivi are at the bottom of the pyramid (when aren’t they?), but Chloe is as well. This isn’t because of her performance, Jabby tells her; it’s because her mother was disappointed in her performance. HUH??????
Is this bitch for real?
Christi is shocked that Chloe’s on the bottom and therefore will be taking a week off and not doing a solo this time. Chloe is sad about that and wishes Jabby had picked a different week to bench. Poor Chloe.
Nia is also in the bottom row, but Holly is completely unsurprised by that and actually applauds the judges at the last competition for their failure to give recognition to the LaQuifa dance. Jabby tells Nia she was happy with her but her mother was unhappy with the choreography and then tells Holly she doesn’t want any more altercations like in Connecticut.
It was a CONVERSATION, Jabby
Whatever. No more conversations then, mmmkay?
We skip the second row entirely (Brooke and Paige) and then jump to the top which is OF COURSE Maddie. Jabby thinks Maddie did a great job (she won, duh), but she doesn’t want to see any tears. I think we all know the only way to prevent that is to make sure Maddie wins everything all the time; we can already tell this is not a kid that accepts losing. EVER.
Jabby tells them this week’s group number is called “Snapshot”, and they’ll all be models. Have any of them modeled before? Raise your hand if you have.
I’m not sure walking back and forth in your room and blowing kissy faces at your mirror counts, girls.
So they know what a runway is, says Jabby, what else is at a fashion show? A photographer. She’s been pondering the whole photographer thing, and she thinks they need to bring a boy in to do that part. What do they think?
Well, it really doesn’t matter what they think as Jabby is the boss of them all, so she’s already contacted a boy to come to Orlando and be the photographer. And it’s a kid named Brandon who we find out used to do duets with Brooke until recently because they’re now a little awkward together. Brooke tells us they used to like each other a couple of years ago, but it never really went anywhere. Not time to dwell on what might have been because here comes Brandon with his mom, Diane!
He seems like a nice kid right form the get go, saying hi to everyone while Jabby tells us he’s a good looking guy and very masculine on stage which is something that all her guys are, she’s very proud to say. He’s also old enough and strong enough to do overhead lifts.
He’ll be practicing on me
We meet his mom, Diane, and she tells us Brandon has been one of Jabby’s best dancers for years. Kelly talks about what great duet partners they were until they started liking each other, maybe because they were embarrassed about their feelings.
Of course Brandon and Brooke will paired up in the routine to do some partner work together and Brooke could not possibly look any less enthusiastic about that prospect. Jabby tells Brandon he’s not used to the pace they’ve been on and tells him he’s got four days to learn the number. LIE. First of all, I think we all already know they’ve done this number before. Also? I know that they’ve arrived at the EARLIEST a day before the competition starts, so unless they’re not competing until the fourth day of competition (unlikely), they don’t have four days to learn the number.
Rehearsals begin and the moms retire to the visitor skybox. Christi can’t believe they’re in Orlando and she’s sitting in a dance studio. Since your kid will probably be there all day, I’m sure you could go out and do something. Oh wait, then you wouldn’t be on camera.
She then moves on to Holly’s saying that it was a conversation, not an altercation that she had with Jabby and Holly says that’s what it was. She’s not the type of person that has altercations. Christi’s upset about Jabby’s comment about Chloe getting fourth place and she was happy with it but her mom wasn’t.
Maybe this was a mistake.
Diane tells us she’s sitting listening to these guys and thinking what the hell did she get herself into. Holly says the surest way to end up at the bottom of the pyramid is to speak up about anything. I’m still speechless that they put up with that crap, but I guess being on TV takes the sting away a little, right ladies?
Down in studio, Jabby rehearses the kids, and is getting aggravated at the lack of chemistry between Brooke and Brandon; hell, they’re not even looking at each other! Come on! Kelly thinks that they both still like each other and that’s why they’re acting so weird. Jabby asks Brandon what he thinks she means when she tells them they need to have chemistry together.
I have to try to get in her pants???
Oh, he doesn’t really say that! He talks about having emotion and feeling between the two of them. What does it mean to Brooke? She says the same thing.
Translation: I try not to barf when he touches me
Diane and Kelly aren’t sure they want their kids to have too much chemistry together. Jabby tells them they need to step up to the plate and bring the performance. She tells us watching the two of them in rehearsal is like waiting for paste to get sticky. Um…….is paste sticky already? I’m confused.
She calls Kelly and Diane down into the studio to discuss the lack of stickiness. So her solution to this is to send them on a date. Yeah, because THAT won’t be awkward to do in front of cameras at all. Poor kids.
Jabby tells the moms they need to butt out of it; don’t get a table for four, get a table for two and another table for two. Let them do their own thing. Brooke does not look happy about this at all and I’m imagining she’s thinking about what her friends will say when they see her first date play out on TV. As a parent I find it ridiculous that Kelly and Diane would go for this.
We’ll get back to the matchmaking in a little while. Right now, it’s time for Nia’s solo rehearsal. You’ll be happy to hear that LaQuifa is taking some time off, but instead, Jabby is having her do a Bollywood routine. Holly is not sure that given their conversation last time that SHE would have then assigned another ethnic number to Nia.
Jabby calls her down to the studio to be a part of the rehearsal because of her concerns last time, but it’s really so that Jabby can point out all the things her kid is doing wrong. She tells Holly that Nia bobbles all over the place, she doesn’t engage her abdominals and then tells us she wants Holly there because she doesn’t have a clue that Nia doesn’t know how to take corrections.
Holly knows that Jabby is making a statement, and really thinks that she’s setting them up for failure because Holly spoke up. Jabby doesn’t get how the moms don’t know that she wants everyone to win. Ha! She’s so full of it; yes, she wants them to win, but she wants drama for her TV show more.
As long as Maddie wins it’s all good.
It’s now the fake next day and Jabby tells us it’s been two days since anyone has heard from Cathy. In all her years of teaching, she has never had a kid just not show up. Yeah, that doesn’t usually happen considering the investment that people put into this. That’s how we all know that this is yet another staged plot line.
Jabby calls Cathy on the phone and it just so happens that she answers! What wonderful timing! So Jabby asks her to come to her room. She arrives and asks if it’s her last rites before execution. Yes, Jabby has HAD IT.
I so don’t care.
She tells Cathy if she doesn’t want to be part of the team, don’t be part of the team. Cathy thinks that’s ridiculous because stuff happens. What a crock; I guarantee you Cathy wouldn’t take this shit from one of her dance moms. Well, Jabby is now gonna pull the duet, so I guess Cathy flew down to Orlando for nothing. Hope Vivi at least got to visit Disney while she was there!
Cathy tells Jabby she’s hurting Mackenzie as well by doing this. Oh no, says Jabby, CATHY is the one hurting Mackenzie. Besides, it’s not like Melissa will pitch a fit about this; we all know she cares more about Maddie’s dances that little Mackenzie. Jabby points out to Cathy that she has to set an example for the team; if it’s not okay for Cathy to show up then why should anyone show up? She does have a good point there.
Back in the land of young non romance, Brooke, Brandon, and their moms are visiting an amusement park. Damn! Couldn’t the producers have sprung for Disney? Or at least Seaworld??? Damn they’re cheap.
How everyone imagines their first date
Kelly and Diane give the kids some time alone, saying they’ll meet back up with them in an hour. They seem to have fun on the rides; in fact, I see juuuuuuust a little bit of a smile from Brooke when they ride the racing cars. Branson wonders if this means he can drive her around when he gets his license. She responds by rolling her eyes and saying she’ll die. But not I’ll die in a good way, like she would DIE. Yep, I can feel that chemistry percolating already can’t you?
Kelly and Diane are catching up and Kelly tells her she is so excited that Diane is here. Yeah, it’s been so weird, Diane tells her. They used to hang out all the time but now Kelly is always with Christi. She tells Kelly she’s calls her but Kelly doesn’t answer. She gives some excuses to Diane about Chloe and Paige being in the same age category, but you can tell Diane isn’t buying the excuses.
Back with the kids, Brandon asks Brooke what she thinks about Jabby sending them out on a date. She’s weird. LOLOLOLOLOL. I love Brooke! Brandon keeps at it, saying that she can understand where Jabby is coming from though, right?
Yeah, the land of self-delusion.
She tells us that if Brandon thinks anything is going to happen between the two of them he is nuts. Brandon’s trying to do what Jabby told him, but Brooke wants to talk about something else. Look how high the rollercoaster is!
I hope I don’t get blamed for this shit
In case you haven’t already figured it out…..the date’s a bust. If anything, I think it probably made the situation worse.
Time for Maddie’s solo rehearsal. Blah, blah, blah. Different name, pretty much all the same moves we’ve seen already. Maddie tells us sometimes she feels a little pressure, but winning all the time sure takes care of that. She’s a perfectionist; that’s what her mom tells her. I can’t even imagine what this poor kid is going to be like when she doesn’t win all the time. She may have a mental breakdown.
What is this “not winning” you speak of?
Maddie tells us she wants to dance forever and dreams of being a professional dancer on Broadway. She would kill herself if she couldn’t dance. She is totally and completely serious when she says this and I got a little shiver up my spine because that is a little too much if you ask me. Yikes.
The next day we join up with Holly and Nia. Holly has Nia rehearsing her solo and is going through the corrections that Jabby made that Holly wrote down in a little notebook. Holly says when she signed up for dance, she expected a dance teacher to do this. Well, I think she’s being a bit naïve. When your kid is dancing at a competitive level (really, any level), just dancing in class is not enough for them to really get it and do well; they NEED to rehearse. It’s not just up to the teachers to rehearse with them; they need to rehearse at home, away from class as well. Parents should really think of this as a dancer’s homework.
Sometime later Jabby gets the girls together to tell them that Starpower has a pageant as part of the competition. I have never heard of this before. My sister tells me that they have a modeling category, but you rarely see anyone in it. I don’t know why you’d enter a pageant at a dance competition since the worlds are very different.
Jabby has registered everyone for the pageant and she wants to rehearse with all of them. First she has Brooke walk so she can tell her it’s crap, and then she demonstrates to the girls how the walk should be done.
Mackenzie solidifies my love of her when she tells us that Jabby doesn’t look like a model to her.
Out of the mouths of babes
Jabby next grills them for the question section. She asks Mackenzie what her favorite gymnastics move is and then blows a whistle at her after two seconds because she looks down. She asks Nia to explain the heritage of her name. HUH? Nia says may she please ask what that word means.
How the fuck am I supposed to know? It just sounds like something you should ask an African-American child.
She then tells the girls that if they get on stage and freeze or stutter, they’ll look like idiots in front of everyone. Yes, this is money well spent, isn’t it? I really wish I could send my kid to Jabby so she could tell him ways to look like an idiot. Because idiot is a word we use in my house ALLLLLLLLLLL the time. Seriously? I would lose my shit if she said that to my kid. Of course I would never subject my child to her, so I guess I wouldn’t lose my shit since he would never be there.
After fake pageant rehearsal everyone heads back to the dressing room where Melissa tells us she’s been trying to reach Cathy for a couple of days and she wonders where she and Vivi are. Well, wonder no more Melissa! It just so happens that at that very moment, Cathy and Vivi walk in.
They receive a somewhat chilly reception and Cathy seems a little irritated by this. Melissa tells Cathy that Jabby pulled the duet because they didn’t come to the pyramid ceremony or any rehearsals so far.
Yawn.
Melissa tells Cathy that Mackenzie was so upset. Cathy is sorry for Mackenzie, but she missed her flight and anyway, they’re doing the same choreography so she doesn’t think it’s a big deal. I wonder if she doesn’t think it’s a big deal if a dancer from HER studio decides to miss rehearsals.
Kelly pipes up saying she thought it was two days ago that Cathy missed her flight. So? So where has she been the last two days? None of your beeswax. Anyway, it doesn’t affect them. Holly says it does affect them because they all have to be here and put on a performance. Well, this is just more of that teamwork talk that Cathy loathes so much, so she is having none of it.
La la la…..I can’t hear you
This storyline is so contrived, it’s ridiculous. Oh wait, the entire show is contrived. Never mind.
Cathy is so sick of hearing about how they’re all a team and Vivi is not even in any of “their” numbers; she doesn’t classify sitting on a swing as being in a dance. I can’t say I disagree with her on that one. Vivi and Mackenzie are in that number for the sole purpose of lowering the age classification, pure and simple.
Kelly tells Cathy the only reason Vivi was on the swing was because she couldn’t do what the other kids were doing (true). Well, she’s only six! Well, that’s why. Holly doesn’t even care what Cathy has to say and Cathy wants Holly to shut up. Holly’s frustrated because Melissa is not sticking up for herself. Who she’s REALLY not sticking up for is Mackenzie. But you bet your ass she’d have something to say if her precious Maddie were involved in this.
Time for a little R&R. The girls and the moms (minus Cathy, Vivi, Diane and Brandon) join Jabby at her (HER MOM’S) house for a little poolside gathering. She bitches to the ladies about Cathy which is completely inappropriate and then the kids go swimming while Christi and Kelly make themselves a drink.
This proves to be too relaxing of an atmosphere for Jabby, so she greases up a watermelon and throws it in the pool to see which kid can get it first. They’re grabbing at it and jumping for and seeming to have a great time until…..
Everyone sees through Maddie’s “injury” and knows she’s crying and carrying on because she didn’t win the game. After all, winning is everything. Melissa’s going off saying they’re girls, not boys, and I think she’s high if she doesn’t realize girls can be just as tough and rambunctious as boys. Maddie is a sore loser, THAT’S what the tears are about and everyone (including Melissa) knows it.
Competition day has arrived and everyone is really excited. Melissa is excited at the caliber of the competition because she really likes it for Maddie to be challenged. In fact, there’s another girl practicing who is supposed to be Maddie’s big competition, but Melissa thinks she ain’t got nothing on Maddie.
Maddie also tells us that Julianna is her toughest competitor, but I think Julianna’s mom is the only one that was willing to sign a release.
Smile pretty for the cameras honey!
They come over to wish Maddie luck and Julianna’s mom tries to get Maddie to say it’s all about fun, right? RIGHT? It’s not just about winning, right????
It’s gonna be fun when I wipe the floor with your kid.
Maddie dances, but I completely distracted by someone in the audience.
Isn’t that Gia Guidice????
Maddie does her standard solo, Julianna does her solo, and then they have the speaking portion of the fake pageant. Julianna seems to do well at that part while Maddie stumbles over her words. How much you wanna make a bet she started crying the second she got offstage? It doesn’t matter in the end because Maddie wins first place. Oh, and Julianna won fourth which further cements for me the idea that her mom was the only one that would sign that release.
Sidenote: I think I forgot to mention in last week’s recap that our dance team was actually approached to sign releases. Not my son’s age, but the older girls (my niece was among them. One of the producers approached our team director with release forms for all the parents to sign. You see, they told her, they wanted to show footage of our girls and it would be just some footage with no audio.
HA! What a joke. I read the release form my sister got, and if people had signed it basically that camera crew could have followed and filmed them anywhere and edited the footage however they wanted to. They could have eavesdropped on people’s conversations, filmed them while they were unaware, etc, etc. You would not believe just how many of those parents were going to sign that release. Their reasoning? The guy said there’s no audio. Did they READ what was there? Oh sure, but the guy said there was no audio so that’s okay, right. In the end they didn’t sign them but that’s only because the owner of the studio got involved and said not to do it. It just goes to show you how really smart people can do really stupid things.
ANYWAY, it’s now time for the group number. Jabby is in the dressing room telling Brandon and Brook they both look miserable.
That’s because WE ARE
Kelly says it’s obvious that Brandon and Brooke aren’t connecting the way Jabby wants them to, but she thinks everyone should have expected this; this is the reason they didn’t do a duet last year. Brandon tells us he’s been trying to connect with Brooke but she’s been pretty cold toward him.
The dance is pretty terrible. They get NOTHING at awards and Jabby thinks they were robbed. Nope, sorry Jabby, that dance was just not good and REALLY sloppy.
Jabby pulls Nia out of the dressing room to rehearse her solo before it’s time to compete. Hey! Guess what? She berates her the entire time she’s rehearsing because that always helps pump a kid up before performing. Holly asks her to please stop barking at her kid, and Jabby doesn’t give a crap what Holly has to say. Also? She’s not happy that Holly said she was barking because dogs bark.
If the leash fits…..
The stress of the situation finally gets to Holly and she breaks down and starts crying. She tells Nia she’s sorry. Nia is really cute with her mom and she is the one that comforts Holly. Their reverse roles are not something that escapes Holly’s attention and she feels badly that Nia is supporting her when she should be the one supporting Nia. I think these two have a really great relationship. I also think Holly should get her daughter out of this fucking situation.
Nia’s solo seems to go pretty well. At awards we hear her get announced for a special award, but once again they show a trophy for that instead of the yellow ribbons that Starpower gives out for special awards. It looks to me like Nia probably got first place in her category, what we don’t see is if anyone else was entered in it. Whether there was only Nia or twenty other kids, Holly is happy about the first place trophy. So I guess it was all worth it?
For the next five minutes at least.
Oh, I think I forgot to mention that Diane and Brandon hightailed it outta there right after the “Snapshot” dance, not even staying for awards. Diane said she just knew Jabby was going to try and blame the dance’s failure on her son and she was having none of that! Hooray for a mom that refuses to let her kid be berated on national TV!!!!
Back in the dressing room, Jabby tells the girls she has news for them that she thinks is going to make their moms fall out of their chairs. They are leaving Orlando and going to Vegas. And then they’re going to L.A., then Lake Tahoe. Yeah, I’m suuuuuure no one knew about this. Uh huh. Yep, totally buying it. Because I’m sure we’ll see in the next episodes the moms and kids wearing the same clothes over and over and over again, right? I’m sure the dads have NO problem taking care of any other kids. Yep. Totally plausible.
I’ve been practicing my shocked face. Did you believe it?
Cathy is rolling her eyes and says this is impossible for them and she has her own shit going on. She tells Jabby they are not going to Vegas; they are getting off the party train. Jabby asks if maybe Cathy’s mom could bring Vivi. Nope. Her mom does not have the skills to properly berate Vivi; only Cathy is equipped for that job.
Don’t let the door hit ya where the good lord split ya!
So that’s the end of Cathy. Or so it seems.
And that’s it for this week, Gasmi. What did you think? Were you embarrassed for Brooke and Brandon? How obnoxious CAN Cathy get? Will anyone ever FREE VIVI?!?!?!? Can’t wait to hear from you guys!!
SWAK, PottyMouth
TV Social
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43 Comments
Potty, thank you so much for pointing out that Nia won her category, and being Bollywood I doubt there was anyone else in it. I had to explain that to my niece who didn’t understand how these competitions work. I hoped you would notice that.
That group routine was just awful…no wonder they didn’t place. And Maddie is SUCH a sore loser. Melissa is doing her no favors encouraging that kind of behavior. Maddie is the kind of girl that will wind up with an eating disorder the first time a casting director tells her she needs to lose 5lbs. I also got a chill when she said she would kill herself if she couldn’t dance. I tell my daughter, dancing is what you do…it’s not who you are. With any sport any injury or bad luck could take it away at any moment do not define your life by that one thing.
And poor Brooke, will someone just let this girl be? Being 13 on camera is mortifying enough, do you have to make her date on camera too? Oh well…
FREE VIVI!!!
@pottymouth – Okay, initially, it was handy that you had the inside track on the real Dance dirt, but now it’s just getting annoying. RELAX about it being/not being nationals. You need to take off your Dance Mom hat and just be the good old, sarcabulous pottymouth, or you really WILL have an aneurysm. Trust me, it bothers you more than it bothers us that they’re making imaginary with the comps, CHILLLLLL
@Kimmi – Yes, Maddie, TOTALLY has future anorexic written all over her!!! No one was ANYWHERE NEAR her when she lost that damned melon!
You know you’re too young to date when the words “let’s go find our moms” come out of your mouth on said date. Brooke, RUN AWAY! Pack a bag, grab Vivi and head!
@pottymouth thanks for getting this up during the holiday, I was “injured” this week so although we have a yard full of people right now I haven’t had to do anything (and can’t do anything). Although I come down every so often to try and be a hostess, I am basically hiding in my bedroom so I don’t get charged with babysitting!!! I’m in enough minor pain to make me as cranky as Jabby Lee with children-that -are-not-Maddie. I don’t want to end up w/ legal problems today, call me crazy. So, I was psyched to have your recap up.
@bre,@pottymouth I Looove the inside scoop. I’m sure this will be a controversy, and I can see your point, bre, but this is one show I love getting the inside scoop on since I know nothing about the children’s dance world (having none of my own kids and niece is too young). This show hooked me because, while it’s a distant cousin to T & Tiaras, this is actually a skill and in alot of cases talent. So it’s nice to hear from a trusted recapper how it works for legit studios/parents. I would have my kids in dance if they were interested and, you know, real. So it’s nice to know these characters are a subset of Dance Moms/Psycho teacher. Personally, I love the inside dish but I can see where a little more snark may be fun, too. Like, I loved the house in Fla storyline, WTF? Lots of Abby Lee reveal there when she said something about her Mom is great to EVERYONE “but me.” Oh, Abby, way to spill your emotional baggage all over your (Mom’s) Lanaii. Explains a few things and a few thousand pounds, no?
So my power was out for like 2 hours today. And when it comes back on, I see that the Dance Moms recap is up, and instantly my day was better again.
Once again I just want to give Brooke a hug. She’s just looks miserable. And I’m glad I wasn’t the only disturbed by Maddie’s comment.@Kimmi I agree too, about her ending up with an eating disorder or worse.
I really hopes Holly finds another studio for Nia. And being a principal, you would think Holly would have realized that just going to a class isn’t going to be enough.
Great recap!
I seem to be one of the only people on earth that feel badly for Maddie. I used to be the kid who felt the need to be perfect (because I could never compete with my older brother) and it is PURE TORTURE. You do feel like every moment of your life must be spot-on and if one moment is off you want to break down. I think it must be hell to be little Maddie and what everyone else perceives as pure brattiness I know for a fact to be a sort of neurosis perpetrated by (most likely) her mom. All that pressure to compete can’t be good for her. And I don’t think the lack of dance would cause her to kill herself; I think the lack of the one thing that makes her mom proud of her would make her depressed and possibly suicidal. I just wish people would give the poor kid a break. I’ve seen bratty kids and I’ve seen neurotic kids and Maddie is 100 percent pure neurotic. She’d be pretty okay if she didn’t have the dancing sword of Damocles swinging over her head every day.
Oh, and I totally agree with Potty about lying about “nationals”. My niece does competitive cheer and they have different nationals about six to eight times a year. There is no “THE” nationals, there are several nationals. And with every passing episode I’m sure this show is a joke because WHY would anyone take their kid to a dance studio where the owner takes her own kids somewhere else…and is a massive head case to boot?
Saffie – I completely agree. I feel so sorry for Maddie. She has such enormous pressure on from her mum, her coach and herself. It is really hard to consistently win in any area. People start expecting you to win and get really disappointed if you don’t, making the pressure to win even greater. There is also a lot of nasty behaviour from other children to a child who is on a winning streak. If the child doesn’t win in one competition, other children become really mean and often tease or bully the child. Again, this makes the child feel that it is more urgent for them to win and can become a major stress.
Maddie reminds me of Maureen from Centre Stage. Huge talent, but being pushed so hard by the teacher and mother and being so harshly judged by the other dancers and their parents, that she is destined to burn out. Poor little girl
I, too, relate with Maddie, except I was never a favorite at my dance studio and was never chosen for solos (my first solo was one I choreographed myself at 15). But I am a neurotic perfectionist like her and it comes off to others as show-offy and conceited b/c you do cry and get extremely upset when things don’t live up to your impossibly high expectations. I have had panic attacks and breakdowns over the fear of not getting an A in school, even in my late 20′s. When you are used to achieving highly and everyone expects it of you, it feels like your world will end when it doesn’t happen. So in my eyes she is not a brat at all. She is extremely talented naturally and when you are at the top, you have nowhere to go except to stay there or fall. I do agree that she has the perfect personality for anorexia though b/c when you feel you don’t have control as a perfectionist, weight is something you can control. She is a beautiful dancer though and I admire her work ethic and her talent.
Btw, I thought Maddie was amazing in the snapshot # this week. Such amazing stage presence and attitude. Does anyone know the name of that song? Shazam did not recognize it.
I’ve never watched this show, but now I kinda want to start. What a trainwreck.
The only reason I clicked to this is because I saw the picture on the main page of the girl in the pink and white polka dots. That is the exact same BATHING SUIT I just bought my 3 year old at Target last week on clearance for $5. How Klassy.
Maddie doesn’t know what a perfectionist is. She only knows that she is one b/c that is what her mom says. I also felt a little chill down my spine when she said she would kill herself if she didn’t dance. She looked super cereal when she said it.
Cathy is a dirty wench. She was def. brought in by producers to “bring the drama.” Her whole thing about not caring about team work or not being part of a team is c-rap. She owns a dance studio. She MUST know the importance of this!! Ratings much?!
Potty, I disagree w/ commenter Bre. Please don’t chill out. I don’t know ANYTHING about the dance world and your insight is great in your recaps. If you want to get mad, get mad! You’re the recapper. If others don’t like it, then they can find another awesomely snarky site/recap to read (side note- good luck. There isn’t one!)
Saffie and Tanpfeet99, you have both captured my feelings about Maddie; I have wanted to post something just like what you said because I totally don’t feel like she’s a brat as many are making her out to be, but I was having trouble expressing it myself.
Pottymouth, I love the inside details. (I did dance as a kid, but not competitively, so I’m fascinated by the whole scene.) While I have to agree you might have gotten just a little repetitive with the “it IS nationals” bit, it’s really no big deal, and *well* worth it to get those intriguing real-life tidbits.
Speaking of which, since you were at the competition where Nia did her LaQuifa dance, I’ve been wondering… Was there any general outcry over it at the competition itself?
Aside from the totally insanity of the Cathy/Vivi relationship, many people have posted here and elsewhere saying even the basic premise seems totally implausible, the notion of a dance teacher having her own kid study at another studio.
I grew up in a small town about an hour out of Orlando, and it was just a generally known thing that neither our studio nor the other in our town measured up to the best available in the “big city”. There was a girl in our town who did the 2 hour round trip to study dance in Orlando, and even did summer workshops with Alvin Ailey in NY. She would occasionally take a class with us, presumably just to keep limber when her own studio might have had some time off and/or she wasn’t able to do the big commute. There were certainly no hard feelings about her doing her regular study elsewhere as she really was too advanced to make forward progress at our studio; our teachers were just thrilled to have her at our barre when she was there, and we were encouraged to learn by watching her which we did. Another tidbit, once in a while the better students in our studio would take a “field trip” to do a class or workshop at one of the more advanced dance academies in Orlando; in fact even our teachers would sometimes take the class. There wasn’t really any concern about promoting another studio, as the studios weren’t really in competiion with each other for students, both because of the level of the studios and the geographical distance. (While I have occasionally seen bad feelings about a studio “poaching” another’s best dancers, these were always studios in direct competion for “customers”, studios at the around same level in the same geographic area.)
So the Cathy/Vivi storyline initially made complete sense to me; I just assumed that this Vivi gal, having trained privately with her mom from an early age, was likely way more advanced than the girls in her age group at her mom’s studio, but her mom still wanted her to have the experience of dancing in a group without being bored of a challenge way beneath her (my only vague puzzlement was that she apparently hadn’t been able to find anything suitable in Cleveland which would have been a bit closer to her home in Canton). Of course there have been ample indicators that not only was my interpretation way off, but the entire thing is likely just for TV (rumors of what is in store for the next couple of episodes bear this out). Still, I’m just saying the basic premise of a dance teacher taking her kid to another studio to dance wasn’t really as far-fetched as many seem to believe.
I love these recaps! They reassure me that the entire world hasn’t lost their senses and that this is show is just that: a show!
I feel so bad for little Vivi every time she is on camera! Cathy is such a nut and Vivi actually seems really sweet. You can almost see her retreating more inside herself every time Cathy opens her mouth. I was watching some of the earlier episodes when Lifetime did a Dance Moms marathon and I saw that in the beginning Vivi gave Jabby a give hug, presumably because Cathy told her to, but you could also sense that Vivi was happy to be around a different adult who was not her harpy of a mother.
Also in those early episodes I really began to appreciate Chloe. Not to jump on Christie’s bandwagon, but I think Chloe is wonderful! She has beautiful technique, she is lovely, she has great stage presence and she seems like a really sweet, even tempered little lady. I know that so many people think Maddie is the epitome of dance, but I wonder if she can really pull off a sassy little Broadway number with the same pizzazz that Chloe can! Also, I know the Broadway guy said that Maddie had star quality, but when you put Maddie and Chloe side by side on a television screen, Maddie looks like a Muppet. So even though Christie is annoying, Chloe is my new favorite!
Oh, and Emilyhartly, I also caught the comment about Jabby mother being nice to everyone but her and I was reminded of a comment someone else made on an earlier episode about Jabby’s mother being a wonderful, talented and well respected dance teacher. When I read that I wondered how Jabby could have turned out the way she did and now I see. Jabby has some talent, inherited from her mother, but her own sense of insecurity has caused her to use it in an abusive and deameaning way to make up for not having been as successful as she had hoped. You would think that someone could put this together and realize that this vicious cycle is bound to repeat itself with this group of dancers! Even though they are talented, they cannot be as good as Jabby wants them to be, because her expectations are so ridiculous. Thus, they will grow up feeling insecure and resentful and will someday have to take these feelings out on someone else in what could be a very destructive manner. I think the mothers would do well to get their daughters into another, less damaging, studio. Except for Cathy, she just needs to stop tormenting poor little Vivi, let her paint her room a different color, sign her up for baseball, throw away all the makeup and hair ribbons and accept the child for what she is, instead of trying to make her into what she (Cathy) failed to be.
Other than that, I love the craziness that is this show, especially because of the entertaining and informative comments it garners in this forum.
Caroling I totally agree with everything you have said. This episode opened Jabby to me. I think Jabby’s mother berated her causing her to became a closet eater and when she got older…took it out the closet. That woman was still small at her age, twinge of sympathy for Jabby! I think Chloe is a very good dancer and I have noticed she has more range than Maddie(who dances the same dance in different costumes). I swear MacKenzie is getting cuter and cuter…Free VIVI!!!!
Great recap, as always! While I feel for Brooke having to have her first date televised, she really wasn’t trying all that hard and was pretty damn rude. Brandon was polite, cute and trying to make the best of a bad situation. After all, it was HIS date being televised too, and I can’t imagine he’s thrilled being cast as a dud. We have boys at our studio, and our girls are thrilled to be cast with them. It always means being a featured dancer in a routine. She really blew a great opportunity by being an immature prima donna. Jabby annoyed me with the whole “masculine dancer” comment–borderline homophobic and kind of a crappy thing to say.
Nia is such a terrific kid. She does have issues self-correcting, and I don’t think she’s on the same level as the other dancers in terms of talent, but she has a great attitude and I love her. I was so happy when she won for her Bollywood routine, even if she was the only one in her category. A trophy is a trophy, and when she tells people at home that she won, she doesn’t have to mention that part LOL.
But I wanted to sucker punch Brooke. I generally enjoy her sullen teenager act, but it bothered me that Brandon was really putting in an effort and she wouldn’t even meet him halfway. Poor handsome (but woefully underage) Brandon.
I also wanted to sucker punch Maddie. On one hand, I know it must be hard for her to be that way. She’s always smiling, but you can see some smidgen of crazy in her eyes. Like when she mentioned killing herself over not dancing, I was like this bitch is crazy. It’s bad to see that in someone so young, and she should get therapy before she implodes. But at the same time, I’m like damn get over it. You can’t cry and pretend to be hurt every time you don’t win. She did it last week too, over that stupid Fosse-esque dance.
And Christi remains my favorite mom. She and Kelly are so funny and cute together. I see you hating though, Brandon’s mom.
I also totally agree that there is some very real Jabby angst. The comment about her mother was deep rooted. Mother wanted a Maddy and got a Jabby and Jabby has been eating little dancers for dinner ever since.
I really liked Brandon and his mom. Brandon was so polite, grounded and willing to make the effort. His mom seemed to have a great perspective on the whole dance mom thing–but how ridiculous that they literally ran away to avoid Jabby’s anger after the performance. It’s like one big abusive family.
Ahhh, Potty Mouth so good to read you again. I haven’t been able to catch this episode nor have I read the comments yet. I am just so disgusted with Holly. I think the reason why is that she is the only person on the show that even remotely deserves the title of mother and yet…AND YET she hasn’t pulled Nia from this monstrosity. I don’t want to hear her whine another second, take action Holly! Poor little Vivi is a lost cause. FREE NIA!
Ok…a few things…1st of all, I’m starting to notice that Christy & Kelly are in awe of Holly for standing up to Abby but in a sassy, black girl way (especially with the whole ‘altercation/conversation’ thing). Every time they compliment her for standing up for herself, they do it with a little head role as if mocking her ‘blackness’. Not calling them racist or anything, because I think they are CLEARLY not, but as a ‘token’ in almost every aspect of my life, it is very common for white people who aren’t exposed to a lot of successful AAs & basically goes by the typical stereotypes, ie: head rolls & finger snaps while ‘reading’ someone, to unconsciously revert to that ‘you go girl’ way of talking to AAs. Not bothered…just saying…it’s becoming painfully obvious lol.
2ndly, Am I the only one who HATES Nia’s performance facials? I don’t see any other girls constantly dancing with their mouths in an unattractive O shape during the entire performance & yet, that seems to be Nia’s only facial. IDK if it just irks the heck out of me because I’m a competitive cheer gym owner/coach that teaches facials but stresses the importance of showing a wide range of them or not, but someone needs to correct that FAST! Unless of course it’s just me that’s bothered by it lol.
Also, IDK if Nia won her category because she was the only one in it but she did have the yellow ribbon you pointed out not seeing in her hand after she got her trophy so hopefully she actually did kick a little butt
Lastly…CATHY, CATHY, CATHY! 1st of all, I will say that I would totally get her reasoning for bringing her daughter to another, more advanced studio if that was ACTUALLY her reason. When I first started out, it was just me & a part time tumbling coach @ my gym & not much raw talent in my 1st year girls. My daughter, having competed with other gyms, was on a way more advanced level than the girls @ my gym but she couldn’t move up in levels on her own, so I let her continue to cheer somewhere else until I brought my program up to speed. So, again, if she were truly there to better her daughter, I can totally understand. Having said that…Can she BE anymore annoyingly psychotic? I do believe she was brought on the show for her pot-stirring capabilities initially but has completely dropped her character & is now showing her true, horrible colors. You can see the outright disdain that she has for these people in her face & she has now stopped trying to hide it. I also think that she came in with a greater than thou attitude thinking that she was about to school Abby but has quickly realized that no matter how insufferable Abby can be at times, her studio is heads & shoulders above hers & the two don’t even compare & she’s now resenting the talent that she sees on ALDC that her studio lacks..AMIRIGHT? I wish I was able to see how she incorporates all of Abby’s ideas @ her own studio to try to make it better! Her students are winning PLATINUMS? Ummm, has anyone SEEN the videos of her studio on youtube? My kids’ Christmas programs @ their elementary school has more performance quality than that drivel. GET OVER YOURSELF WOMAN! Better yet?..GET BACK TO YOUR STUDIO!
^^^probably should have pointed out that I meant African Americans & not Alcoholics when using AAs in my post
@fancyface – LOL! to your second post (that really made me laugh, thanks!)
@fancyface No you’re not the only one bothered by Nia’s performance faces. Its really distracting.Its weird because it doesn’t look like she does it when she practices.
Me too re: the facials! My daughter and I call the over-the-top facials : AEIOU Dancers. In other words, they say the vowels as they dance.
Great recap, as always…I just want to say that just because Jabby made the comment about her mother doesn’t mean its true and that her parents treated her badly. I think her mother may be the lovely person everyone else says she is. Notice how Jabby always responds to anyone who disagrees with her about even the slightest thing…and how everyone is “against her” and she pretty much cries or tattles to the students about how the moms have messed things up because it is NEVER her fault – she is NEVER wrong. Can you imagine what it was like for her parents trying to communicate with her, much less discipline her? I’m sure she has seen every comment that was less then, “You’re the best and are always right!” as criticism.
@fancyface, I can’t do it with Nia’s facials either. When she was shimmying up to the front of the stage with that expression on her face, I was ROLLING.
HATE Nia’s facials. She looks like a blow up doll. Just smile girl! So unattractive.
Where is last week’s
Does anyone know if Pottymouth is still recapping this show? I have so much snark from last week that I didn’t get to vent yet! I hope Pottymouth is ok…
Holy Shitballs you guys! I had a HUGE brain fart and thought I had done the recap!!!! I guess this is what happens when you try to function on two hours of sleep a night for three or more months!! :-O
I am SO SORRY; I would never leave you guys high and dry like that (well, at least not without warning you first
) Look for a full catch up by late Saturday night/early Sunday morning. There is SO MUCH to talk about.
My apologies again; I feel like a moron. DAMN. I’ll be back atcha SOON.
SWAK, PottyMouth
You’ve been missed! Was actually beginning to worry about you, so glad to hear you’re okay.
Looking forward
I still love Tara and Jesus, the rest of them that died Good Bye!
I might be old ( well, I am old!!!!!!!!!!!!!), but love the shots of Alcide!!!!!!! HOT HOT HOT. Bill and Eric, are still fine with me
sorry folks that don’t care for them anymore.
Who is coming on next season that will top Alcide’s body???
LOL, wrong site, love my True Blood 2!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
will the new recap be up soon? it’s sunday night and I want to read it
I’m still waitin’ on the old recap…
Hi guys.
Sorry the catch up recap was delayed more than I had hoped. I had a family issue that I had to deal with which unfortunately set me back a little. I HAVE submitted the recap, so it should be up today. It certainly was not my intention to tell you guys a time frame and not deliver on it; I hope you understand that I would have much rather have been finishing the recap for y’all than dealing with what I was.
Anyway, just wanted to let ya know it WILL be up soon, and apologize again.
SWAK, PottyMouth
It’s all good, PM – real life stuff always comes first and it sure can get in the way sometimes. I hope it’s nothing serious and everyone is okay!
Sorry about the real life stuff Potty. Hopefully the recap was able to take your mind off of it if just for awhile. I hope everything gets better for you and your family.