“Relevé! Plié! Jeté!” If these commands sound the least bit familiar, consider tuning into Lifetime’s new hit TV series, Dance Moms. On the show, hysterical mother’s live their lives to watch their extremely talented daughters practice and compete in dances of all genres throughout the nation.
Dance Moms revolves around the world renowned dance studio, Abby Lee Dance Company. The cast consists of Paige and Brooke with their mother Kelly, Chloe, whose mother is Christi, Nia, who’s mother is Holly, Maddie and Mackenzie, who’s mother is Melissa, Vivi-Anne, whose mother is Cathy and of course, the queen herself, Miss Abby.
Like every American reality show, Dance Moms has a dramatic twist. This includes moms going above and beyond to ensure their daughter will become a star one day. The moms spend more time arguing with each other, than showing moral support for their daughters.
In all 65-1/3 quintillion square feet of the Earth’s surface, the mothers spend their time in only two settings: their daughter’s dance studio and dance competitions.
It makes you wonder, are they just putting their daughters in a highly-rated dance company because they have nothing else to live for? Don’t get me wrong, it’s great that they’re supporting their daughters while they dance, but don’t they have anything else to do with their own lives? No wonder you never see the dads on the show.
My impression of the mothers is that they want their daughters to be successful, more so than their daughters do. The kids even said that their mothers want it more than they do. Most of the kids are just staying in the dance company to please their mothers, which I find extremely sad. The little girls, who are only about 8 years old, are practically working themselves to the bone for about 5 hours a day doing hardcore training just because it makes their mothers happy.
Adding to the fact that these young girls are training countless hours, they express the fact that they don’t even have time for relaxing and being normal 8 year olds. For example, in some of the episodes, it even mentions how the girls rarely have enough time to do any of their school work.
Now, someone like me takes into consideration that not everyone has the talent and the luck of being able to be given the part in popular Broadway productions and acting roles. Instead of the parents only worrying about dance, it should be taken into consideration that becoming a professional dancer doesn’t always work out as planned, so all the girls need a backup plan. Education.
Other than the fact that these mothers can’t set their priorities straight between themselves and their daughters, they also spend way too much time arguing. Though, a lot of the moms continuously bicker with each other, they also fight with Miss. Abby the girl’s teacher. Miss Abby may come off as a feisty dictator who only wants complete perfection out of the girls, but all she is trying to do is prepare the girls in the real world of auditioning in front of major casting directors.
The moms seem to think otherwise. Most of the mothers take a lot of what Abby says and does, to their children, to heart. Honestly, all Abby is trying to do is make sure that the child can be as successful as possible. Sometimes, it takes some whipping and snapping to do the job!
Of course, it’s only human to make sure your daughter’s feelings aren’t hurt from someone they see as the almighty god of dance, but, like expected, these moms take it too far. Instead of confronting their teacher about their issues about her strictness, they turn it into a full on brawl.
Even though Dance Moms is a great show full of talented dancers, fierce competition and insane mothers, that are not to mention hilarious, I can’t help but step back and feel sorry for the little girls who have to deal with their melodramatic mothers. Sometimes, it’s better to just support the people you care for instead of pushing them to their limits, especially if they’re only in elementary school.