– Maddie Ziegler
A common household dancing reality show is brought to viewers from the Lifetime television channel, Dance Moms. Dance Moms was centered on a junior elite competition team of young girls from the Pittsburgh area, dancing on a competition team that traveled around the nation, attending a new competition every weekend. The show is famous for great dancing, bickering moms, and a psycho dance teacher and studio owner Abby Lee Miller. Since the show has aired, dancing has improved, dancers have come and gone, Abby’s in trouble with the government, the moms are becoming their children’s agents and more loco than ever, and the team has moved from Pittsburgh to a new studio location in Los Angeles, California.
Dance Moms is a huge exaggeration on the dance industry, competitions and rehearsals. Abby’s teaching methods are anything, but kind, motivating or inspiring. The moms are in a constant fight with each other over who has the best dancer, and total hypocrites when it comes to special advantages with their daughters. The dancer’s however are the shadowed over portion of the show, they hardly show their improvement in the studio, because it’s all about the moms. It is amazing to see what they have accomplished in a matter of three days preparation for a regional competition, considering they do something new week after week.
One key piece of insight to remember when watching an hour episode of Dance Moms is that although producers may not say its stage, I have never seen a grown woman act so horrible at a dance competition in front of the choreographer, her children, the competition faculty and other spectators. If I was one of the mothers on that show I would be ashamed of the actions I put on television, my representation of the studio and in the example I would be setting for my kids. With this, Dance Moms is only an hour long special that is taken from a week’s worth of time. A viewer has to acknowledge that it is a reality show, so they are going to feature the most dramatic of moments in order to keep the show “entertaining.” Personally as a dancer I find the most entertainment at the end of the show, when all of the dancers perform their solos, duets, trios and groups on stage. I wish Dance Moms would show more dancing instead of the immense amount of tension involving the moms and Abby.
I have been dancing in the competition scene for the last eight years of my life, and never have I ever seen anything even remotely similar to the actions on the show of Dance Moms. Yes, it is a cut throat sport, but it is still a positive environment. Maybe it is just a Midwest feng shui, but I would certainly hope that it is like that across the nation. Moms should be the support for their daughters at their highest and weakest moments. The dancers should be able to trust and rely on each other both on the dance floor, in rehearsal and everyday life. While the dance teacher’s job is to TEACH their student to DANCE, giving them an appropriate amount of attention and time, noticing their flaws and finding ways to improve them, inspiring them to be the best dancer they can. It is not always amount winning, but the improvements made both on and off the competition stage.
~Julia Brewer
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