Minicap: Dance Moms

34 Comments

1. 1
   Dani
   Posted January 30, 2013 at 10:27 am

   Ok, first off, I think Abby is seriously obsessed with Maddy! I don’t know how to explain it, but it’s creepy. Does anyone else here feel that way? I don’t know if she wants her to be her daughter, or is she (Abby) wishes she was Maddie, or what..? It’s just bizarre! I’ve gotten this feeling before, so it’s nothing new, but just this episode gave me the creeps- especially the scene with them alone and Maddie and Abby are crying together. What the hell was 10 year old Maddie supposed to do, Abby? Defy her mother and go into the studio..?? WTF!! Doesn’t Abby know she is a little girl and has to do what her mother tells her to do? Abby is NOT her mother! Also, Melissa going on and on about Maddie being “special.” What about MacKenzie?? What about ALL of the girls? Then after MacKenzie’s dance Melissa says, “well, she’s no Maddie,” as if to say MacKenzie isn’t as good, or as “special,” as Maddie. AND, she was more concerned about Maddie crying because it would mess up her make-up then she was about her feelings (or so it seemed). Melissa should be protecting her children! She should have pulled Maddie out of that room with Abby when she was laying that guilt trip on her and messing with her mind. Seriously, this kid is going to be so f**ked up if this continues. Yeah, she’s talented, but so are a lot of kids/people. She needs to go somewhere else, find something else she enjoys.. What is she going to do when she is older and is nobody’s favorite anymore, and not the best?

2. 2
   ANTM Fan
   Posted January 30, 2013 at 10:34 am

   This episode just made me really, really sad. This show used to be a guilty pleasure, but now it feels like I’m watching child abuse. Abby berating Maddy over her mother’s romantic choices was appalling. (And, dude, with a 50% divorce rate in this country, “going from one husband to another” is not some big shocking deal. It’s not 1952.) So many of the kids sobbing on this episode–Chloe, McKenzie, Maddie. Abby’s constant screaming and belittling of the kids is horrible…are the mothers really so desperate for fame that they think it’s worth keeping their girls on this show?

3. 3
   Dani
   Posted January 30, 2013 at 10:35 am

   Also, Christi needs to just shut up! She used to be my favorite (aside from Holly), but now she’s just getting mean, as opposed to funny/snarky. Christy– lay off the “fat” jokes! Really, it only makes YOU look bad! She was doing so well in that episode, for awhile, and I’m always rooting for her to keep her mouth shut- mostly because I don’t want Chloe to suffer, but then we get towards the end and she has to come up with that, “fatty, fatty, fatty!” So stupid Christi! It makes you look like an ass, and also a stupid ass because you can’t even think of anything aside from that to say to her! It souns like a 5 year old teasing someone in the playground at recess- “fatty, fatty, fatty!” Give me a break!!!! I know you are not stupid Christi, so try to control your anger and either keep your mouth shut or at least say something intelligent and helpful when you do speak. Better yet, grab that beautiful little girl of yours and leave that studio before she is totally screwed up!! Geez, these mothers are killing me!

4. 4
   CTRParent
   Posted January 30, 2013 at 10:54 am

   I can’t get over how tired Christi, Kelly and Melissa looked! Their eyes had bags under them for most of the episode. They all 3 looked like they hadn’t slept in days.

5. 5
   Stormy
   Posted January 30, 2013 at 11:08 am

   Just waiting for Abby to pass out the Kool-Aid. She feels like she has no control over the mothers so what does she do? She stabs the girls with a knife and slowly twists it all the while telling them that they should defy their mothers and bow down to her. As Kelly has stated on Twitter, the mothers did not walk out because of her…they walked out because they wanted more pay. Christi, I know you read here but your H8 campaign is a joke…you calling Abby fatty is hate IMO. So what’s it going to be?

6. 6
   April
   Posted January 30, 2013 at 11:08 am

   Now I was in a competition where they wrongly mixed up our scores with the Junior team scores so they gave the 1st place to the team up against us. We knew something was wrong because we were way better than them. So when they gave us our scores back we added them up and found out the mistake. So we alerted the officials. The other team was allowed to keep their 1st place trophy but they mailed us our 1st place trophy and announced us as the title winners. Then the officials called and told the other Director what happened. She chose to never tell her team about it and so since they were from our town, it caused some problems when we got back home with them wanting to say they were winners and they were not.

   So yes, mistakes happen. I do believe this one could have been fake. I am thinking unless that comp they went to was in a super small town or something, it was a fake comp. There were hardly any dancers on that stage for awards. Even at our local comps we had every space on the stage taken up. There were like only 30 kids on that stage!

   I actually thought Chloe did better than the other soloists. Her choreography was at least better. I am also confused because I see a lot of petals on the stage in numbers lately and that was never allowed when I danced in comps! We had to be able to carry on and off ourselves all props and making a mess of the stage would have never been allowed. I guess things change…… I think comps are long enough without having to add up extra stage cleaning time and prop setting up honestly.

   I like the acro numbers. I liked Ups and Downs better though. I think Brooke is not allowed to do those contortion things anymore. Abby did not use her as much as she could in that number. I am betting it has to do with her back problems and why she is resting and not dancing as much.

   Abby acts like Maddie is her daughter or something. Maddie cannot go to dance against her mother’s wishes. I don’t think the kids were even in the cars. I didn’t see them in there. Fake drama.
   I am glad they gave Mack a real lyrical solo and let her try something besides the cutesy stuff. Sometimes you got to get out of your comfort zone.

   My son lives his hip-hop class and says he wants to win a trophy for dancing. He saw all the trophies on the wall from the comps. We will just have to see if he sticks with it and maybe I can get him some privates and he can do a solo next year or something. I don’t know about teams because the studio is 45 minutes away from us and I can’t drive that more than once a week.

7. 7
   Samantha
   Posted January 30, 2013 at 11:51 am

   I was confused with Mack’s division. The announcer said she was in the mini division but if she was really competing against 9 year olds wouldn’t it be junior division? Idk for sure but wouldn’t mini be 8 and under or something? Just wondering if someone could clear that up for me since you guys probably know more then me about dance.

8. 8
   Lilly219
   Posted January 30, 2013 at 11:52 am

   I deffinitly think Abby is way too obsessed with maddie , she’s a great dancer but she’s not “special” there are tons of other dancers in the industry who can dance just as well if not better , dancers like that come a dime a dozen & I hate when mellissa says “she’s not maddie ” referring to Mackenzie. Like doesn’t she realize Mackenzie is going to hear that. & as a child of divorced parents, I can say Abby was WAY out of line talking about mellissas marriages in front of maddie and Mackenzie , especially when none of the other girls can relate bc their parents are married . Divorce is an ugly thing for kids and it should not be discussed like that . I also thought Kenzie’s dance looked a lot like the dances we see Brooke do & other than the part she forgot I enjoyed seeing her dance like that for a change . & Bella and Kaylee were deff lying about age , I mean come on even of u just had a birthday u know how old u are & I have never heard of not being able to tell your age at a competition .

9. 9
   Frizzypop
   Posted January 30, 2013 at 11:52 am

   I am just now watching so I can’t comment on much but it continues to amaze me that Abby has the audacity to think that it’s ok for children to defy their parents! And encourage it! When she told Maddy that she should have not sat in the car and she should have told her mom that she was going to go in and dance, I was yelling at the TV! It truly baffles me that she is trying to teach them that!

10. 10
    Dani
    Posted January 30, 2013 at 12:07 pm

    @Samantha– I picked up on that as well. I am pretty sure she was in the mini-division, which is 8 and under. I don’t know why Melissa said that except to make it sound like Mackenzie was going against a stronger competition and wanted to save face in a sense (you know, like saying it’s not her fault if she screws up because she is the youngest..). It was a pretty stupid comment by Melissa. The other possibility is that it could be a clip for something we haven’t seen. Somethings they slice and dice those clips and put them wherever. Also, it could be that the competition age deadline might have been January 30th (or whatever), and since this competition was most likely in November, some of the girls could have been 9, but even so, Mackenzie is 8 and a half so it’s not like she is so much younger- like Asia was in Abby’s ultimate dance competition for those of you who have seen that. 8.5 is hardly much difference then 9 or even 9.5. I just think Melissa wanted to make it sound like Mack was going against a tough competition so she would still look good if she didn’t “win”. That’s my guess.

    @Lilly219– I actually don’t think Bella or Kaeli were lying about their birthdays. I think they knew they were being filmed and just weren’t sure what to say- especially after Abby gave her a look when she said she was 11. She probably just turned 11 (as she said) and being a kid, and seeing Abby look at her that way, didn’t know if it was ok to let Abby know she was 11, since last time she was with Abby she was 10. Kaeli never said how old she was, but I’m guessing she’s about 12. They are tall, but they don’t look older to me. You can kinda tell when someone is getting to be in their teens, like Brooke (even though she’s short, you can tell when you look at her she looks like a woman now). I am tall myself, so I know how it feels when people think you are older, but in my opinion, they just look tall, not older..

11. 11
    ellemenop
    Posted January 30, 2013 at 12:26 pm

    i’m sorry, but too many of mackenzie’s solos aren’t “acrobatic dance” — they’re gymnastics routines. i don’t understand why they keep doing this.

    abby is wrong for punishing the girls for things their mothers do, yes — but then the mothers, who complain about this, should also recognize that they shouldnt expect to be rewarded for things they (the mothers) do for abby *coughmelissacough*, either. that really annoys me.

    i actually think christi has been really rational and cool about being honest about chloe’s dancing — and it’s obnoxious that abby still needs to pick on her. and even though christi calling abby a “fatty” was stupid, it pissed me off that abby told christi that basically everything was christi’s fault for being an “idiot.” i mean, really?!

    i really liked the arabian nights dance, even though i noticed a couple of mistakes — but i think i just think arabian-style dancing is fun to watch. i was disappointed at the placement — and i actually did NOT like studio bleu’s group dance at all. i found it boring. again, disappointment.

12. 12
    TurtleGirl93
    Posted January 30, 2013 at 1:39 pm

    Oh no she did not! I’m just now watching this–I can not believe Abby plays the hurt feelings card against Maddy. I don’t think she really understands that these are children. There is something very unhealthy about Abby’s possessiveness towards Maddy.
    I know I’m not saying anything new or groundbreaking but that scene made my blood boil. Poor, poor Madds. Poor, poor girls.

13. 13
    TurtleGirl93
    Posted January 30, 2013 at 2:14 pm

    Not a fan of the Arabian number but it wasn’t really a \dance\ IMO. It seemed more like they were lined up doing circus tricks.
    As for Studio Bleu’s group I noticed that one of the dancers on my left, 2nd row (could have been Kailie?) was a beat or two behind the others. I’m the first to admit that I’m not that observant so for me to notice something like that is unusual.
    I’m trying to figure out a drinking game to play for the next episode. I can’t quit watching but I’ll need something to numb the pain in my heart. I thought about drinking every time Abby yells but I realized that I’d be schnockered by the first commercial break.

14. 14
    sagittariuskim
    Posted January 30, 2013 at 3:35 pm

    @TurtleGirl93: Just do what I do. I only give it my full attention when it comes time for the dancing. The rest of the episode is just background while I do homework or other stuff.

15. 15
    sagittariuskim
    Posted January 30, 2013 at 3:36 pm

    *background noise

16. 16
    ellemenop
    Posted January 30, 2013 at 3:38 pm

    haha, the only part I occasionally ignore are the dances! it’s dance moms — I watch it for the dance mom drama. if I want dance I go elsewhere.

17. 17
    April
    Posted January 30, 2013 at 3:49 pm

    Oh I also noticed that one of the dancers in the Studio Blue dance looked like 17 or something. Liked look way older than Abby’s girls.

    Hah! My captcha is “braaains!”

18. 18
    Smango
    Posted January 30, 2013 at 4:20 pm

    I think next week’s dance theme should be RIP Broadway Baby.

19. 19
    sagittariuskim
    Posted January 30, 2013 at 4:22 pm

    @ellemenop: But then the mama drama isn’t as annoying or frustrating because you’re only catching bits and pieces.

20. 20
    Sunny
    Posted January 30, 2013 at 4:34 pm

    A few months ago I did the math because I could not remember for the life of me whether I was 23 or 24 (24 btw). Granted, I don’t think this would have ever happened when I was their age because each new year added to my age meant a lot more as a kid, but it’s not completely impossible! XD

    Could one of the more dance knowledgeable members help me out? I’ve been getting the distinct impression while watching the dances this season that pretty much all the girls are getting worse. Chloe’s flexibility yesterday looked awful! I think that the show is causing the moms and the girls to focus less and less on improving and working hard and it makes me sad. Am I imagining things?

    Try taking a drink whenever Christi says Abby is setting up Chloe to fail. >.>

    It annoyed me when Christi went on and on about the group dance being acro and the standing back tuck (setting up Chloe to fail?). If all the dances are too similar, Abby’s not challenging their girls and if their too unfamiliar she’s sabotaging them. Seriously? These women are impossible to please. I don’t mean to be concentrating all my frustration on Christi but she’s the only one I remember from last night’s episode.

    Why am I still watching this shit? The drama’s boring and fake, Abby’s actions make less sense (before she usually had a real logical lesson even if the method was bad), and the dancing is becoming unremarkable as well.

21. 21
    April
    Posted January 30, 2013 at 5:39 pm

    I agree I think the girls might be concentrating too much on doing fan things or something and their dancing is suffering. I guess I am a shit parent, because I was thinking it was not nuts to do what Abby said and check Chloe out of school a bit early on Mondays. I mean it is only one day a week for a little bit of time. If her grades are good I doubt it would matter.

    The thing is Abby is often right, it is her delivery that sucks. She is right that Chloe needs to have equal flexibility on both sides. She is right they need to be there practicing. She is right they need to be stretching at home and practicing at home.

    They also need to have a childhood too. So I guess it is all about balance. I actually would have loved to have Abby when I was a young dancer. I needed someone to push me and push my mother into doing more to help my dancing.

22. 22
    Gracie Lou Freebush
    Posted January 30, 2013 at 6:47 pm

    Abby is emotionally abusive to these girls. Maybe a lot of the drama is fake, but when she says something to one of the girls, and you can see the hurt and then they cry, that seems real and I wonder, why would anyone let their child be taught by this woman? She’s mentally and emotionally abusive, she acts like a jealous boyfriend to Maddie, and teaches them poor sportsmanship.

23. 23
    Z
    Posted January 30, 2013 at 7:37 pm

    MacKenzie’s solo looked just like all her other solos except they sloped it down and gave her a Big Girl costume. Oh and she didn’t do that highly inappropriate stripper move she does every week (though I’m willing to bet she did it during one of the cut aways to the audience).

    I thought the Arabian Nights dance was kind of lame. Just a bunch of acro tricks with nothing really tying them together. And the costumes were super-duper lame. We didn’t get to see them but I’m not surprised that there are three higher scoring numbers.

    I want to comment on all of Abby’s manipulation this episode but I will get too angry. Maybe I’ll be in a better place when the full recap comes out. Let’s just say, my kid is not yet at the Organized Extra-Curricular Activities stage, but when he is, he will be YANKED OUT the second his coach instructs him to defy me. And I’ll be sure all the other parents know about it, too.

    Lastly, I’m so excited that Crazy Cathy will be back next week. I hope she gets some real screen time. I’ve missed her.

24. 24
    had enough
    Posted January 30, 2013 at 9:04 pm

    This episode was the last I’ll ever watch. Removed it from my dvr. These mothers and Abby are sad, sad individuals and Pa child welfare needs to intervene. There’s no reason children should be subjected to the verbal, emotional and mental abuse that their mothers are allowing and contributing to and that Abby is dishing out. I for one will no longer stand by and be an audience member. Just came by to see if anyone else was as appalled as I was.

25. 25
    real-life dance mom
    Posted January 30, 2013 at 10:11 pm

    When Abby’s tears started, I was just waiting for someone to tell her to \save it for her pillow\!

26. 26
    bec
    Posted January 31, 2013 at 12:19 am

    I’ve read that kendall and maddie won their age group, but also the whole comp duet/trio high score. In the end, a 19 and 20 year old duet beat them overall, so they were first in the age group but 2nd overall for every age group… thats still pretty damn good!

27. 27
    Frizzypop
    Posted January 31, 2013 at 6:31 am

    I used to think that Abby wasn’t really like she is in real life and that all the ‘crap’ was just for the show. I thought this because I could not see the moms putting their kids through that on a regular basis. I’m beginning to think maybe that’s not the case. Week by week the moms and the kids are starting to look sad and beaten down, just like someone who is in an abusive relationship. I’ve noticed that even Christi, who I really like BTW, is starting to look old and haggard. I still think that before the show they all had a better relationship with Abby, but apparently the “fame” that she has tasted has made her an even nastier person. I’m hoping that the only reason that they keep coming back for more is because they are under contract with the production company and that there is nothing they can do. I agree with those above that this show used to be a lot more fun to watch, now it is just painful…

28. 28
    Ashley24
    Posted January 31, 2013 at 9:33 am

    Wow was Abby mean and abusive when the girls came back to the dressing room. I felt so bad for Maddie (always have). Being the \favorite\ came with a ton of burden and she was always so worried about how the other girls felt knowing that she was favored. BUT last night was so incredibly hard to watch!

    The things Abby said about Maddie and Mack’s dad in front of them was so abusive and hurtful. And those 1 kids don’t have a mom that sticks up for them like Chloe does. Christie would never have allowed Abby to keep going on and on like that to Chloe. Out of all the kids worry about Maddie Abby is way too obsessed with her. And does anyone else think that the show isn’t fun like it use to be season 1 and 2? Now I feel like I’m watching child abuse

29. 29
    April
    Posted January 31, 2013 at 9:50 am

    I don’t know….maybe I missed it but yes, I do think this is all wearing on the moms and the kids, but that may not be Abby so much as just all the filming and the brutal schedule. I mean Abby was mean all along. She was insulting all along. Since episode 1. So I don’t really see it getting WAY worse lately.

    Remember that episode where Abby took Maddie out to eat and was telling her all her adult problems like Maddie was her BFF or something? That was inappropriate even back then.

    I would have loved for Maddie to tell Abby “Save those tears for your pillow lady!” Karma and all that.

    haha my captcha is “Silver Spoon” which was one of their dances

30. 30
    LadyStardust
    Posted January 31, 2013 at 12:31 pm

    One thing I liked about Dance Moms Miami was the fact that they always tried really hard to remove the kids from the room if adults were arguing/fighting. Why do these women insist on having these fights with the kids? At least this time they did remove them, but about 10 minutes into a fight they never should have had to listen to.

    I also used to think a lot of it was made-up drama for tv because I could not fathom actually PAYING to put my kid in that sort of environment when there are plenty of dance studios in the world. Now I’m just disgusted at how these mom’s watch their kids get upset like that and keep taking them back for more.

    And a huge pet peeve of mine is when people can’t argue or express a difference of opinion like an adult and have to resort to name-calling and insults. Are Christy and Jabby in middle school? I’ve lost a lot of respect for Christy this season and I used to really like her. Still love the girls though. They seem so supportive of each other.

31. 31
    dancemoms
    Posted January 31, 2013 at 1:17 pm

    i hate the abby maddie thing, ALL the girls are good. Abby gives maddie special privates and takes her to LA and NY to be seen, she doesnt do that for the other girls, and when abby corrects maddie, she doesnt call her stupid or an idiot or any of the names she calls the other girls. Maddie only seems so much better than the other girls bc she has more private lessons, obviously if shes always in privates shes going to improve. All the girls did regress tho. Chloe is no where near where se used to be & that is her mothers fault. Abby is 100% right, meet and greets and all that other crap is making the girls lose focus on DANCING. Dance is the whole reason they got on TV, now since they have a fan base , dance itself seems less important. Abbys delivery is wrong, but her point is correct , they need to be in class not out meeting fans.

32. 32
    LBOH
    Posted February 1, 2013 at 12:10 pm

    About the “everyone regressed” thing, of course they did! They weren’t dancing everyday non-stop. They probably *gasp* hung out with their friends, had ice cream, rode their bikes and watched tv. They aren’t going to be in the same place at the beginning of a season as they were at the end of the season. I can’t fault any of the moms for letting them relax for a while.
    *climbing off soapbox*

    Am I the only one who found it really funny that Abby changed the pyramid after she got the phone call of doom? Remember how she used to say that it wasn’t based on competition results but based on HER opinion?

    Before this season I always thought “well these kids would still be going through this even if there weren’t cameras focused on them.” but now, with Abby’s increasingly disturbing behavior (which I blame on the “fame”… I’m considering dropping it from my viewing rotation.

    I don’t even know what to say about the conversation between Abby and Maddy. It was just way too bizarre for me.

33. 33
    moonbeam1133
    Posted February 1, 2013 at 1:55 pm

    Yes, the conversation between Abby and Maddie was literally just creepy. I agree that Abby is seriously obsessed with Maddie. Abby crying and saying \That was hurtful!\ made me want to vomit. Seriously! If you’re going to be pissed at someone, like she seemed to be at first, I feel like it isn’t that hard to not cry, so the sudden strong emotions were alarming. It was really disgusting. And poor Maddie. Stockholm Syndrome anyone?

34. 34
    April
    Posted February 2, 2013 at 12:14 pm

    I don’t know. I feel kids should have a childhood. However, some kids actually want to be in the studio perfecting their craft and would rather do that than play with friends at the park. I was the type of kid who would have danced everyday if I could. So I think it depends on what the kids want.

    Dance is a tough world. It is not a career I would want for my child. There are so many others out there trying to take your place and you really do have to always be practicing to be the best or even a contender. Just the facts. So if my child really really really did want to be a professional and had the ability, I would be on their ass about it too to practice practice practice. Just like you would with making them study for school. Its the same thing. If they want that to be their dream, I will help them achieve it. It would be their choice. I actually wanted that and my mother was not willing to do everything in her power to help. If she had, my future may have been different. I will never know.

    My son told me he wants to compete and win in dance. So I am already going to start seeing what I can do, but if he is serious about it. I will make him practice. He was the one that asked for it all on his own.