Dance Moms

I am from Canada and started at 4 years old doing tap, jazz, and ballet until I 20.

I started with a small company where there was no body image issues or focused on. You could choose competitive, non competitive and with ballet I always had chances to move up grades with demonstrative exams.

I was in the Nutcracker ( I had to compete against a lot of girls throughout my province) and danced it for 6 years straight.

At 14, I was invited on full scholarships to the Royal Winnipeg in Canada too, a major ballet dance company. This school was intense but I was never demeaned or told I wasn't good enough

I left because of injury doing pointe ballet to my knee and retired at 20.

In my experience I have NEVER encountered all the negativity that gets spewed out this show. The adults are appalling and the teacher as well.

There will always be competition in the world of dance, but all my instructors would wear dance apparel and would actually do hands on teaching without pitting students against each other and constantly being yelled at.

Cool your heels lady, you're going break these young girls spirits and eventually they will lose their love of dance!

Abby has pushed some of these girls emotions to the brink of breaking. Like with Chloe. How could someone even call a child WASHED UP and constantly berate the girl for things? She's always compared to Maddie and when Chloe beat Kendall i believe? instead of being happy for Chloe, Abby throws a hissy fit and called the girl washed up and even told Christi that her daughter SUCKED!! how DARE she? how could a human being do that!? instead of praising Chloe and being happy for her, she has to go and do that. i don't blame that girl one bit for having enough.I congratulate Christi for pulling Chloe out. enoughs enough with the verbal and emotional abuse because frankly thats what it appears to be from my perspective.

I would never subject my child to someone that teaches like that. each girl is amazing and talented. Abby just fails to point that out instead points out the more negative things and compares them to someone else entirely. but what Maddie doesn't realize is there is always someone better than she is out there. its just how the universe works. maybe Abby should try using some positive praise and not make these girls feel like crap.

Set in Pittsburg, PA, Dance Moms is a television show that airs on Lifetime Network Tuesday nights at 8:00 central time. Local mothers apply their daughters for a spot in the Abby Lee Dance Company as young as five and six years old. Because of the extensive work and exclusivity of the dance company, mothers dream of the chance to make their daughters dance stars. After one season of avoiding what appeared to be a disgrace of a television show, I finally gave in and watched an episode with my roommates.

Abbey Lee Miller is the owner and director of the Abby Lee Dance Company. Running a very strict and exclusive dance company, Miller, and the company, has become one of the most sought after dance institutions in the United States, and especially in Pennsylvania. As understood from the title, this show is not about the dancing or the company, but instead it revolves around the mothers. What sells television more than drama and competition? Nothing, and this is why Dance Moms has become one of Lifetime's highest rated television series.

Growing up a dancer myself, I enjoyed watching the routines and competitions of these young girls. The dance aspect is what initially caught my attention. This show not only broadcasts Miller's company but also contains segments of the competition's routines. What also surprised me is how this show seems to not affect the bias of the judges involved in the weekly competitions.

Although I enjoy the dance aspect, the drama involved with a little girl's dancing blows my mind. Who knew that mothers could stoop as low as caring if their daughter is the point of a formation? I had always heard of parents living vicariously through their children's lives, but this show takes that theory to a whole new level.

If the drama between the mothers, or between mother and instructor, could be taken out of the production, I think this show could emit a more positive light. Maybe I am biased because of the way I was raised, but I hope I never act the way these mothers act about my child's hobby. Little girls dancing as young as age five, in little to no clothing, and discussing their future "stardom" rubs me the wrong way. Dancing is a great hobby for little girls. Making dance a career before they hit double digits, no thank you.

For those viewers out there who enjoy the ins and out of drama, this show is waiting for you to sink your teeth into it. For those who are baffled by selfish parenting, this show is nowhere close to entertainment. I watched Dance Moms for two consecutive episodes, and do not think I will waste time watching it again. It is a mindless show. One thing I did seem to learn from my experience of watching Dance Moms is how I feel like I know what I will and will not do as a parent.

How can we as a society condone the behavior of one Abby Lee Miller? I get that dance is a tough profession and the directors are unforgiving, however, we must realize these young ladies are still STUDENTS! It is obvious that the producers want to exploit the fact that Abby Lee Miller is a dance instructor who does not know what she is doing and that the only talent she has is screaming at everyone and punishing her students if she hates their mothers. That's all this show is: PURE EXPLOITATION. It's obvious because let's face it, Collins Avenue, the producers of the show, are famous for creating exploitation television. Don't believe me Google "American Colony."

Dance Moms is a T.V. series about little girls, most of them between the ages of 9 to about 16 who want to dance. This appears to be a pageant show where little kids where makeup which is not acceptable for their ages. And there is way too much drama, conflicts, injuries and crying through out. I do not like watching a bunch of kids going through all this pressure.

What is wrong with these dance instructors? Do they hate kids? If they have such a short fuse with kids, why are they working with a whole bunch of kids? They shouldn't even have jobs for having such intolerance with these dancers. They should have learned about patience before they signed up for this job.