Last night’s Dance Moms starts off on a high note…for once! After succeeding in the group number against the Candy Apples, the girls gather in the studio. Gino is a distant memory and will go down in ALDC history as the kid who made perfect Maddie lose a duet. Poor kid. Maddie is absent because she’s in Los Angeles recreating her Chandelier video on Ellen. Have you seen it? It’s almost creepier than the actual video because Sia spends the entire time refusing to show her face and singing in a corner. Of course, that makes me love her and the song even more, and Maddie is quite the talent. If only Abby Lee Miller would stop trying to pit her against her friends…
Shockingly, Maddie is on the bottom of the pyramid for her absence, followed by Chloe for her fall. At least she gives her a tiny bit of credit for continuing on like a professional…a smidgen of credit if you will. Nia takes the spot after Chloe because, you know, Nia isn’t a ballerina as we’re reminded again, and again, and again. Newbie Sarah is the bottom of the next rung, much to Christ-y’s chagrin. MacKenzie is in second, although Abby calls her out from detracting from the number for being too short. Kendall is in the top spot (although, did you notice, there wasn’t a top of the pyramid?) for taking the piece so seriously.
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The group number is entitled Gypsies, Tramps, and Thieves, and the lead role is still up for grabs. Kendall, Nia, and Chloe will all be dancing solos. Kendall and Chloe’s numbers will be lyrical, and Nia’s “Underdog” dance is a jazz number. Christ-y takes great offense that Sarah isn’t getting a solo and begins griping to Abby. Abby rips Sarah off the pyramid, and she quickly reminds Sarah that she doesn’t have a problem with her, but with her loud mouthed mother. Abby warns Christ-y that if she keeps talking, Sarah will get the boot from the solo. In the viewing room, Christ-y complains that Abby is playing favorites with Maddie even though Maddie is absent this week. Has she ever seen the show? Christi and Jill agree that Abby gives Maddie opportunities she would never dream of offering to the other girls. The moms believe that any of the girls could have shined in Sia’s video if given the chance.
Kendall is given the lead in the group number, and the mothers recall the last time this happened. As soon as Maddie returned, Kendall was booted from the main role. As if she’s psychic, Abby reminds the girls that Maddie will be back at rehearsal the following day, and if she looks better than Kendall, she’ll be given the lead…and Kendall will have no one to blame but herself and her mom for making her take dance lessons from this wackadoo. When Maddie returns, she is on cloud nine from her Ellen experience, and rightfully so. Abby shares that Maddie won’t have a solo since she wasn’t here, but she will be assisting with her friends’ choreography. Basically, she makes Maddie perform her friends’ solos and then Abby talks about how much better Maddie is in the dance. Abby remembers when Chloe was her top dancer, and she reminds the poor girl how much more success her peers are having these days. Abby then chides Nia to bark like a dog. You have GOT to be kidding me. Holly echos my sentiment. Melissa denotes the number as “different,” while Holly sighs that jazz numbers never win in the junior solo division.
When Maddie begins rehearsing with the group, Abby threatens Kendall that Maddie may end up getting the lead as she knows the dance better. Of course she does, Jill laments–Maddie spent hours learning it in a private lesson while all the other girls were at school. Christi snipes that Kendall is “very lucky” to have a solo and the lead in the group number. As Chloe dances, Abby wonders why she is more tired than Maddie who has been dancing even longer…um perhaps because she had eight hours of school before her lesson? I am upset by this until Nia comes into the studio wearing a dog collar. WHAT? No. Holly wants to tell off Abby in the worst way, but she doesn’t want to put Nia in Abby’s line of fire. Abby disgusts me, but she seems to disgust Christ-y more. When Abby reveals that Sarah doesn’t have a costume for the group number and it may not arrive in time for the competition, Christ-y wants to take out the trash. She plans to start with Abby. Abby tells Sarah that she is no longer allowed in the group dance although she hates punishing her for her mother’s mistakes. When a teary Sarah asks to remain in the routine, Abby allows it…if her mom doesn’t come to the competition. Unfortunately for a very sad Sarah, Christ-y doesn’t trust the other moms to watch her, so she heads home.
At the competition, Kendall’s scar make-up is well done with a gorgeous costume while Nia is dressed like a dog and Chloe is wearing a black unitard. It may not be what one would call a level playing field…but when is it ever with Abby? Nia totally brings it in her performance, and Chloe is quick to congratulate her friend off-stage. Chloe performs next, and she does an amazing job as always. However, I am not in love with the choreography. Kendall has the solo that Maddie normally would be dancing, and she does beautiful job. It’s going to be close.
Due to Sarah’s absence, the girls must re-block their group routine. Jill know that Kendall will get blamed if they girls don’t win. The group number is actually really fun and entertaining. Kendall shines, and Abby loved the routine. However, she worries that a group number without Maddie dancing lead will never take the top prize. Nia’s solo earns fourth place with Chloe placing second. Kendall wins, and Abby feels she’s proved her point about how lazy Chloe has become. I just can’t with this woman. Not surprisingly, the group number is the top scoring routine of the competition. Christi needles Jill about Kendall winning with a solo that was meant for Maddie, proving that Maddie always gets the best choreography. The mothers also hope that Abby notices that her original group won first place. Abby doesn’t care…she’s ready to keep bringing in the newbies!
TELL US-WHAT DID YOU THINK OF LAST NIGHT’S EPISODE? WERE THE SOLOS FAIR?
[Photo Credit: Lifetime]
