On last night’s Dance Moms, the crew is still in Los Angeles, but this time everyone’s spirits are much higher. Of course, that comes to a screeching halt when they learn that they’ll be going up against the team that beat them on their previous trek out west. Jill is thrilled that Kendall will be launching her music career this go-round, but her daughter admits to her friends that’s it’s odd for her to be in the fore front. Kendall is excited about the opportunity, but she’s used to being in the background. Nia hopes their music videos won’t turn into a competition since they have such different styles, but she’s happy for her pal nonetheless.
The girls’ banter is interrupted when Abby Lee Miller says that it is time for the pyramid. Nia is on the bottom for her solo’s third place showing, followed by MacKenzie for being the group routine’s weakest link. She’s not applying the corrections given. JoJo rounds out the bottom, but Abby praises her for learning to keep her mouth closed. Maddie is in third (wait, what?) as her technique hasn’t been up to her normal standards due to her latest dancing gigs. Sure, dancing at the Grammys is amazing, but it doesn’t require the precision that Abby has been teaching her all along. Kalani is second, and Kira interjects to say that she and her daughter have been invited to a fashion show event. While she will be attending, Kalani has chosen to stay with the team. This pleases Abby, which should shock no one. Kendall is deservedly on top for her winning the overall high score with her solo. Abby reminds Kendall that she has a lot of work to do with her video so she’ll be relying on the other girls for assistance. Holly reminds Abby that Nia’s video is next week, so she will be focusing on that. Abby icily promises not to rely on Nia to help the team. Kalani and Maddi are granted dueling solos, and Abby announces that Maddie will be missing a day of rehearsals to perform on Ellen.
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The group routine is entitled Rose Garden because every group has its thorns–side eye to Holly. The message isn’t lost on Holly, and she hopes they aren’t going to see a repeat of Abby’s horrific behavior. Jill reveals that Kendall is ready to get to work on her video, but Holly thinks that Nia feels the opposite. She dreads being pitted against her friend courtesy of Abby, and Holly doesn’t understand why Abby wants to promote one dancer while belittling the other. Abby then pulls Kendall aside to confirm this thought, telling sweet Kendall that she’s driven to make Kendall’s video more amazing than Nia because she doesn’t like that Holly went behind her back to find Nia another opportunity. Nice.
As Maddie and Kalani practice their solos, Abby is unusually hard on her favorite student. She reminds a defeated looking Maddie that when you get so successful, the only direction to go is down. Maddie’s performance is a direct reflection on Abby, and now that there are so many more people following her career, there is even more pressure. Melissa admits that she didn’t foresee Maddie getting a solo this week since she will be missing so much rehearsal time. For the first time, she feels a twinge of what the other mothers often face. Is Abby setting her daughter up to fail? Jill can’t believe Abby would ever do such a thing…well, at least not to Maddie. Holly learns that Jill and Abby took Kendall, Maddie, and MacKenzie to meet with a famous producer. She says that Nia saw the pictures on Instagram and cried herself to sleep. Jill maintains that it’s not her issue if Abby didn’t want to invite the other girls. Jill and Holly get into a screaming match about Abby creating unnecessary competition between the girls. Holly yells that Jill has forgotten how it feels to be on the outside now that she’s finally in Abby’s good graces, and Jill storms out accusing Holly of bringing Abby’s wrath upon herself. Across town, the rival studio is prepping to strike fear is Abby’s eyes with their solo.
The following day, Kalani is rehearsing as Abby peppers her with critiques. Melissa inquires about the day before, and Holly shares the tension and Nia’s heartache. Melissa assures Holly that neither Jill nor herself knew they were going to be meeting with the producer, and had she known, she would have invited Nia to join. Jill counters that she feels Kendall’s opportunity is being overshadowed by Nia’s video, and she hates that both girls have such a similar big event in the same week. Holly questions how she could feel that way when Nia’s video is never discussed, and the every other word out of Abby’s mouth is about Kendall’s video. Jill admits that she is happy finally having her daughter be one of Abby’s favorites, and she’s not going to do anything to jeopardize her daughter’s future success. Holly wishes that Jill could see that Abby is orchestrating all of this drama and trying to create a rift, and Jessalyn reminds the moms they need to present a united front and be strong in their friendships. Holly agrees. All of the girls should be celebrated for their accomplishments, and the ALDC needs to stand strong against the rival studio.
The girls are donning some serious fake nails for their group number, and Abby takes a phone call during their practice to learn that she’s gotten studio space secured in Los Angeles. While the girls cheer, Abby snidely remarks that this means they have to win no matter what. Her reputation is on the line now more than ever in this town. At the competition, the girls arrive to find that their rivals have left welcome messages in lipstick on their dressing room mirrors. Kira and Jessalyn are being bombarded on social media with messages warning them they will be losing. The moms go to confront the rival studio, and their teacher asserts that her girls are just full of confidence…as the ALDC should be. It’s all in good fun, right? Abby refuses to entertain any discussion about the other team, and fear is written all over her face.
Maddie’s dance is flawless, per the usual, but so is rival studio’s counterpart–although I could do without the props. Kalani follows, and the judges are going to have quite the decision to make. She is amazing! The costumes for the group number are on point, and I absolutely loved it. My eyes were especially drawn to Nia and Kalani. MDP has more props, and Candy Apple Kathy needs to take note. Abby looks scared, as she should. This group is phenomenal. At the awards ceremony, Kalani scores second overall for her solo behind Maddie. The rival group places third, and the ALDC makes a clean sweep with a first place finish in the group category. The moms from both teams get into a scripted cat fight post-awards, and in the dressing room, Abby touts the victory as both an artistic and professional success. She hypes Kendall’s video with nary a word of encouragement to Nia. She’s such a royal B.
TELL US – WHAT DID YOU THINK OF LAST NIGHT’S EPISODE? WHO IS BEING MORE RIDICULOUS WHEN IT COMES TO THEIR DAUGHTER’S VIDEO…JILL OR HOLLY?
[Photo Credit: Dance Moms]
